Productive characters in seedlings of artichoke seed propagated

The artichoke is a species of nutritional and medicinal importance, as well as a potential solid fuel. However, it is a vegetable which has incipient areas of production and research in Brasil, when compared to other vegetables. The production of this culture in our country it is concentrated in the state of Sao Paulo, where the artichoke is 1ubmitted11zed in natura to the markets and represents a source of profit to small produtores of the region. Otherwise, in Rio Grande do Sul, its cultivation is destinated to the industrialization. However, there is a growing interesting from the agricultores and consumers in the in natura market. The utilization of the seed as a way of multiplication turns to be a facilitator, so that an expansion can happen, once the vegetative propagation generates several problems, like the multiplication of diseases and the species degeneration. Therefore, aiming at promoting the artichoke cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul, the present work seeks to create a technology of production of seedlings for a later exposition to the nurseries. The experiment was established in October 4th, 2012, with the planting of pre-germinated seed of the madrigal, opal, symphony and concerto hybrids (NUNHEMS (R) industry), from which consisted the treatments. For obtaining seedlings, vases with capacity of 1,5 L containing 1ubmitted1 substrate Mec Plant Horta 2 (R) composed by peat, culture and vermiculite rests were used. The experimental unit was constituted by 10 plans, being 1 plant per vase. The experimental design was composed by random blocks with three repetitions. The evaluations took place 90 days after the pre-germination. The evaluated variables were: fresh and dry mass from shoot and root, leaf area and number of leaves. The results were 1ubmitted to a variance analysis and the differences between the medium were compared by the Tukey test with 5% of probability of error. Between the analised hybrids, Madrigal shows a higher production potential by presenting higher values of fresh and dry biomass.