In the daffodil pot plant forcing industry, ethephon sprays have been the most common method of height control ( de Hertogh, 1996 ), but they are not always effective (W.B. Miller, personal communication; Moe, 1980 ). In a previous paper ( Miller
reductions in growth ( Cassaniti et al., 2012 ; Niu and Rodriguez, 2006 ; Safi et al., 2007 ; Villarino and Mattson, 2011 ; Wahome et al., 2000 ). Narcissus sp. (L.) Amaryllidaceae (daffodils), along with seven other genera, account for 90% of the world
Placing a daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. `Carlton') flower in a vase with a rose (Rosa hybrida L. Sonia) flower reduced water uptake by the rose and resulted in precocious wilting of its leaves and flower and in pedicel bending. These symptoms were also observed when mucilage from daffodil stems was placed in the vase water. The effects of the mucilage and the daffodil stem were overcome by adding 8-hydroxyquinoline (HQC) to the vase solution. HQC inhibits ethylene production and is an antimicrobial compound. Aminoethyoxyvinylglycine (AVG) or silver thiosulfate (STS), inhibitors of ethylene synthesis and action, respectively, did not alleviate the mucilage effects, but sodium hypochlorite, an antimicrobial compound, did. Bacterial counts in the basal 5-cm segment of rose stems increased after placing mucilage or a daffodil stem in the vase water, and counts were reduced by adding HQC or sodium hypochlorite. One daffodil stem also reduced the vase life of tulips (Tulipa gesneriana L. `Frappant' and `Apeldoorn'), which showed precocious leaf yellowing. This was not alleviated by HQC and was also found when mucilage was placed on the leaf surface. Placing mucilage on the leaf produced no effect in roses. Separating the mucilage indicated that the effect in roses is mainly due to the sugar and polysaccharide fraction and the effect in tulips is due to a fraction containing several alkaloids. The results indicate that the decreased vase life of rose flowers, after one daffodil is placed in their vase water, is due to daffodil mucilage, which, in the rose cultivar tested, blocks water uptake, mainly as a result of increased bacterial growth. In the tulip cultivars tested, the negative effect on vase life is primarily due to mucilage toxicity.
; Sonneveld et al., 1999 ; Wahome et al., 2000 ; Wang et al., 2001 ; Zollinger et al., 2007 ). Seven genera, including Narcissus , account for ≈90% of flower bulb production ( Benschop et al., 2010 ). Narcissus spp. (L.) (daffodils) are native to the
Abstract
Tulip bulbs (Tulipa spp.) were placed under ventilated low pressure storage (LPS) conditions for 14 days in either August or September. Compared to 760 mm Hg stored bulbs, LPS suppressed leaf growth and floral development. These effects were highly visible after storage in air at either 76 or 150 mm Hg and in the month of August. When tulip bulbs were forced, LPS treatments applied in August delayed flowering of most cultivars and flower size was occasionally reduced; in September treatments, LPS ventilation with additional O2 and CO2 accelerated flowering of 2 cultivars, but flower size was reduced. When stored under 76 mm Hg in air in August, most cultivars of hyacinth (Hyacinthus spp.) were subsequently delayed in flowering, but daffodils (Narcissus spp.) were not. Except for one cultivar of each species, LPS did not affect the percent of plants flowering, plant height or flower size. Penicillium growth on the bulb tunics was enhanced by humidifying the air under LPS conditions. It is concluded that LPS provides no advantages over the ventilated, temperature controlled units presently employed.
, rhizomes, or tubers ( Hessayon, 1996 ). Examples of true bulbs include Hyacinthus (hyacinth), Muscari (grape hyacinth), and Narcissus (daffodil) spp. ( De Hertogh and Le Nard, 1993 ). Crocus (crocus) and Gladiolus (gladiola) spp. produce corms
Narcissus (daffodil) bulbs are often produced in a multi-year cycle in the Pacific northwestern United States. Narcissus bulbs are planted in August through October of Year 1, grown in place for all of Year 2, and the bulbs are then harvested in
et al., 1986 ). Daffodils contain many steroidal alkaloids that inhibit animal feeding ( Kreh and Matusch, 1995 ; Ries et al., 2001 ). However, tulips are readily consumed by white-tailed deer, meadow voles, and other herbivores. Controlled research
Narcissus , a flowering bulbous plant of the Amaryllidaceae family, is a typical Mediterranean genus, also named daffodil. As one of the most important commercial bulbous crops in the floriculture industry, Narcissus is used as cut flowers and
Several plant species that are not consumed by animals were collected, extracted with organic solvents, and tested at different venues for their effectiveness as animal feeding repellents. Species with the most repellent activity were daffodil (Narcissus pseudo narcissus), bearded iris (Iris sp.), hot pepper (Capsicum frutescens), catnip (Nepeta cataria) and peppermint (Mentha piperita). Considerable effort was expended to isolate and identify compounds from these species responsible for repellent activity. Eight chemicals have been isolated and purified, and four of them have been identified. Both daffodil and catnip contain more than one repellent, but none of the four compounds identified were common to both species. Combinations of extracts from more than one plant species proved to have more repellent activity than extracts from individual species used alone. In several tests these plant extracts proved to be as effective or better than available commercial repellents. A plethora of additives and surfactants were tested to increase repellent activity by enhancing the spreading, penetration or persistence of the extracts.