AGRONOMIC VALUATION OF EXPERIMENTAL GENOTYPES OF Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch

Abstract

In order to offer alternatives for the use of new poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) varieties, eight experimental genotypes were evaluated in agronomic terms in 2015, in the greenhouse of a volunteer producer in Tetela del Monte, Morelos, México. Seven experimental materials were used, generated through manual crossing, called INIMOR1, INIMOR2, INIMOR4, INIMOR5, INIMOR6, INIMOR 7, INIMOR8 and a variety obtained through recurring irradiation, with key INIMOR3. Under a completely random experimental design with ten repetitions (experimental genotypes as treatments), eleven variables were evaluated and analyzed with variance and means comparison test. Significant statistical differences were obtained between the experimental genotypes studied for all the characteristics found, except for bract width. INIMOR4 and INIMOR7 showed higher averages in characteristics of stem, leaf and bract. Meanwhile, INIMOR3 was more compact, with smaller size of leaf and bract. This suggests a potential for the genotypes to be liberated to producers with a commercial purpose, and to compete for the adequate characteristics with the genotypes currently commercialized and of foreign origin.