ISHS Acta Horticulturae 271: VII International Asparagus Symposium
FLOWER INDUCTION BY TRIAZINES, UREAS AND CARBAMATES IN SEEDLINGS OF ASPARAGUS. |
| Authors: | T. Abe, T. Kameya, H. Iwamura |
| Abstract:
Flower formation in one-month-old seedlings of Asparagus officinalis cv. Marry Washington 500W was increased by germinating the seeds in solutions of the herbicides, atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1, 3, 5-triazine) or DCMU (3-(3, 4-dichlorophenyl)-1, 1-dimethylurea); two herbicides are known to affect electron flow of phytosystem II. Approximatly 4% of plants flowered in controls, whereas approximatly 37% of plants flowered in treatments with 400 μM atrazine or 100 μM DCMU. But the shoots that bore the flowers died within two months, although some plants produced new shoots. When seeds were incubated in the presence of triazines, ureas or carbamates (N - phenyl carbamate), the percentage of flowered plants increased. One of the 28 triazines and one of the 6 carbamates tested caused 60% of seedlings to flower at the concentration of 400 μM and 100 μM respectively. These seedlings continued to grow normally. It was possible to distinguish between male and female plants from floral morphology at quite an early developmental stage. Two years after germination, all of the putative androecious and gynoecious strains whose sex had been determined by atrazine-induced flowers bore male flowers and female flowers, respectively. | |
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