ISHS Acta Horticulturae 314: II International Symposium on Propagation of Ornamental Plants
INNOVATIONS IN MANIPULATION OF ENVIRONMENT FOR PROPAGATION RESEARCH |
| Authors: | R.S. Harrison-Murray, B.H. Howard |
| Abstract:
Because cuttings are very sensitive to environment, the need to control conditions during rooting, or at least to describe them adequately, applies to all research on this topic. For instance, if normal horticultural facilities are used, seasonal variation in rooting ability cannot be separated from the almost inevitable changes in the environment of the glasshouse. Conventional controlled environment facilities are unsuitable for rooting cuttings because of the high air speeds needed to achieve uniform and precise temperature control. A compromise between these two approaches was developed for leafy cuttings, providing a very reproducible environment suitable even for very stress-sensitive subjects. This semi-controlled propagation environment consists of a fogged polythene enclosure illuminated entirely by high pressure sodium lamps, and operated in a building with coarse temperature control. Spacial variation is hard to avoid but can often be exploited if it is intentionally increased in such a way as to provide well defined and reproducible gradients against which to investigate cutting responses to specific environmental factors. This approach was successfully applied to studies of the interactive responses to irradiance and leaf wetting. Gradient treatments were also used to study the response of dormant leafless cuttings to air content and water availability in the medium. | |
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