Herbaceous perennials are one of the fastest growing ornamental sectors in the United States. Current production recommendations do not address the effect of environmental factors, such as high temperature, on growth of herbaceous perennials. The focus of this research was to determine how supra-optimal temperatures effect growth and photosynthesis. Plants were exposed to a high temperature of 35 °C and photosynthesis measurements were recorded over a 6-week period at 1100, 1300, and 1500 hr. Results indicate that the time of day the measurements were taken made little difference on rate of photosynthesis and that there was a similar trend in photosynthetic rate over the 6-week period. Photosynthesis decreased as the plants began to flower and then increased until the onset of flower senescence. Plants grown at supraoptimal and optimal conditions had a similar trend and rate of photosynthesis throughout the 6-week period. Plant growth significantly decreased as the duration of high temperature increased for both species; however, Gaillardia was more heat tolerant then Coreopsis.
Gamete selection was examined as a breeding tool in developing Phalaenopsis hybrids that are more extreme temperature tolerant. Four pairs of hybrid cultivars were cross-pollinated, and then exposed to two temperature extremes, 30 °C/25 °C and 14 °C/9 °C, during initial pollen tube growth. One of each pollinated orchid cultivar was placed in either of two growth chambers and exposed to an 11-hour photoperiod with an irradiance of 180 mmol·m-2·s-1 and a relative humidity of 70% for 3–7 days. The capsules were collected after 150 days. Protocorm development was evaluated after 73 days on a thermogradient table ranging from 10 to 30 °C. For cold-pollinated seeds, protocorm development was optimum at 22 and 28 °C (means of 290 and 250 protocorms per plate, respectively), whereas the greatest protocorm development for warm-pollinated seeds occurred at 20 °C (103 protocorms/plate). Protocorms were evaluated for leaf and root formation 125 days after initial plating. Transfer to warm or cold incubators occurred as seedlings matured. One year after the initial plating, seedlings were evaluated on the following criteria: weight, number of leaves, leaf width, leaf length, leaf area, number of roots, and root length. The pollination treatment significantly affected the number of roots per seedling, whereas table position during germination significantly affected weight. The weight, number of leaves, and average root length were significantly affected by the pollination treatment and incubator interaction. The interaction between pollination treatment and table position significantly affected weight, number of roots, and average root length. Additional replication is required to confirm the greater germinability of cold-pollinated seed at higher temperatures.
The demand for new and/or improved herbaceous annuals and perennials continues to increase, making information on production and viability of these plants a necessity. In Louisiana and the Southern U.S., one of the greatest impediments to production of marketable herbaceous plants and their longevity is high temperature. Herbaceous plants have various stages of vegetative growth and flowering; high temperatures during these developmental stages can have a tremendous impact on plant metabolism, and thus plant growth and development. The goal of this research was to better understand the differences between heat tolerant (HT) and heat sensitive (HS) species and cultivars at various high temperatures in terms of whole plant growth, flowering, photosynthesis, carbohydrate content, electrolyte leakage, chlorophyll content and plant small heat shock proteins (HSP) expression levels. Salvia splendens Vista Series (HT), Sizzler series (HS); Viola witrokiana `Crystal Bowl Purple' (HT), `Majestic Giant Red Blotch' (HS), F1 Nature Series (HT) and F1 Iona Series (HS); Gaillardia × grandiflora `Goblin' (HT) and Coreopsis grandiflora `Early Sunrise' (HS) were grown from seed in growth chambers under 25/18 °C (day/night) cycles. Plants at 4, 6, and 8 weeks after germination were subjected to different high temperature treatments of 25 (control), 30, 35, 40, and 45 °C for 3 h. Results show that there was a significant difference in net photosynthesis, electrolyte leakage, soluble carbohydrate content and HSP levels between HT and HS cultivars. Effects of high temperature on plant growth, chlorophyll content, and number of days to flower, flower size, and marketable quality were also significantly different.
`Early Calwonder' pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and `Jubilee' corn (Zea mays L.) leaf disks exposed to high temperature stress produced ethylene, ethane, methanol, acetaldehyde, and ethanol based on comparison of retention times during gas chromatography to authentic standards. Methanol, ethanol, and acetaldehyde were also identified by mass spectroscopy. Corn leaf disks produced lower levels of ethylene, ethane, and methanol, but more acetaldehyde and ethanol than pepper. Production of ethane, a by-product of lipid peroxidation, coincided with an increase in electrolyte leakage (EL) in pepper but not in corn. Compared with controls, pepper leaf disks infiltrated with linolenic acid evolved significantly greater amounts of ethane, acetaldehyde, and methanol and similar levels of ethanol. EL and volatile hydrocarbon production were not affected by fatty acid infiltration in corn. Infiltration of pepper leaves with buffers increasing in pH from 5.5 to 9.5 increased methanol production.
Roots of hydroponically grown Hibiscus Rosa-sinesis L. cuttings were exposed to 22, 30, 40, or 50C for 20 minutes, after which they were inoculated with zoospores of Phytophthora parasitica Dastur. Visual assessment of root discoloration and culturing of randomly selected root pieces 10 to 13 days after treatment showed that roots exposed to 40 or 50C had a significantly higher incidence of infection than those exposed to 20 or 30C. Plants were also grown in pots containing University of California (UC) mix or washed, graded sand and exposed to solar radiation for 1 day or 3 weeks, respectively. Root systems of plants in direct sunlight heated to 52C, while roots of shaded plants heated to 40C. Assessment of infection severity was done visually or by means of a Phytophthora-specific antibody probe. In all experiments, infection severity was highest in sun-exposed plants and was insignificant to moderate in shaded plants.
Black polyethylene mulch is preferred for producing early spring tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) because of its warming effect on the soil around the roots. However, using the same mulch for double-cropping cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) with tomatoes is considered by some growers to be undesirable because of the belief that heat accumulation under the mulch in midsummer or early fall is detrimental to cucumber yield. Eight studies were conducted from July to September in 1994, 1995, and 1996 to determine the effects of mulching spring tomatoes with black vs. white polyethylene mulch on the growth and yield of subsequent cucumber crops. Soil temperature recorded after planting cucumbers ≈4:00 pm for 3 weeks was higher under black mulch than under white mulch. Color of the mulch did not affect leaf length, leaf width, and plant dry weight of cucumbers in six of the eight studies. Cucumbers grown on black mulch produced longer leaves in one study and wider leaves in two studies, and plant dry weight was lower in two studies. Mulch color had no significant effect on the premium or total yields of cucumbers in all but one study. Cucumbers grown on black mulch produced lower percentages of culls in two studies.
Gamete selection was examined as a breeding tool in developing Phalaenopsis hybrids that are more cool or warm temperature tolerant. Four pairs of hybrid cultivars of Phalaenopsis were cross-pollinated, and then exposed to two temperature extremes, 30 °C / 25 °C and 14 °C/9 °C, during pollen tube development and subsequent fertilization. One of each pollinated orchid cultivar was placed in either of two growth chambers and exposed to an 11-h photoperiod with an irradiance of 180 μmol·m-2·s-1 and a relative humidity of 70% during the day and 50% at night for 3-7 days depending on the temperature treatment. The plants were returned to the greenhouse after the initiation of fruit set and the pods were collected after 150 days. Seeds collected from these treatments were surface-sterilized, placed on Phytamax medium and evaluated for protocorm development after 73 days on a thermogradient table ranging from 10 to 30 °C. For the first family for which reciprocal crosses were available, the number of protocorms per plate ranged from 0 in the coldest treatments to 290 at 28 °C. For cold pollinated seeds, protocorm development was optimum at 22 and 28 °C (means of 290 and 250 protocorms per plate, respectively) whereas the greatest protocorm development for warm pollinated seeds occurred at 20 °C (103 protocorms per plate). Of the 1471 total protocorms scored, 1095 were from cold pollinations, whereas 376 were from the warm pollinations. Additional replication is required to confirm the greater germinability of cold-pollinated seed at higher temperatures.
Exposure of stratified apple (Malus domestics Borkh. cv. Golden Delicious) seeds to 30C induces secondary dormancy. To determine if an increase in abscisic acid (ABA) content was associated with the loss in germination capacity, stratified seeds (3,- 6, or 9 weeks at 5C) were held at 30C for 0, 3, or 6 days. Stratification at 5C either had no effect or increased ABA content in embryonic axes, cotyledons, and seed coats. Exposure to 30C after stratification either did not affect or decreased ABA content of embryonic axes and seed coats; in contrast, cotyledonary ABA was increased. Seed coats, cotyledons, and embryonic axes stratified for 3, 6, or 9 weeks at 20C contained the same or higher levels of ABA in comparison with nonstratified seeds or seeds stratified at SC. Changes in ABA levels were not consistently correlated with changes in germination capacity during stratification or after exposure to 30C. These data suggest that changes in ABA are not related to changes in dormancy. Chemical names used: abscisic acid (ABA); butylated hydroxy-toluene (BHT); n-(trichloromethyl) thio-4-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboximide(Captan).
Ethylene production in stem tissues of red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea L.) following heat treatment was determined at several growth stages. Ethylene production of heat-stressed stem tissue depended on the stage of development and was a function of the degree of stress. During active growth and early endodormancy, heat stress of stem tissues stimulated ethylene production, reaching a peak at 40C, followed by a steady decrease at higher temperatures. Highest ethylene levels from stressed tissues occurred in May, July, September, and March. Only a trace amount of ethylene was produced during endodormancy to ecodormancy (late October to January) from stressed and nonstressed stem tissues. Applying ACC to stem segments at late endodormancy (December) or applying methionine and IAA to stem segments at maximum endodormancy (November) enhanced ethylene production of both nonstressed and heat-stressed stem tissues. Chemical names used: 1 H- indole-3-acetic acid (IAA); 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC).
Mature-green tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit, when kept for 3 days at 36, 38, or 40C before being kept at 2C for 3 weeks, did not develop chilling injury, while unheated fruit placed at 2C immediately after harvest did. When removed from 2 to 20C, the heated tomatoes had lower levels of K+ leakage and a higher phospholipid content than unheated fruit. Sterol levels were similar in heated and unheated fruit while malonaldehyde concentration was higher in heated fruit at transfer to 20C. The unheated tomatoes remained green, and brown areas developed under the peel; their rate of CO2 evolution was high and decreased sharply, while ethylene evolution was low and increased at 20C. In contrast, the heat-treated tomatoes ripened normally although more slowly than freshly harvested tomatoes: color developed normally, chlorophyll disappeared, and lycopene content increased, CO2, and ethylene evolution increased to a climacteric peak and K+ leakage increased with time. During prestorage heating, heat-stress ethylene production was inhibited, protein synthesis was depressed, and heat-shock proteins accumulated. There appears to be a relationship between the “heat shock response” and the protection of tomato fruit from low-temperature injury.