78 ORAL SESSION 13 (Abstr. 084–091) Stress–Cold Temperatures
patterns. The most important weather factor for cool-season vegetable crops in Ontario was the number of days during the growing season with temperatures that exceeded 30 °C. Yields decreased as the number of hot days increased ( Warland et al., 2006
In response to rising energy costs over the past several years, greenhouse growers have implemented a variety of strategies to reduce costs, including lowering their air temperature set points, increasing insulation, starting production later in the
High-value vegetable crops such as eggplant, tomato, and watermelon are grafted to increase vigor, yield, tolerance to salinity and temperature extremes, and disease resistance ( Lee, 1994 , 2003, 2007; Paroussi et al., 2007 ; Rivard and Louws
The effects of storage temperature and shoot preparation of elephant ears (Colocasia antiquorum `Illustris') were examined to determine how to successfully store plants prior to greenhouse forcing. A series of experiments were conducted that provided storage temperatures of 4, 7, 10, 13, or 16 °C (39.2, 44.6, 50.0, 55.4, or 60.8 °F), and plants were placed into storage with the shoots uncut or cut to 3.0 cm (1.18 inches) above the surface of the growing medium. The storage duration ranged from 40 to 49 days. All plants stored at 4 or 7 °C died. Plant survival was 89% to 100% at 10 °C, while plant survival was 100% at 13 or 16 °C. Shoot emergence and plant growth was faster following storage at 13 and 16 °C, than storage at 10 °C. Storage at 16 °C resulted in leaf growth occurring during storage, which was undesirable. Removing shoots prior to storage had no effect on plant survival and performance during forcing. A fungicide drench with iprodione immediately prior to storage did not improve plant survival. This study suggests that 13 °C is near the base temperature for leaf development of elephant ears, thus the plants survive at this temperature with no growth occurring. Shoot removal prior to storage is recommended in order to optimize storage room space.
Temperature management has emerged as an important tool for plant height control in greenhouse production systems. This is particularly important in vegetable transplant production where chemical controls for plant height are limited or not legal. Plant height is a function of the number of nodes and the length of each internode, and both are strongly influenced by greenhouse temperatures. Node number, or formation rate, is primarily a function of the average greenhouse temperature, increasing as the average temperature increases. Internode length is strongly influenced by the relationship between the day and night temperature, commonly referred to as DIF (day temperature - night temperature). As DIF increases, so does internode length in most plant species studied. Although the nature and magnitude of temperature effects vary with species, cultivar, and environmental conditions, these two basic responses can be used to modify transplant growth. Although data are limited, controlling transplant height with temperature does not appear to adversely influence plant establishment or subsequent yield.
51 ORAL SESSION 14 (Abstr. 095-101) Floriculture: Light/Temperature
Abbreviations: ADT, average daily temperature; DIF, DT - NT; DIBE, days from pinching to day internode started to elongate; DT, day temperature; N, total number of internodes below inflorescence; NT, night temperature; VB, date of first visible bud
temperatures required to manufacture rockwool render it biologically inert and, therefore, free from potential weeds, pests, and diseases that might normally hinder germination. This manufacturing process also renders a very consistent substrate that possesses
`Katahdin' potato plants were grown under conditions that did not induce tuberization (noninducing conditions) and the foliage was sprayed with either a growth retardant (BAS-111) at 1000 mg·L-1 or distilled water. Other plants, grown under tuber-inducing conditions, received a foliar spray of gibberellic acid (GA3) at 100 mg·L-1 or distilled water. After 1 week, treatments were repeated. Two-node stem segments were excised from the apical, subapical, medial, and basal sections of each plant 72 hours after the second foliar treatment, disinfested, and inserted into flasks containing 50 mL of Murashige and Skoog medium (2% sucrose). After 3 weeks in a darkened incubator adjusted to 24 °C, tuberization response was evaluated. Orthogonal contrasts revealed significant differences between induced and noninduced controls for tuber number, diameter, and fresh mass. BAS-111 reduced rhizome length and increased tuber number, diameter, and fresh mass. GA3 increased rhizome length, but reduced tuber number, diameter, and fresh mass. Node location influenced tuber development, as basal explants produced significantly more and larger tubers, as well as longer rhizomes, than did apical explants, and subapical segments produced more and larger tubers than did apical segments. There were no significant differences between medial and basal nodal segments with respect to tuber number or tuber/rhizome size. Chemical names used: 1-phenoxy-5,5-dimethyl-3-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-hexan-5-ol (BAS-111); 2,4a,7-trihydroxy-1-methyl-8-methylenegibb-3-ene-1,10-carboxylic acid 1->4 lactone (GA3).