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Ornamental gingers are popular cut flowers and have been promoted as a promising potted flower crop because of unique foliage, long-lasting colorful bracts, and few pest problems. Rhizomes are the primary means of propagation in late spring followed by shoot growth and flowering, and plants enter dormancy under short days in the fall. Termination of dormancy is important for greenhouse forcing and extending the growing season. Dormancy of storage organs can be terminated prematurely by temperature. Rhizomes of three ginger species (Curcuma alismatifolia Gagnep., C. cordata L., and Globba winittii C.H. Wright) were stored for 0,1, or 2 weeks at 10 or 15 °C followed by 0,1, or 2 weeks at 25, 30, or 35 °C to determine the effect on growth and flowering. Upon completion of treatment application, rhizomes were planted in a peat moss: bark: perlite mix and placed in a greenhouse with 25 °C day/21 °C night temperatures with 40% shade. Rhizome cold storage in combination with hot storage affected growth and development of ornamental gingers. Days to emergence (DTE) and days to flower (DTF) for Globba were hastened when rhizomes were stored for 3 weeks at 15 °C followed by 3 weeks at 30 °C. For C. alismatifolia, DTE and DTF were hastened when rhizomes were stored for 3 weeks at 10 °C followed by 3 weeks at 30 °C. For C. cordata, DTE and DTF were hastened with rhizome storage of 2 weeks at 10 °C followed by 3 weeks at 35 °C.
Ornamental gingers are popular cut flowers and have been promoted as a promising potted flower crop because of unique foliage, long-lasting colorful bracts, and few pest problems. Rhizomes are the primary means of propagation in late spring followed by shoot growth and flowering, and plants enter dormancy under short days in the fall. Termination of dormancy is important for greenhouse forcing and extending the growing season. Manipulation of rhizome storage to satisfy dormancy requires investigation into the storage environment. It appears that controlling growth, development and flowering in geophytic plants is dependent on reserve accumulation, mobilization, and redistribution. Rhizomes of four ginger species (Curcuma alismatifolia Gagnep., C. roscoeana Wallich, Globba winittii C.H. Wright, and Kaempferia galanga L.) were stored for 0 to 16 weeks at 15, 20, or 25 °C to determine the effect on growth, flowering, respiration rates, and carbohydrate content. Upon completion of treatment application, rhizomes were planted in a peat moss:bark:perlite mix and placed in a greenhouse with 25 °C day/21 °C night temperatures with 40% shade. The production time, days to emergence (DTE) and days to flower (DTF), was reduced with an increase in storage temperature and duration for all species. DTE and DTF for Globba and Kaempferia were hastened when rhizomes were stored for 16 weeks at 25 °C. For C. alismatifolia, DTE and DTF were hastened when rhizomes were stored at 25 °C for at least 10 weeks. For C. roscoeana, storage at 25 °C for 14 or 16 weeks was found to hasten emergence. The response of respiration and carbohydrate concentration was not consistent with rhizome and plant growth responses.