This study aimed to evaluate the effect of nitrogen and potassium in production of Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonni), commercial type Rambo, using two types of water (residual of urban origin and muncipality supply water) for irrigation. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, at the Federal University of Campina Grande, from October 2006 to January 2007, covering a complete cycle of production. The experimental design was in a completely randomized blocks with three replications and the treatments were arranged in a 3 x 4 x 2 factorial scheme, where the factors consisted of increasing levels of nitrogen (N1 = 100, N2 = 200 and N3 = 300 mg L-1) and potassium (K1 = 100, K2 = 200, K3 = 300 and K4 = 400 mg L-1) added to a solution of phosphorus (P = 50 mg L-1) with the use of two types of water (A1 = supply A2 = residual water of urban origin). The variables monitored were: number of buttons and interval between emission of flower buds, number of flowers collected and interval between flower pickings, flower diameter and stem length. The increase of nitrogen in spite of increasing the number of buttons and reducing the interval between the emissions of flower buttons, caused negative effect on the quality of flowers produced, while the increase in potassium was beneficial. The use of wastewater resulted in significant improvement in productivity and reduction in the interval between flower pickings without significant effect on the quality of flowers produced. There were no significant interactions among the factors studied.
reuse; irrigation; mineral supplemenlation; Gerbera jamesonni
