Acclimatization is the most important and critical plant micropropagation phase. It can be responsible for high mortality rate, low growth rate, and plant heterogeneity. One of the limiting factors in plant acclimatization is the substrate. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different substrates on the acclimatization of micropropagated heliconia plants (Heliconia lingulata Ruiz & Pav.). The research was carried out in a greenhouse at the Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry located in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil (3º44' S and 38º33' W). The experimental design was a randomized block with five treatments and five repetitions. The substrates tested were: T1 - dry 'coir' dust + earthworm humus + soil (DCD+EH+S); T2 - green 'coir' dust + vermiculite + poultry litter (GCD+V+PL); T3 - green 'coir' dust + earthworm humus + soil (GCD+EH+S); T4 - dry 'coir' dust + vermiculite + poultry litter (DCD+V+PL) and T5 -Hortimix® (HORT). The variables evaluated in the experiments were plant height, number of leaves, and diameter of the pseudostem. The results revealed that the best development of micropropagated heliconia plants was with a combination of green 'coir' dust + earthworm humus + soil (GCD+EH+S).
Heliconia lingulata; earthworm humus; coir dust; poultry (chicken) litter; plant tissue culture
