Twenty-four herbaceous perennial species were treated at 5C for 0 or 15 weeks. Critical photoperiods for flower initiation and development with and without a cold treatment were determined. Photoperiods were 10, 12, 14, 16, and 24 h of continuous light and 9 h plus a 4-h night interruption. Continuous photoperiodic treatments consisted of 9-h natural days extended with light from incandescent lamps. Response to cold and photoperiod varied by species; Scabiosa caucasica `Butterfly Blue' flowered without a cold treatment under all photoperiods after 8 to 10 weeks of forcing, but plant height increased from 14 to 62 cm as daylength increased. Rudbeckia fulgida `Goldsturm' flowered without cold after 13 to 15 weeks of forcing, but only under 16 hours of continuous light and night interruption treatments. Heuchera sanguinea `Bressingham Hybrids' did not flower without cold under any photoperiod but did flower under all photoperiods with cold. The only Lavendula angustifolia `Munstead Dwarf' plants that flowered without cold were those under 24-h continuous light; ≈60% flowered. After cold, some lavender plants flowered under all photoperiods, and the flowering percentage increased with increasing daylength.
Abstract
Monoploid genotypes (2n = x = 12), derived by anther culture of a diplandrous (2n pollen-producing) clone of Solanum phureja Juz. & Buk., a South American diploid potato species, were examined for their use in germplasm development. Nine monoploid genotypes and the anther-donor genotype were grown in three chambers (10-, 14-, and 18-hr daylengths) to examine the effect of photoperiod on tuber yield and to determine the variability for critical photoperiod for tuberization. Significant differences were found among the monoploid genotypes for tuber weight and tuber number. Longer photoperiod treatments decreased and delayed tuberization. Axillary tuber formation from single-node cuttings was used to estimate the onset of tuber induction and demonstrated variability among monoploid genotypes for critical photoperiod for tuberization.
To determine the flowering requirements of Rudbeckia fulgida Ait. `Goldsturm', plants were grown under 9-hour photoperiods until maturity, then forced at 20 °C under one of seven photoperiods following 0 or 15 weeks of 5 °C. Photoperiods consisted of a 9-hour day that was extended with incandescent lamps to 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, or 24 hours; an additional treatment was a 9-hour day with a 4-hour night interruption (NI). Noncooled `Goldsturm' remained vegetative under photoperiods ≤13 hours, and essentially all plants flowered under photoperiods ≥14 hours or with a 4-hour NI. Flowering percentages for cooled plants were 6, 56, or ≥84 under 10-, 12-, or ≥13-hour daylengths and NI, respectively. Critical photoperiods were ≈14 or 13 hours for noncooled or cooled plants, respectively, and base photoperiods shifted from 13 to 14 hours before cold treatment to 10 to 12 hours following cold treatment. Within cold treatments, plants under photoperiods ≥14 hours or NI reached visible inflorescence and flowered at the same time and developed the same number of inflorescences. Fifteen weeks of cold hastened flowering by 25 to 30 days and reduced nodes developed before the first inflorescence by 28% to 37%. Cold treatment provided little or no improvement in other measured characteristics, such as flowering percentage and uniformity, flower number, plant height, and vigor.
The effects of temperature and sowing date on the time to first flowering were investigated in Petunia ×hybrida Vilm `Express Blush Pink' sown on three separate dates (8 Feb., 1 Mar. and 22 Mar. 1993) and grown in glasshouse compartments set to provide six air temperature regimes (minimum temperatures of 4, 10, 14, 18, 22, and 26 °C). Flowering was hastened under high temperatures and sowing later in the season (22 Mar.). To determine the extent to which this seasonal effect was due to photoperiod, a second experiment was conducted where plants were grown under controlled daylengths (8, 11, 14, and 17 h·d-1) within six temperature-controlled glasshouse compartments (set to provide minimum temperatures of 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, and 26 °C). The rate of progress to first flowering increased linearly with lengthening photoperiod up to a critical photoperiod of 14.4 h·d-1, while further increases in daylength had no further affect in hastening flowering. The rate of progress to flowering increased linearly with increasing temperature, however, the optimum temperature, at which the rate of progress to flowering was maximal, was lower under short days compared to long days. Furthermore, the rate of progress to flowering increased linearly with increasing photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). Data from both experiments were analyzed to construct a model to predict the effects of temperature, photoperiod, and PPF on time of flowering in petunia. This model accurately (r 2 = 0.88) predicted the flowering times of a different set of plants sown on three dates and grown under six temperature regimes (6, 10, 14, 18, 22, and 26 °C).
Phlox paniculata Lyon ex Pursh `Eva Cullum' plants were grown under seven photoperiods following 0 or 15 weeks of 5 °C to determine the effects of photoperiod and cold treatment on flowering. Photoperiods were a 9-hour day extended with incandescent lamps to 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, or 24 hours; an additional treatment was a 9-hour day with a 4-hour night interruption (NI). Noncooled plants remained vegetative under photoperiods ≤13 hours; as the photoperiod increased from 14 to 24 hours, flowering percentage increased from 20 to 89. Flowering of noncooled plants took 73 to 93 days. Flowering percentage was 19, 50, or 100 when cooled plants were held under photoperiods of 10, 12, or ≥13 hours or NI, respectively. Time to flower in cooled plants progressively decreased from 114 to 64 days as the photoperiod increased from 10 to 24 hours. Reproductive cooled plants had at least three times more flowers, were at least 50% taller, were more vigorous, and developed seven or eight more nodes than did noncooled plants. Photoperiod had no effect on height of flowering plants.
`Snowcap' Shasta daisy [Leucanthemum ×superbum Bergmans ex. J. Ingram (syn: Chrysanthemum ×superbum, C. maximum)] was grown under various photoperiods and temperatures to determine their effects on flowering. In the first experiment, plants were held for 0 or 15 weeks at 5 °C and then were grown at 20 °C under the following photoperiods: 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, or 24 hours of continuous light or 9 hours with a 4-hour night interruption (NI) in the middle of the dark period. Without cold treatment, no plants flowered under photoperiods ≤14 hours and 65% to 95% flowered under longer photoperiods or NI. After 15 weeks at 5 °C, all plants flowered under all photoperiods and developed three to four or 10 to 11 inflorescences under photoperiods ≤14 or ≥16 hours, respectively. To determine the duration of cold treatment required for flowering under short photoperiods, a second experiment was conducted in which plants were treated for 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, or 15 weeks at 5 °C, and then grown at 20 °C under 9-hour days without or with a 4-hour NI. Under 9-hour photoperiods, 0%, 80%, or 100% of plants flowered after 0, 3, or ≥6 weeks at 5 °C, and time to flower decreased from 103 to 57 days as the time at 5 °C increased from 3 to 12 weeks. Plants that were under NI and received ≥3 weeks of cold flowered in 45 to 55 days. For complete and rapid flowering with a high flower count, we recommend cold-treating `Snowcap' for at least 6 weeks, then providing photoperiods ≥16 hours or a 4-hour NI during forcing.
. vinifera (55% by pedigree) with wild species native to the south-central United States, Vitis rupestris , and Vitis aestivalis var. lincecumii . The V. riparia parent has a longer critical photoperiod (≈13.5 h) that confers earlier growth cessation
cannabinoids. Cannabis is predominantly a photoperiod-sensitive, quantitative short-day plant ( Petit et al. 2020 ). The critical photoperiod varies by cultivar, but is typically between 12 and 14 h ( Zhang et al. 2021 ). Photoperiod-insensitive (day-neutral or
Abstract
Gypsophila paniculata L. cv. Bristol Fairy flowered only under long photoperiods. Neither 5°C storage up to 8 weeks nor weekly GA3 sprays at concentration from 50 to 2,000 mg/liter induced flowering at short photoperiods. Established shoots with 12 nodes flowered after 3 weeks of 24 hours photoperiod induction, but young shoots with 5 nodes (newly pinched plants) did not flower after 3 weeks of induction. Critical photoperiod of several selections of ‘Bristol Fairy’ ranged from 12-18 hours. Inadvertent selection of clones with longer critical photoperiods appears to be responsible for poor winter flowering in Florida.
Hamelia patens Jacq. (Texas firebush) is a long-day plant for flower initiation and flower development; however, flower development is more sensitive to photoperiod than is flower initiation. The critical photoperiod for flower development at 25C is between 12 and 16 hours. Flowering was delayed under low light conditions, and plant dry weight was heavier and flowering time was earlier for plants grown at a constant 25 or 30C than at 20C. A greenhouse environment with a 16-hour photoperiod and moderately high temperature (25C) would be appropriate for production of H. patens.