Studies on the growth of Lantana camara L. subsp. camara in relation to glasshouse environment and paclobutrazol

The effects of environmental factors and the plant growth regulator paclobutrazol on Lantana camara L. subsp. camara plants were investigated under glasshouse conditions in Attica, Greece during June to November 1997 and 1998. Lantana plants were grown at two shading levels (0 and 66% shading) and treated with paclobutrazol (0, 50,100 and 200 mg/l) foliar sprays after pinching. The cumulated function was used to detect several trends in environmental (photosynthetically active radiation, air temperature, relative humidity) and biometrical (growth index) data. Results showed that the general increase trend of the growth index (GI) of the non-treated plants coincided, in general, with the trends of variation of the environmental data at the two shading levels, while for the plants treated with paclobutrazol at 50 mg/l, the trend depended on shading level and followed approximately the trends of the environmental data. The trends of GI increase of the plants treated with 100 and 200 mg/l paclobutrazol showed an earlier onset of decline in comparison to the non-treated plants at the two shading levels.