Search Results
Abstract
Cycocel applied as a 5000 ppm soil drench 31 days after sowing reduced height 8 to 10 cm and caused 8 to 16 days earlier flowering of F1 geranium ‘Carefree Scarlet’ when compared with plants which had not been treated with Cycocel. Manually irrigated plants were shorter, flowered earlier, and were more compact, as measured by fresh weight, than automatically irrigated plants for this Cycocel treatment. Pinched plants were short and well branched but so much delayed in flowering that this method of height reduction would not be acceptable for commercial use.
Abstract
Root loss, interveinal chlorosis, wilting, and reduced growth were typical symptoms of carnations grown in a soil mixture steamed at 100°C and to which a high ratio of NH4 + to NO3 --N in the fertilizer was applied. These symptoms were less apparent and growth was greater in 100°C-treated soil with high NO3 -N and in 71°- or 60°C-treated soil with high NH4 +-N. No symptoms were apparent on plants grown in soil steamed at 71° and 60°C and treated with high NO3 - fertilizer.
Decreases in growth and visual symptoms were associated with high soil concn of soluble and exchangeable Mn or with high concn of NH4 + and NO2 -- N. The primary cause of post steaming injury is believed to be due to excesses of NH4 + and NO2 - rather than Mn. However, Mn appeared to be involved directly in the accumulation of NH4 + and NO2 - in the soil.
Abstract
‘Enchantment’, ‘Prosperity’, ‘Harmony’, and ‘Hornback's Gold’ were the hybrid garden-type lilies most adaptable for pot plant use. With 6 or 8 weeks of post-plant-storage, a growth retardant was not required to obtain a final plant height between 30 and 50 cm. With 10 or 13 weeks of post-plant-storage at 0°C, ancymidol [N,N,N-2 tetramethyl-5-(1-methyl-ethyl)-4-[(1-piperidinylcarbonyl)oxy]-benzenamonium chloride] as a 0.5 mg a.i. (.0264% active ingredient) drench applied at shoot emergence or as a 100-ppm spray applied when shoots were 7.5 cm long, effectively reduced height and improved appearance.
The final plant heights of ‘Rainbow Hybrid’, ‘Sutter's Gold’ and ‘Pastel Hybrid’ were maintained between 30 and 50 cm with a 0.5 mg ancymidol drench. However, these cultivars were not as promising for pot plants because of narrow and short leaves and necrosis of lower foliage which detracted from their general appearance. The concentration of ancymidol used did not reduce sufficiently the final plant height of ‘Challenger’. Cost of the bulbs may be a factor when considering the use of cultivars such as ‘Challenger’ and ‘Pepper’ for use as pot plants.
Abstract
Root-zone heating increased the tissue concentration and total uptake of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Cl, Fe, MnZn, and Cu; decreased the tissue concentration but not total uptake of Na and Zn, and had no effect on the tissue concentration of B. The element with the greatest increase in concentration in the shoot was water-soluble NO3-N. The ratio of cations to anions did not change significantly with changes in root-zone temperature. The concentration and balance of cations did not change significantly with changes in percentage of NH4-N at ambient root-zone temperatures.
Abstract
A crop of Calceolaria herbeohybrida Voss, was grown from December 1979 through March 1980 using a 16-week production schedule and nightbreak lighting to accelerate flowering. A second crop was grown from March through June 1980 without lighting. Root-zone heating of 20° to 22°C increased shoot fresh and dry weights and flower number but had no effect on days to anthesis. Plants at ambient (10° to 12°) root-zone temperature were of poor quality and underdeveloped; while plants with root-zone heating were well-developed with an adequate number of flowers. Root-zone heating was less effective for the March to June crop.
Abstract
The effect of root-zone temperature on young tomato plants (Ly copersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Heinz 1350) was evaluated in controlled environments using a recirculating solution culture system. Growth rates were measured at root-zone temperatures of 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30°C in a near optimum foliar environment. Optimum growth occurred at 25° to 30° during the first 4 weeks of growth and 20° to 25° during the 5th and 6th weeks. Growth was severely restricted at 15°. Four concentrations of gibberellic acid (GA3) and kinetin were added to the nutrient solution in a separate trial; root-zone temperature was maintained at 15° and 25°. Addition of 15 μm GA3 to solutions increased specific leaf area, total leaf area, and dry weight production of plants in both temperature treatments. GA3-induced growth stimulation was greater at 15° than at 25°. GA3 may promote growth by increasing leaf area, enhancing photosynthesis per unit leaf area, or both. Kinetin was not useful in promoting growth at either temperature.
Abstract
An instrument that actuates an irrigation system in response to a weight loss from a pot-soil-plant system, is described. The instrument utilizes the principle that the pot-soil-plant system can act as an integrator of all factors influencing water uptake and loss. The instrument is essentially a scale which continuously weighs the pot-soil-plant system placed upon it. Provisions are included in the design to compensate for gains in weight as the plant grows.
`Celebrate 2' Poinsettias were grown for 8 weeks in a controlled-environment growth room until first signs of bract coloration. In growth stage I (GSI; weeks 1 through 4) low, medium, and high N rates (25, 75, and 125 mg N/liter, respectively) were applied by subirrigation (no leaching). Following floral induction [growth stage II (GSII), weeks 5 to 8], there were nine treatments: all possible combinations of the three N rates in GSI plus three rates (75, 125, and 175 mg N/liter) in GSII. Although >80% of shoot dry weight and >90% of total leaf area developed during growth GSII, reaching an acceptable plant size by week 8 depended on receiving adequate fertilization in growth GSI. In contrast, leaf chlorosis, noted in plants receiving the lowest rate in GSI, was rapidly reversed by increasing the N rate in GSII. Quadratic regression equations fitted to shoot dry weight and leaf area data predicted that using 125 mg N/liter in both growth stages gave maximum responses at week 8. However, using 75 mg N/liter in GSI and 125 mg N/liter in GSII also produced acceptable growth in poinsettias. Our results suggest that some growth restriction imposed by N availability during the first 4 weeks of growth may be acceptable and perhaps desirable to reduce growth regulator use and the environmental impact of overfertilization.
Information storage technologies are changing, so this project is focused on the future and the use of new videodisc technology. A model plant science inquiry-learning tool was developed for vocational agriculture students using advanced video and computer technology. The interactive videodisc lesson, which focuses on plant identification, was designed to increase learning and allow teachers to spend more time with students.
Abstract
The effectiveness of applying a growth retardant gradually in the irrigation water over an extended portion of the crop cycle was investigated. Cycocel can be applied effectively in this manner and control of plant height is comparable to that produced by a single drench application.