The effect of forcing temperature on peony shoot and flower development

Pre-chilled potted plants of Paeonia ‘Coral Sunset’, ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’, ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, and ‘Karl Rosenfeld’ were placed in a range of controlled temperature regimes to ascertain the effect of temperature on the timing of shoot emergence and floral development. For all cultivars, warmer temperatures up to 25 °C lead to more rapid shoot emergence and flower development. Linear temperature responses adequately described the rate of development from shoot emergence to flower bud appearance, and from bud appearance to flower opening, but a curvilinear response was required to describe the time taken for shoots to emerge. There were significant differences between cultivars in the number of heat units required for shoot emergence, with the shoots of the slowest-developing cultivar, ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’, taking 50% longer to emerge than those of the most rapid, ‘Coral Sunset’. No significant differences were found among cultivars in the time taken from shoot emergence to flower opening, although the ‘split’ stage (when the bud opens sufficiently for petal colour to be observed) was slightly earlier in ‘Karl Rosenfeld’.     

Effects of shading on growth rate,flower initiation and flower development of Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum

Seedlings of Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum Hort. ‘Scarletta’ were grown under 0,45, or 57% of ambient light in a glass greenhouse. Shoot dry weight, lateral shoot leaf area, total leaf area, and node number decreased under increasing shade over time. Histological examination of shoot apices indicated that floral initiation occurred two to three weeks later in plants under 57% shade than those under ambient light or 45% shade. Plants under ambient light reached visible bud about five weeks before those under 57% shade and the time of floral development from visible bud to anthesis was also shorter for plants in ambient light compared with those grown under 45 and 57% shade. Staminate flower numbers on the first inflorescence increased under 45% shade compared with ambient light and 57% shade while pistillate flower numbers were unchanged.     

Cultivation of cut flower and bulb species with saline water

The long-term effect of saline water irrigation on flower yield and quality was investigated in three herbaceous cut flower crops of commercial importance, the Emily cultivars of Japanese limonium, Trachelium caeruleum and Eustoma grandiflorum (lisianthus), and in two bulb species, Hippeastrum hybridum and Ornithogalum arabicum. Among the tested crops, limonium showed the highest resistance to salinity. Irrigation water with an electrical conductivity of up to 11.5 dS m⁻¹ had little or no effect on stem yield and length of limonium flowering stems. In Trachelium, salinity had no effect on the yield of flowering stems or the size of the inflorescence, but it markedly reduced stem weight and length. The concomitant reduction in the number of nodes to flowering was reflected in earlier flower initiation. Since delayed flower differentiation and over-elongation of Trachelium stems is a serious problem during the winter months, application of mildly saline irrigation for winter production could be used to induce earlier flower initiation and to control stem height. In lisianthus subjected to salinity from bud appearance onwards, a salinity level of 6.0 dS m⁻¹ increased stem weight and the number of flowers per stem without affecting other quality parameters. The work carried out with Trachelium and lisianthus, although limited, indicates that salinity may be used for improving the quality of some cut flowers. In contrast to its beneficial effect on the herbaceous species, salinity led to a significant reduction of bulb, leaf, and root weight of the two bulbous species, H. hybridum and O. arabicum.     

不同遮阴处理对滇山茶花瓣花青素苷构成的影响

 研究了不同遮阴条件下滇山茶（Camellia reticulata Lindl.）花瓣中花青素苷组成和含量的变化。结果表明：滇山茶的花瓣中含有13种以上的花青素苷,其中主要成分矢车菊素–3–O–(2–O–β–木糖基)–β–葡萄糖苷（Cy3GX）与矢车菊素–3–O–[2–O–β–木糖基–6–O–(E)–p–香豆酰]–β–葡萄糖苷（Cy3GEpCX）的含量占总花青素苷含量的60.4% ~ 64.2%。在开花期,随着遮阴率的升高和遮阴时间的延长,花瓣中13种花青素苷的含量都同时呈现先升高后下降的变化趋势,但各组分占总花青素苷含量的百分比不变。用60% ~ 70%遮阳网遮阴,对提高滇山茶花瓣中Cy3GX、Cy3GEpCX以及总花青素苷含量的效果最明显,遮阴处理21 d时上述花青素苷含量皆达最大值。90%遮阳网遮阴,花青素苷含量低于不遮阴时的含量。在云南山茶花的种植中,根据实际环境条件适当遮阴,对增加花瓣各种花青素苷的含量,改善花色具有重要意义。     

Temperature responses,flowering and fruit yield of the June-bearing strawberry cultivars Florence,Frida and Korona

The effect of night temperature on short day (SD) floral induction has been studied in three June-bearing strawberry cultivars of different geographic origin and compared with yield performance in the cool Nordic environment. At the optimum day temperature of 18 °C, the SD flowering response of the cultivars ‘Florence’ and ‘Korona’ increased significantly with increasing night temperature from 9 to 18 °C, while an optimum was reached at 15 °C in the cultivar ‘Frida’ that is selected under cool-environment conditions in Norway. Also, while saturated flowering response was obtained with 3 weeks of SD treatment at all temperatures in ‘Frida’, several plants of ‘Florence’ and ‘Korona’ failed to initiate flowers at 9 °C night temperature even with 5 weeks of SD. The effect of extended SD period was particularly pronounced in ‘Florence’. The slow SD floral induction response of ‘Florence’ was associated with a 2 week delay of anthesis in subsequent long day (LD) conditions at 21 °C. Yield performance of the same cultivars during 2 years under field conditions at Nes Hedmark and in North Norway also demonstrated that the yield potential of ‘Florence’ was not realized under the climatic conditions prevailing at these locations. In both years the yields varied significantly among the cultivars, ‘Frida’ having the highest yields followed by ‘Korona’, with ‘Florence’ far below. It is concluded that, in the Nordic environment, autumn (September) night temperatures are obviously sub-optimal for yield performance of some June-bearing strawberry cultivars, and that this effect is mediated by autumn temperature effects on flower initiation responses.     

Environmental control of growth and flowering of Rubus idaeus L. cv. Glen Ample

Environmental control of the annual growth cycle of ‘Glen Ample’ raspberry has been studied in order to facilitate crop manipulation for out-of-season production. Plants propagated from root buds were raised in long days (LD) at 21 °C and then exposed to different temperature and daylength conditions at varying ages. Shoot growth was monitored by weekly measurements and floral initiation by regular sampling and examination of axillary bud #5. Under natural summer daylight conditions at 60°N shoot growth was nearly doubled at 21 °C compared with 15 °C, while at 9 °C one half of the plants ceased growing and formed flower buds at midsummer. Developing shoots have a juvenile phase and could not be induced to flower before the 15-leaf stage. No significant reduction in induction requirements was found in larger plants. Plants exposed to natural light conditions from 10th August, had an immediate growth suppression at 9 and 12 °C with complete cessation after 4 weeks (by September 7). This coincided with the first appearance of floral primordia. At 15 °C both growth cessation and floral initiation occurred 2 weeks later (by September 21), while at 18 °C continuous growth with no floral initiation was maintained until early November when the photoperiod had fallen below 9 h. The critical photoperiod for growth cessation and floral initiation at 15 °C was 15 h. Plants exposed to 10-h photoperiods at 9 °C for 2–4 weeks had a transient growth suppression followed by resumed growth under subsequent high temperature and LD conditions, while exposure for 5 or 6 weeks resulted in complete growth cessation and dormancy induction. The critical induction period for floral initiation was 3 weeks although no transitional changes were visible in the bud before week 4. When exposed to inductive conditions for marginal periods of 3 or 4 weeks, an increasing proportion of the plants (20% and 67%, respectively), behaved as primocane flowering cultivars with recurrent growth and terminal flowering. It is concluded that growth cessation and floral initiation in raspberry are jointly controlled by low temperature and short day conditions and coincide in time as parallel outputs from the same internal induction mechanism.     

Effect of different soil moisture regimes and canopy wetting on ‘Baccara’ roses

The combined effect of different irrigation regimes and canopy wetting treatments on flower yield and flower quality was examined with ‘Baccara’ roses. Total yields of 390 flowers per m², of which 290 were of saleable quality for the period October–May, were obtained when the soil water tension at a depth of 15–20 cm was maintained below 4–6 centibar (cb). An increase in water tension up to 10–15 cb caused a 10 % decrease in yield. Wetting the canopy reduced the number of flowers and did not counteract the reduction in yield caused by the increase in soil water tension.Wetting the canopy slightly reduced plant surface temperature, mainly on dry and hot days. Wetting also increased the weight of flower buds obtained under irrigation treatments which maintained soil moisture tension below 5 cb (a low soil moisture treatment). The weight per unit length of flower stem increased when the canopy was wetted under all irrigation treatments. In spring, canopy wetting reduced the decrease in flower weight and in leaf area, and completely prevented the decrease in flower stem weight.     

Chlormequat (CCC) induced enhancement of flowering in carnation in relation to changes in carbohydrate metabolism

CCC was sprayed 3 times on carnation cultivar ‘Hanacy’ grown in pots, in concentrations ranging from 10 to 100 p.p.m. CCC treatments generally enhanced floral initiation. This effect was reflected by earlier flower production and considerable increase in flower yield. Enhancement of floral initiation by CCC was coincident with increased amylase and invertase activities as well as with higher content of reducing sugars.     

Effect of photoperiod on flower bud initiation and development in myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe)

Selection of suitable production locations in Australia and New Zealand for production of myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe) has been limited by lack of information on climatic influences on flowering. This study focused on photoperiod as potential production sites within Australia differ considerably in daylength due to the geographical range. The two cultivars available in Australia (Inferior and Superior) were examined in this trial due to previously observed differences in vegetative and reproductive development.Plants grown under long-day conditions (16 h) and short-day conditions (8 h) with a night break produced flower buds, while those under short-day conditions (8 h) did not. The failure of plants under short-day conditions to produce flower buds was due to abortion of developing floral primordia rather than a failure to initiate inflorescences. It was concluded that for flower development in myoga a qualitative long-day requirement must be satisfied, but that flower initiation was day-neutral.Short-day conditions resulted in abortion of flower primordia, premature senescence of foliage and reduced foliage dry weight in both cultivars. Early senescence and low flower bud yield of the Inferior cultivar, but not the Superior cultivar have been observed in crop evaluation trials in Southern Australia and New Zealand. Differences in critical photoperiod between the two cultivars may explain this observation and therefore photoperiodic requirements may be an important consideration in site and planting date selection for different cultivars.     

荸荠新品种桂蹄2号与芳林荸荠种植比较试验

将荸荠新品种桂蹄2号和传统主栽品种芳林荸荠进行种植比较,结果显示,2个品种的植株生长期和外部生长特性基本一致,特征差异主要在花穗、产量和大果率3个方面.桂蹄2号的叶状花茎比芳林荸荠多且花穗长度相对较长,花穗平均长度为39.8 mm,最长花穗达58.4 mm;桂蹄2号产量为3208 kg/667 m2,大果率71.1%,与芳林荸荠相比均有大幅提高.桂蹄2号是一个产量高、商品价值率高的优良新品种.     

适宜直播栽培的茎瘤芥品种筛选试验

摘要：为筛选适宜直播栽培的茎瘤芥（榨菜）品种，为茎瘤芥直播栽培提供参考，选用生产上主推的4个茎瘤芥品种为试验材料，比较直播条件下植株性状、产量及其主要性状的差异。结果表明：直播条件下，与对照品种“永安小叶”相比，“渝直80”“涪优928”“渝早圆100天”的株高、净菜率、空心率及白空率均无显著差异，而开展度、单株瘤茎质量、单株叶片质量、菜形指数、瘤茎产量、黄空率差异达显著或极显著水平，综合分析得出“渝早圆100天”是适宜直播的茎瘤芥品种，其株高、开展度分别为43.6、61.9 cm，单株瘤茎质量为499 g，叶片少，单株叶片质量仅346.3 g，菜形指数好，为1.22，净菜率高，为94.66%，空心率低，为8.33%，黄空发生少，瘤茎667 m2产量达到2 631.94 kg。     

Identification of Petunia hybrida cultivars that diurnally emit floral fragrances

In order to identify genetic resources for breeding fragrant petunias for use as bedding plants, volatile compounds released by day from the flowers of 40 commercial Petunia hybrida cultivars were analyzed using a solid-phase micro-extraction technique coupled with GC–MS. The three cultivars with solid deep-blue flowers that accumulate malvidin in corollas with high tissue pH were found to emit abundant iso-eugenol as the principal floral fragrance. Several other cultivars that emitted considerable amounts of methylbenzoate and/or benzylbenzoate from the flower were also identified. Association between the floral fragrance and the other floral traits such as floral anthocyanin composition and corolla-tissue pH was discussed.     

夏季遮阴对猕猴桃园生态因子和光合作用的影响

以中华猕猴桃翠玉和美味猕猴桃米良一号为试材,研究高温季节(7月初-9月底)不同遮阴强度(0、25%、50%、75%)对猕猴桃园生态因子和光合作用的影响。结果表明:未遮阴的自然条件下,猕猴桃叶、果表面温度极高,蒸腾强烈,叶片光合作用出现严重的"午休"现象,表明树体处于严重的胁迫状态;遮阴可在一定程度上降温增湿,改善猕猴桃冠幕微环境,大大降低叶温和果温,有效消除叶片光合作用的"午休"现象。翠玉适宜的遮阴强度约为25%,米良一号约为50%。遮阴对翠玉叶片蒸腾速率无显著影响,但对米良一号的影响较大。可见,适度遮阴能有效缓解夏季高温强光对猕猴桃的危害,但过度遮阴有负面影响。     

Rhamnus alaternus growth under four simulated shade environments: Morphological,anatomical and physiological responses

Light management and species light plasticity are critical factors for proper crop production in nurseries. So, to assess the light necessities of Rhamnus alaternus, which is a promising native evergreen Mediterranean shrub of ornamental and ecological interest, it was exposed to five shade levels (0%, 32%, 48%, 84% and 93%) for one year (0% of shade received annual mean maximum photosynthetic photon flux density [PPFD] of 1293 ± 415 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ with a summer mean maximum PPFD of 1541 ± 225 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ [mean ± s.d.]). The treatments providing 84% and 94% shading produced less compact plants, with greater height and less stem diameter, greater specific leaf area and higher shoot/root index. In general, the shading produced dark green leaves except the 94% treatment, in which the leaves were lighter because the relative chlorophyll content was reduced. Leaf thickness was reduced in all the shading treatments compared with the control. The stomatal density and pore area were reduced with the 84% and 93% shading treatments, as was photosystem II (PSII) efficiency and the leaf soluble sugar content (falling to 60% of the control level); in contrast, non-photochemical quenching increased. The 93% treatment caused irreversible damages in PSII because dark-adapted PSII efficiency was reduced. The results show that solar radiation can be used as a tool to improve plant quality during the nursery period. We conclude that shading screens providing more than 84% shade are not recommendable in terms of photochemical activity, soluble sugar content and overall plant quality. Shading screens of 32% and 48% improve R. alaternus quality in spring and summer, respectively. As regards its interest as an understory species for reforestation programs, we also conclude that this shrub can be adapted to a wide range of shade intensities, although its proper development would be compromised in very strong shading conditions.     

Controlling the growth and development of rose plants after planting

The effects of pinching and lateral bud removal (deshooting) on the development of structural shoots, the number of flowers, and the average flower stem length in young rose plants were examined, using the cultivars ‘Baccara’, ‘Sonia’ and ‘Belinda’. The effect of deshooting on flower yield varied with each cultivar. It did not affect the number of ‘Baccara’ flowers, but increased ‘Sonia’ and ‘Belinda’ flower production by 50% and 75%, respectively. Leaving flowers to bloom out on plants before the start of commercial harvest resulted in a decrease in the length of the flower stems and also reduced the beneficial effect of deshooting on flower yield. Deshooting enhanced structural shoot formation (“bottom breaks”). Pinching flower buds of structural shoots increased the number of ‘Baccara’ flowers in comparison with pruning these shoots to 40–60 cm, as in common practice. Deshooting of the structural shoots of ‘Sonia’ and ‘Belinda’ increased the number of flowers in both cultivars.     

Study of some factors affecting the growth and development of myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe)

In order to optimise production of the edible flower buds produced by myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe) a greater understanding of the growth and development of the plant and factors influencing flower initiation and development are required. The vegetative growth phase in myoga was characterised by a distinct period of pseudostem development from the planted rhizome piece followed by an extended period of rhizome growth from both the base of pseudostems and the planted rhizome piece. The transition from pseudostem formation to the initiation of rhizome growth occurred at the same time as the dry weight of the planted rhizome piece ceased to decline. Flower bud initiation and development occurred over an extended period, beginning soon after the commencement of new rhizome growth and ending prior to foliage senescence. Flower buds were observed at the terminal meristem of first, second, third and fourth order rhizomes. Increasing temperatures stimulated both increased vegetative growth and flower bud initiation and development. Low flower bud yields recorded under conditions of low temperature were the result of reduced rate of floral initiation and not abortion of flower buds. Increased shading of plants grown under glasshouse conditions resulted in reduced flower bud yield and similarly the response resulted from decreased initiation rather than abortion.     

夏秋松花菜播期、密度及品种筛选试验

夏秋季松花菜在萧山区种植面积较大,而种子市场上松花菜品种较多,品种表现不一,早花、小花、毛花、畸形花等现象严重影响了松花菜的产量和质量,为此对2017年筛选试验表现较好的秋玉70天松花菜品种进行了适宜播期及密度筛选试验,同时引进了8个品种与常规品种长胜65天F1进行比较以筛选更多优良品种。试验结果表明:秋玉70天松花菜在7月下旬播种,表现为单球质量高、黑斑病发病率低、产量高,以667m2种植2200株为宜,单球质量高,虽然发病率略高,但不影响产量。品种筛选试验中明珠65天花球洁白、球形美观、发病率低、产量高,有示范推广价值。     

Characterization of white sapote (Casimiroa edulis Llave & Lex.) germplasm using floral morphology,RAPD and AFLP markers

Floral morphology, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were used to characterize and verify genetic diversity within a white sapote cultivar collection and to develop molecular markers for germplasm identification. On the basis of floral morphology, the cultivars were classified into three types: type I included 23 cultivars with large ovaries and small anthers; type II included 13 cultivars with small ovaries and large anthers; and type III included one cultivar, named ‘Maltby’, with a large ovary and large anthers. DNA was isolated from 39 cultivars of white sapote and subjected to RAPD and AFLP analysis using 24 and 7 primers, respectively. One hundred and sixty-eight RAPD and 286 AFLP bands were used to assess genetic characterization among white sapote. Sixty percent of the RAPD and 77% of the AFLP amplification products were polymorphic among accessions. RAPD or AFLP markers differentiated all white sapote cultivars effectively. Moreover, each flower type was characterized as specially associated with two RAPD bands. UPGMA dendrograms based on RAPD and AFLP data, showed the majority of the cultivars from flower type I and flower type II clustering together. Finally 101 RAPD markers and 220 AFLP markers were used to construct a neighbor-joining dendrogram. This showed that the 37 cultivars could be classified into six distinct clusters, between which the similarity coefficient was as low as 0.00–0.55, even though the cultivars were morphologically very similar. The remaining two cultivars namely ‘Smathers’ and ‘Maltby’ were found genetically very distant from the other cultivars in RAPD, AFLP or combined RAPD and AFLP based dendrograms. The results suggested that the level of genetic variation among white sapote cultivars is diverse and the morphological and molecular data may lead to representation of the cultivar relationships as well as flower type discrimination.     

Strawberry fruit yield and quality responses to flower bud removal: A simulation of damage by strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonomus rubi)

Summary

The effect of flower bud severing (with scissors) on the yield and fruit quality of strawberry (cv. Elsanta) grown on raised, polythene-mulched beds varied with plant size and numbers of flower buds per plant. On very small plants (with an average of seven flower buds and yielding 105 g of fruit per plant) severing reduced yield in direct proportion to the proportion of flower buds severed, irrespective of whether severing included or did not include removal of the primary (first node) flower bud. There was no evidence of crop compensation. On larger plants (with 24, 70 and 117 flower buds and yielding 0.34 kg, 0.73 kg and 1.16 kg of fruit per plant respectively) severing up to 12 buds per plant did not significantly affect yield: mean berry weight increased by up to 11% and the percentage fruit (by number) in quality class I increased from 67% to 72% in response to severing. Two mechanisms of yield compensation were, apparent i) an increase in mean berry weight, and ii) the maturing of alternative replacement flower buds. Severing slightly delayed by 1–2 d the date by when 10% and 25% of fruit was picked. Implications for the economic damage threshold for flower bud severing by the strawberry blossom weevil are discussed.