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- Author or Editor: Allan Armitage x
Abstract
The number of flower buds formed on plants of Schlumbergera truncata (Haw.) Moran (Thanksgiving cactus) was reduced by high water stress during flower initiation and was unaffected by night temperature (13° vs. 17°C) under short days. Application of 100 ppm benzylamino purine (BA) increased flower bud number by 40% when sprayed 2 weeks after the initiation of a short day treatment and increased phylloclade number up to 150% when applied during long day photo-periods.
Seed of Viola × wittrockiana `Majestic Giant Yellow' were germinated in #406 plug trays at ambient CO2, 25 C and a light intensity of 100 μmol s-1m-2 with an 18 hr photoperiod. At emergence and at successive one week intervals, seedlings were exposed to CO2 levels of 500, 1000 or 1500 μl l-1 and irradiances of 100, 225, 350 μmol s-1m-2 for 7 to 35 days, after which seedlings were transplanted into 10 cm pots and grown to flower in the greenhouse. CO2 at 1000 μl l-1 was as effective as 1500 μl l-1 in accelerating growth in the plug stage. 500 μl l-1 at all irradiances did not accelerate growth significantly. Plants grown at 1000 μl l-1 and 225 μmol s-1m-2 intensity reached the 5 leaf stage up to 14 days earlier than the control, as well as decreasing time to flower during the growing on phase.
Seed of Petunia × hybrida `Ultra White' were germinated in #406 plug trays at 2.5 C and at a light intensity of 100 μ mol s-1m-2 using a 24 or photoperiod. At germination, seedlings were grown under natural light conditions for 8 hrs (SD) or for 8 hrs with the photoperiod extended to 16 hrs (LD) using incandescent bulbs. At approximately the 6th leaf stage, seedlings were stored at 5 C in the dark or at 12 μ mol s-1m-2 and a 24 hr photoperiod for 0 to 21 days. After storage, plants were potted n 10 cm pots and grown to flowering in a greenhouse. Plants grown under SD to the 6th leaf stage with no cold treatment were shorter. flowered later and had more lateral branching than unstored LD plants. Storage at 5 C decreased time to flower of SD plants and increased branching of LD plants regardless of photoperiod during storage.
Three biostimulants, Grow-plex (Menefee Mining Corp., Dallas), Roots 2 (LISA Product Corp., Independence, Mo.), and Root n' Shoot (Natural Organic Products International, Mount Dora, Fla.) were applied to transplanted plugs of Salvia splendens `Empire Red' and Begonia semperflorens `Varsity Pink' and `Varsity Brite Scarlet'. Root n' Shoot drench (0.78%) solutions at transplant increased root weight, but a 1.56% solution decreased root weight of Salvia, although shoot growth was unaffected. Root n' Shoot decreased shoot growth of Begonia, but did not affect root growth. Roots 2 treatments (0.25% or 2.00%) increased shoot weight of Salvia, but did not affect the root growth of Salvia or the root or shoot growth of Begonia. Spraying Grow-plex (0.78% or 1.56%) to runoff at transplanting and 2 weeks after transplanting did not affect root or shoot growth of Salvia or Begonia.
Pelargonium×hortorum L.H. Bailey `Scarlet Elite' seedlings were grown in plugs from seed to transplant size. About 14 days before attaining transplant size, seedlings were exposed to various fertility or temperature regimes (preconditioning treatments), then stored for 1 to 3 weeks at 5C. Seedlings receiving 150 mg N/liter before storage flowered sooner and required less crop time (days to flower – days in storage) than those receiving 0, 75, or 300 mg. Temperature preconditioning at 10 or 15C delayed flowering compared to preconditioning at 20C. Final plant height and dry weight were not adversely affected by varying N levels or temperature during preconditioning. Preconditioning seedlings with 300 mg N/liter resulted in seedling mortality rates up to 16% after 7 days' storage. Low temperature or fertility were not effective preconditioning treatments. Best results were attained by preconditioning seedlings with 150 mg N/liter.
Rhizomes of Oxalis adenophylla Gillies and bulbs of Ipheion uniflorum Raf. were planted and wet- or dry-stored at 5 °C for 0, 6, 10, 14, or 18 weeks, before being placed in a greenhouse. Regardless of moisture regime, foliage emergence and time to flower decreased for both species with increasing duration of cooling. Wet-stored bulbs/rhizomes within a cooling treatment required less time to foliage and flower emergence when compared with the corresponding dry-storage period. About 10 weeks of 5 °C was optimum for both species.
Gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides Duby) rhizomes were cooled for 10 weeks at 4 ± 1 °C prior to greenhouse forcing in continuous long days (LD); continuous short days (SD); 4, 6, 8, or 10 weeks of SD followed by LD until anthesis; and 4, 6, 8, or 10 weeks of LD followed by SD. None of the plants grown in continuous SD flowered, and fewer than 30% of plants flowered when grown in 4, 6, or 8 weeks of LD followed by SD for 21 to 25 weeks. At least 10 weeks of LD prior to SD were required to obtain 70% flowering. Plants receiving continuous LD or 4, 6, or 8 weeks of SD followed by LD flowered in the highest percentages (85% to 90%), but only 10% of plants receiving 10 weeks of SD followed by LD flowered. The number of greenhouse days required for visible bud formation and anthesis increased linearly as initial SD exposure increased, but the number of racemes produced by flowering plants was not affected. Plant height was greatest in continuous LD, and decreased linearly as initial SD exposure prior to LD increased from 0 to 10 weeks. Plants grown in continuous SD remained vegetative rosettes throughout the experiment, and their height increased linearly as initial LD prior to SD increased from 0 (continuous SD) to 10 weeks. These results demonstrate that supplemental LD lighting can promote growth and flowering in this species and that lighting can be discontinued 3 weeks before harvest of cut flower crops.
Five cultivars of the Angel Mist series of Angelonia angustifolia L. were evaluated in the Univ. of Georgia New Crop Program to determine the influence of temperature, irradiance, and photoperiod on crop growth and flowering. When the temperature was increased from 15 to 30 °C, days to visible bud and days to flower significantly decreased while height of flowers, vegetative height, and total height significantly increased. As irradiance increased, plant growth increased but little influence on flowering time was observed. Angelonia angustifolia appears to be a day-neutral plant with respect to flowering. The influence on growth regulators will also be discussed.