Predicción de la duración de las etapas fenológicas en dos variedades de clavel estándar (<i>Dianthus caryophyllus L</i>.) en términos de tiempo térmico

Although carnation is one of the world’s most widely used cut flowers, several basic aspects of its growth and development have yet to be studied. Here, we aimed to determine the phenological behavior and development of a commercial carnation crop relating temperature in terms of thermal time for Mizuky and Zafiro cultivars. The study was conducted in a commercial production farm greenhouse in Tocancipá, Cundinamarca (Colombia). Sampling was done from the plants’ pinching to the end of the harvest in four plantings on different dates. We estimated the base temperature (Tb) for the vegetative and reproductive stages using the minimum coefficient of variation method for growing degree-days (GDD or thermal time). Our results showed that Tb and thermal time varied depending on the developmental stage of the crop. The life cycle was 242 days for the Mizuky cultivar and 240 days for the Zafiro. The Mizuky cultivar required Tbs of 0.66°C for the vegetative stage and 0.84°C for the reproductive stage, while the Zafiro required higher Tbs of 1.81 and 2.64°C, respectively. The GDD accumulations from the vegetative stage to cutting were 2606° for the Mizuky and 2624° for the Zafiro; the times from pinching to harvest were 187 days for the Mizuky and 185 days for the Zafiro. We concluded that the Zafiro needs a higher Tb than the Mizuky, but given their close thermal times, we recommend similar crop management for both.