The objective of this study was to evaluate growing nitrogen levels and application time of the nitrogen fertilizer in gladiolus cultivation. The experiment was carried out at Instituto de Investigaciones Hortículas Liliana Dimitrova (in the Municipality of Quivicán, La Habana, Cuba) in an Oxisol soil, from October to February of the 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 crop seasons. The quality components of the spikes and plant material were evaluated, as well as the effect of the treatments on the plant nutritional state and the shelf life of the spikes. No differences between nitrogen doses and fertilizer application time in quality variables of spikes and corms were observed. Nevertheless, with the variant 70 kg ha-1 of N, one half applied in plantation and the other half applied 60 days later, a higher spike percentage of commercial categories and a lesser number of stems of inferior quality were obtained. As for the plantation nutritional state, there is a positive relation between the applied nitrogen levels and the foliar content of this element.El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar niveles crecientes de nitrógeno y momentos de aplicación del fertilizante nitrogenado en el cultivo del gladiolo. La experiencia se desarrolló en el Instituto de Investigaciones Hortícolas Liliana Dimitrova (Municipio de Quivicán, La Habana, Cuba), en un suelo Ferralítico Rojo, entre los meses de octubre y febrero de las campañas 2004/2005 y 2005/2006. Se evaluaron los componentes de la calidad de las espigas y del material de plantación, así como el efecto de los tratamientos en el estado nutricional de la planta y en la vida en anaquel de las espigas. No se observaron diferencias entre las dosis de nitrógeno y los momentos de aplicación del fertilizante en las variables de calidad de la espiga y del cormo. No obstante, con la variante 70 kg ha-1 de N, aplicada ½ en plantación y ½ a los 60 días posteriores, se logra un mayor porcentaje de espigas ubicadas en las categorías comerciales y un menor número de tallos florales de calidad inferior. En cuanto al estado nutricional de la plantación, existe una relación positiva entre los niveles y los contenidos foliares de nitrógeno aplicados.The objective of this study was to evaluate growing nitrogen levels and application time of the nitrogen fertilizer in gladiolus cultivation. The experiment was carried out at Instituto de Investigaciones Hortículas Liliana Dimitrova (in the Municipality of Quivicán, La Habana, Cuba) in an Oxisol soil, from October to February of the 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 crop seasons. The quality components of the spikes and plant material were evaluated, as well as the effect of the treatments on the plant nutritional state and the shelf life of the spikes. No differences between nitrogen doses and fertilizer application time in quality variables of spikes and corms were observed. Nevertheless, with the variant 70 kg ha-1 of N, one half applied in plantation and the other half applied 60 days later, a higher spike percentage of commercial categories and a lesser number of stems of inferior quality were obtained. As for the plantation nutritional state, there is a positive relation between the applied nitrogen levels and the foliar content of this element
