Planting density in verdolaga growth

Abstract

In Mexico there are more than 358 species of plants, of which only tender leaves and stems are consumed, known as ‘quelites’. Given the productive, economic and nutritional potential of these species, including verdolaga, factors that affect their growth and development need to be determined. Verdolaga is an alternative as a vegetable due to its nutritional, productive and economic potential; its yield will be determined mainly by the development of stems and leaves, so the knowledge generated about the factors that affect its growth is of great agronomic importance. This research assessed the effect of three planting densities on verdolaga growth. Data for three phenological stages of verdolaga development (vegetative development, vegetative maturity and flowering) were considered to determine whether there were significant differences between the mean treatments evaluated by an Anova and to determine whether variance homogeneity existed, the Levene method was carried out. Plants planted at a high planting density (295 plants m-1 linear) had higher height, smaller stem diameter, fewer leaves (large and small) and lower branch development (branch length) compared to those planted at medium and low planting densities (250 and 134 plants m-1 linear); however, the number of leaves on the branches depends on the level of the canopy where they are located. Planting density is a contributing factor in determining the growth of the ‘Chapingo’ verdolaga.