Flowering responses of Heliconia psittacorum L.f. × H. spathocircinata Aristeguieta `Golden Torch' to temperature and photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) were determined in controlled-environment conditions using a 2 × 2 factorial combination of temperature (32C day/20C night and 24C day/20C night) and PPF (475 and 710 μmol·m–2·s–1). Temperature had no significant effect on new shoot production, with an average of 9.3 shoots per plant being produced over the 248 days of treatment. More shoots, however, were produced at the higher PPF level (10.1 compared with 8.3 shoots). The proportion of shoots that initiated flowers (85%) was similar in all treatments. The duration from shoot until inflorescence emergence was significantly less at 32C day/20C night than at 24C day/20C night (140 and 146 days, respectively) and was unaffected by PPF. This duration also was significantly affected by the interacting effects of order of shoot appearance and the number of leaves subtending the inflorescence. The second shoots to emerge had the shortest duration from shoot emergence to inflorescence emergence. The number of leaves subtending the inflorescence increased at the higher temperature and decreased as shoot order increased but was unaffected by PPF. Temperature and PPF levels influenced total leaf area at flowering, with highest areas being achieved in the high temperature–low PPF combination. Acceptable flower quality with at least two, opened, well-formed, well-colored bracts was obtained in all treatments, although flower stems were taller and thicker at 32C day/20C night and these dimensions increased further with increasing order of shoot appearance. Stem diameters tended to be thinner at the lower PPF level. Overall, temperature was more dominant than light in influencing production and quality of flowers, but developmental factors associated with the order of shoot appearance also played a significant role. Flower production of `Golden Torch' should be feasible in temperature-controlled glasshouses in temperate regions where mean air temperatures can be maintained at ≈20C.
Floriculture is growing at a frenetic pace in India. From a few units in 1990, nearly hundred units are either fully operational or at various stages of implementation. Almost seventy of these produce rose for the cut flower export market. The average unit size is two hectare under poly-cover. Anthurium, carnation, chrysanthemum, orchids and gerbera comprise the other cut flower producing units. Technology has come mostly from Holland, with Israel now giving severe competition to the Dutch. Germany, France, United Kingdom, and New Zealand are the other countries involved in technology transfer. Many units have the fan and pad system for temperature control along with drip irrigation and computer mediated operations. Most units use natural soil as the medium of growth whereas some have a combination of sand and natural soil and a few have adopted complete sand bed culture as practiced by Israeli growers. These hybrid as well as the state-of-the-art floriculture technologies are competing for the Indian market and the next few years will determine the system that is most suitable for adoption under local conditions. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a wing of the Commerce Ministry of the Government of India, and the National Horticulture Board have indeed provided substantial support for the growth of Indian floriculture Industry. Meanwhile, more and more entrepreneurs are, on their own, setting up cold storages and operating cold trucks near major airports to maintain appropriate temperatures from harvest to destination. It is widely expected that more than 50% of the existing floriculture units will make good whereas the remaining may not survive either due to sourcing of unsuitable technologies or lack of expertise in floriculture production and management as well as international marketing prowess. There is also consensus that no single foreign technology giver is capable of meeting adequately the total needs in the Indian context and often it is a matter of the collaborators learning together. What seems certain is that India will, by the year 2000, be a major player in international floriculture because of the diverse agroclimatically suitable locations, lower labor cost, and talented human resource.
Shipment to the U.S. Cut alstroemeria, carnation, gerbera, and rose were transported via commercial carriers from Bogotá, Colombia, to the U.S. on a monthly basis for 1 year using a 7-day conventional distribution system with temperature controls and 3-day
responses of nutrient accumulation, as discussed subsequently. Fig. 1. Cellular membrane stability, expressed as percentage of electrolyte leakage (EL), in kentucky bluegrass ( A ) and bermudagrass ( B ) under optimal temperature (control) and heat
Controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) use is a best management practice that may reduce nitrogen (N) loss to the environment. Several factors affect CRF nutrient release; therefore, including CRF in a fertilization program may have challenges. Thus, the study objective was to evaluate the effects of CRF N rate, source, release duration, and placement on seepage-irrigated marketable tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) yield, leaf tissue N (LTN) concentration, post-season soil N content, and postharvest fruit firmness and color. There were two soluble fertilizer (SF) controls [University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (UF/IFAS) (224 kg·ha−1) and grower standard (280 kg·ha−1)] and six and seven CRF treatments (alone or in combination with SF) in Fall 2011 and 2012, respectively. Cumulative rainfall totaled 31.4 and 37.4 cm during the 2011 and 2012 seasons with average air temperatures of 22.4 and 22.1 °C, respectively. Soil temperatures ranged from 14.2 to 40.6 °C in 2011 and 11.1 to 36.6 °C in 2012 with a strong correlation (r = 0.95) to air temperature. Controlled-release urea resulted in 7.5% to 17.9% plant mortality in 2011 and reduced yields in 2012 compared with CRF N–phosphorus–potassium (NPK) at a similar N rate. LTN concentrations were above or within the sufficiency range for all treatments. In 2011, using CRF-urea at 190 kg·ha−1 N produced similar marketable tomato yield in all fruit categories except season total large tomatoes, which produced significantly fewer marketable tomatoes with 13.5 Mg·ha−1 compared with UF/IFAS and grower standard with 17.9 and 14.2 Mg·ha−1, respectively. In 2012, CRF-NPK (168 kg·ha−1 N) significantly reduced first and second harvest combined large and season total large and total marketable yields compared with the UF/IFAS rate and grower standard treatments. Marketable yield was not significantly affected by CRF (urea or NPK) release duration, but CRF-NPK 180-day release duration significantly increased residual soil N in 2012 compared with CRF-NPK 120-day release with 74.2 and 34.3 kg·ha−1 N, respectively. Rototilling CRF-urea into the bed, which was only evaluated in 2011, significantly increased total season yields compared with CRF-urea broadcast in row before bedding (BIR) with 43.0 and 46.5 Mg·ha−1, respectively. There were no significant yield differences when 50% or 75% of the total N was CRF placed in the hybrid fertilizer system, which is a system with CRF placed BIR with the remaining N as SF-N banded on the bed shoulders. No significant differences among treatments were found for total residual soil N in 2011; however, higher soil N remained in CRF (NPK and urea) treatments compared with SF treatments in 2012, except for Treatment 9. No significant differences were found among treatments for fruit firmness or color in 2011 or 2012. CRF-NPK at 190 to 224 kg·ha−1 N with a 120-day release may be recommended as a result of similar or greater first harvest and total season marketable yields compared with IFAS-recommended rates and low residual soil N. Further research must be conducted to explore CRF placement and percentage urea composition, although use of the hybrid system or rototilling may be recommended.
handles a biologic, physical, or environmental control task. Next to a component for dynamic temperature control, other climatic control components for, e.g., pests ( Jakobsen et al., 2005 ), diseases ( Körner and Holst, 2005 ), or supplementary
followed, the proper healing chamber is critical to ensure that complete union has formed. With the case of the tongue approach grafting, this means only an adequate greenhouse with temperatures controls. However, for the other three methods described, a
; altitude 1 200 m.a.s.l). A temperature-controlled plastic tunnel was used equipped with a pad and fan (2 × 1.1-kW fans, 1300 mm in diameter) cooling system. Ambient temperature in the tunnel during 2011–12 and 2012–13 ranged from 13 to 35 °C and 11.6 to 36
fertigation while applying foliar fertilizer on mini-cucumber grown in sawdust growing medium. Materials and Methods Trial location. The experiment was carried out during Nov. 2014 to Mar. 2015 (Summer/Autumn season) in a non-temperature controlled plastic
temperature-controlled chamber set at 29 °C. After 48 h, the seeds were moved to the greenhouse. Seeding was performed 12 d before grafting. Seedlings were subirrigated with water as needed and once with the same nutrient solution before grafting. In addition