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Kalanchoe blossfeldiana transformed with Agrobacterium rhizogenes exhibited marked alterations in morphology and biomass distribution. Plants termed root-inducing (Ri) lines were regenerated from hairy roots produced by inoculating leaf explants with Agrobacterium rhizogenes wild-type strain ATCC15834. Six Ri lines were characterized in a greenhouse trial and all Ri lines had reduced dry weights of main shoot, lateral shoots, leaves, and flowers compared with control plants. The reduction in dry weights of these organs correlated with reduced plant height, shoot length, leaf area, and number of flowers per plant. Furthermore, an altered distribution of dry matter was evident in the Ri plants, where the greater part of dry matter was allocated into leaves and secondly into flowers, whereas the majority of dry matter in control plants was allocated into flowers and secondly into leaves. Furthermore, a higher percentage of dry matter was allocated into the main shoot of the Ri lines in comparison with that of control plants. Increased dry matter in leaves and in the main shoot in the Ri lines appeared to be at the expense of dry matter allocated into flowers. Moreover, an increased number of vegetative lateral shoots was recorded in the Ri lines, whereas the number of reproductive lateral shoots was decreased. Possible mechanisms behind the altered resource distribution are discussed.

Gerbera hybrida is an ornamental plant of great commercial interest, which is primarily propagated by seeds. We investigated whether increasing fertilizer concentrations during seed set enhanced plant biomass, number of flower heads, seed set, and seed weight. Furthermore, we studied whether an additional foliar calcium application influenced the same parameters. Subsequently, the effect of the various treatments on the germination of the obtained seeds was explored. Two identical experiments (A and B) were carried out with five concentrations of nutrient solutions corresponding to an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.25 mS·cm⁻¹, 2.50 mS·cm⁻¹, 3.75 mS·cm⁻¹, 5.00 mS·cm⁻¹, and 6.25 mS·cm⁻¹. Additionally, plants were sprayed with a 0.5% foliar-applied calcium solution or deionized water (control) three times during the experimental period. In Expt. A, the concentration of fertilizer significantly affected seed production. Number of flower heads and seed weight were not influenced by the dose of fertilizer, but plant biomass and number of seeds were significantly reduced at the highest concentration (6.25 mS·cm⁻¹). In Expt. B, the fertilizer concentration did not affect number of flower heads and seed number, but seed weight and plant biomass were significantly reduced at the highest fertilizer concentration. In both experiments, the seeds germinated slower and less seeds germinated when plants had received the largest amount of fertilizer (6.25 mS·cm⁻¹). In none of the experiments did applied calcium affect the number of flowers, seed production, seed weight, or the total biomass. Our data indicate that seed producers of G. hybrida should not apply standard fertilizer in a concentration higher than corresponding to an EC of ≈1.25 mS·cm⁻¹. It would have been valuable if we also had included a treatment with a lower EC value like 0.75 mS·cm⁻¹ to improve the estimate of the optimal EC level from a curved function for the seed production and quality parameters.

The study presented in this article represents an initial attempt to generate in-depth information about how ornamental plants in real-life office workplaces interact with workplace characteristics, thus influencing working environment and well-being of the employees. Using a qualitative, explorative, and inductive case-study design, the study provides an example of how a cross-disciplinary unit engaged in administrative office work at a Danish institution applied ornamental plants. The results document that ornamental plants are an integrated part of the workplace. The employees used ornamental plants in numerous ways to either actively manipulate different aspects of the surroundings or more passively cope with demands from the surroundings. Furthermore, the use of the ornamental plants was structured by a number of factors: culture and traditions, provisional orders, organizational structures, practices, values and history, company policies, and characteristics of the indoor architectural environment. Ornamental plants were perceived as affecting many aspects of the working environment (e.g., the physical surroundings, the social climate, image of the workplace, etc.), the individual's well-being (e.g., mood, general well-being, emotions, self confidence, etc.), and to some degree the workplace's competitiveness. However, the actual effects were the results of a complex interaction among the way the ornamental plants were applied, characteristics of the present ornamental plants (e.g., size, species and condition), and characteristics of the individual employee (e.g., personal experiences, preferences, and values).

Kalanchoë is an economically important genus comprising numerous potted plants and recently is also emerging as cut flowers. However, the lack of information about flower-inducing factors limits the number of species that can be used in commercial production and breeding programs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exogenous application of gibberellic acid (GA₃) on flower induction and flowering quality of Kalanchoë longiflora and Kalanchoë pinnata. The experiment was conducted under a short day (SD) photoperiod with a day temperature of 22 °C and a night temperature of 15 °C for 8 weeks. The treatments consisted of four applications of either 0.25 or 0.50 μg of GA₃ per plant per week, providing a total of 100 μg or 200 μg/plant and 0 μg/plant for the control. The volume of 100 μL of GA₃ solution containing 1% agarose was applied to the shoot apex using a pipette. For both species, flowering was enhanced by the GA₃ treatments compared with the control plants. Gibberellin-treated plants flowered earlier, produced more inflorescences, and exhibited an increased number of flowers compared with the control plants. Moreover, the GA₃ treatments in K. longiflora delayed the appearance of wilted flowers. Plant height increased in plants that received GA₃, but the number of nodes did not differ from the control plants. Thus, we conclude that the application of GA₃ improves flowering of Kalanchoë species and can be a useful tool for the production of cut flower cultivars.