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Three cut-flower species, Ageratum houstonianum `Tall Blue Horizon', Antirrhinum majus `Spring Giants Mix', and Helianthus annuus `Sunrich Orange' were grown in 806, 1801, or 1001 bedding plants flats resulting in 32 (85), 86 (280), and 156 (620) cm2 (mililiter medium)/plant, respectively. Plants were sown Sept. 1997 (fall), Dec. 1997 (winter), or Mar. 1998 (spring). Increasing area per plant decreased number of stems harvested but increased percent of stems harvested for all species. Increasing area per plant increased stem length and selling price for Antirrhinum and Helianthus; no significant difference was noted for Ageratum. Days to anthesis decreased with later planting for Antirrhinum and Helianthus; however, for Ageratum winter planting had the longest crop time and spring planting the shortest. Gross profit per square meter and square meter per week increased with decreasing area per plant for Ageratum and Helianthus; no significant difference was noted for Ageratum. Gross profit per square meter per week increased with later planting for all species. With all species 806 flats or spring planting required frequent irrigation, which would best be supplied by an automated irrigation system. Experiment was repeated in 1998/1999 using Carthamus tinctorius `Lasting Yellow', Celosia argentea `Chief Mix', Cosmos bipinnatus `Early Wonder', Helianthus annuus `Sunbright, Tagetes erecta `Promise Orange' and `Promise Yellow', and Zinnia elegans `Giant Deep Red' and `Oklahoma Mix'.
`Blenda', `Leen v.d. Mark', `Monte Carlo', `Negritta' and `Paul Richter' tulip (Tulipa gesneriana) bulbs received a total of 15 weeks of cold (5°C) with 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 weeks applied to dry, unpotted bulbs. The bulbs were then planted, watered, and exposed to cold for the remainder of the 15 weeks. Bulbs receiving up to 10 weeks dry, unpotted cold showed no decrease in flowering percentage and plant quality when compared to bulbs receiving 15 weeks of moist, potted cold. For bulbs receiving 12 weeks of dry cold, flowering percentage was generally lower when compared with 0-10 weeks of dry cold and varied with the cultivar and the year, i.e. 63% of `Paul Richter' and 100% of `Negritta' bulbs receiving 12 weeks of dry cold flowered in year one: whereas, 95% of `Paul Richter' and 70% of `Negritta' bulbs flowered in year two. For all cultivars, bulbs receiving 12 weeks of dry cold had the shortest shoots at the end of the cooling treatment compared with the other treatments. While final height varied significantly with the cultivar in year two, differences were not commercially noticeable. Final height was not influenced in year one.
`Nellie White' Easter lily bulbs (Lilium longiflorum Thunb.) were given 6 weeks of 5.5C, placed in the greenhouse, and divided into groups based on number of days to emergence: 0 to 6, 7 to 13, 14 to 20, or 21 to 27 days. At emergence, the shoots received 0, 1, 2, or 3 weeks of long days (LDs). The experiment was repeated for 3 consecutive years. Late-emerging plants had fewer days from emergence to visible bud and anthesis than early-emerging plants. Consequently, late-emerging plants flowered within 3 to 11 days of early emerging plants despite 16 to 22 days difference in emergence time. Late-emerging plants were tallest, while plants emerging in the second week had the most leaves. Flower count was not influenced by emergence date in Year 1. In Year 2, flower count decreased curvilinearly with later emergence. In Year 3, flower count was highest in plants emerging in the second week and lowest in the last week. Increasing LDs decreased the number of days from emergence to visible bud and anthesis but increased plant height. LDs did not affect leaf count in any year or flower count in Years 1 and 2. In Year 3, flower count increased with increasing weeks of LDs. LD × emergence date interactions existed, but varied from year to year.
These studies were conducted to determine the effect of 1) temperature on P leaching from a soilless medium amended with various P fertilizers, 2) water application volume on P leaching, and 3) various fertilizers on P leaching during production and growth of marigolds (Tagetes erecta L. `Hero Flame'). Increasing temperature linearly decreased leaching fraction; however, total P leached from the single (SSP) or triple (TSP) superphosphate-amended medium did not differ regardless of temperature. Despite a smaller leaching fraction at higher temperatures and no change in the total P leached, P was probably leached more readily at higher temperatures. More P was leached from the medium amended with uncoated monoammonium phosphate (UCP) than from the medium containing polymer-coated monoammonium phosphate (CTP) at all temperatures, and more P was leached from UCP-amended medium at lower temperatures than at higher temperatures. More P was leached from TSP- than from SSP-amended medium and from UCP- than from CTP-amended medium regardless of the water volume applied, but leachate P content increased linearly as water application volume increased for all fertilizers tested. Plant dry weights did not differ regardless of P source. Leachate electrical conductivity (EC) was lower with TSP than with SSP. Leachate EC was also lower with CTP than with UCP. A higher percentage of P from controlled release fertilizer was taken up by plants rather than being leached from the medium compared to P from uncoated fertilizers.
Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum Thunb. `Nellie White') bulbs were exposed to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 weeks of cold before shoot emergence; 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 weeks of long days (LD) upon shoot emergence; or a combination of cold followed by LD: 1/5 (weeks cold/weeks LD), 2/4,3/3,4/2, or 5/1. Experiments were repeated for three consecutive years. LD did not substitute equally for cold; at least 3 weeks of cold were required before LD treatments resulted in anthesis. Depending on the year, 100% of the plants flowered when treated with 3 to 6 weeks of cold alone or in combination with LD. Days to first flower anthesis from planting increased with decreasing weeks of cold in years 1 and 3, but was similar for all treatments in year 2. Decreasing weeks of cold in combination with LD, however, decreased days to anthesis in years 1 and 2, but had no effect in year 3. Regardless of LD, days from emergence to visible bud increased with decreasing weeks of cold in all years, and days to emergence from placement in the greenhouse increased with decreasing cold in years 1 and 3, but not in year 2. Increasing weeks of cold, regardless of LD, decreased leaf count, but had no effect on plant height. Flower count was unaffected by cold when combined with LD, but was significantly reduced by increasing weeks of cold.
Campanula medium L. `Champion Blue' (CB) and `Champion Pink' (CP) and Lupinus hartwegii Lindl. `Bright Gems' (LH) were grown in 8- or 16-h initial photoperiods, transplanted when two–three, five–six, or eight–nine nodes developed and placed under 8-, 12-, or 16-h final photoperiods. Greatest flowering percentage (100%) for CB and CP occurred when plants with two–three nodes were grown in the 16-h final photoperiod. The lowest flowering percentage for CB (3.3%) and CP (15.7%) resulted from plants grown in the 8-h photoperiod continuously (initial and final). CB and CP stem lengths (49.8 cm) were longest when grown in the 8-h photoperiod continuously and shortest with the 16-h initial and 8-h final photoperiods for CB (26.5 cm) and the 16-h photoperiod continuously for CP (25.4 cm). Fewest days to anthesis, 134 days for CB and 145 days for CP, resulted from the 16-h photoperiod continuously and greatest (216 days) from the 8-h photoperiod continuously. LH plants had a high flowering percentage (99.6%) regardless of photoperiod or transplant stage. Stem lengths were longest (60.1 cm) for LH plants exposed to the 16-h photoperiod continuously and shortest (46.2 cm) when exposed to the 8-h photoperiod continuously. LH exhibited a curvilinear response for days to anthesis with the 16-h final photoperiod producing the shortest crop time (166 days) and the 12-h final photoperiod producing the longest crop time (182 days). The experiment was repeated in 1998/1999 with high intensity discharge (HID) lighting during the initial photoperiod which increased plant quality.