Unconventional Water For Cut Flower Production.
I: Rose (Rosa hybrida).

Mahmoud I. Safi., Abdelnabi Fardous., Mohammed Muddaber., Said El-Zuraiqi., Luna Al-Hadidi., Ibrahim Bashabsheh., and Mohammed Sa’ad. Water Management and Environment Program. National Center for Agricultural Researches and Technology Transfer “NCARTT”.

Abstract:
The main objective of this research is to study opportunity of treated wastewater reuse in irrigation of one of cut flower crops (Rosa hybrida) in Jordan with particular emphasis on total yield and flower quality responses to saline low quality water.
The effect of three irrigation regimes of low water quality, the outlet of treated wastewater from Ramtha treating plant, (2.5-3.0 dS/m EC) on total yield and flower quality of First Red rose cultivar grown on three rootstocks (Rosa indica, Rosa canina, and Natal Briar) was investigated in two planting media, the natural soil and volcanic rock (Ziotuff). Water regimes for soil experiments were irrigation as 100 % of evaporation pan reading every other day, every two days and every three days. While for Ziotuff experiments they were daily irrigation as 120%, 100%, and 80% of the evaporation readings.
First red rose cultivar gave higher yields when planted in natural soil than the ziotuff medium irrispective of rootstock and water regime used. Similar trend of flower and flower stem quality were observed in both planting media.
In general, significantly larger rose flower size, longer and thicker flower stems, higher number of nodes, longer internodes, and less number of blind shoots were produced by first red rose cultivar when grown on Natal Briar rootstock combined with the three irrigation levels.
Saline treated wastewater can be used in irrigation as a new water source. However, more researches are strongly recommended in the field of such low water quality reuse for cut flower productions as they can be planted in sustainable and profitable bases.

Key Words; Rose; Yield; Quality; Treated Wastewater.