ISHS Acta Horticulturae 405: VI International Symposium on Postharvest Physiology of Ornamental Plants
EFFECT OF INTERIOR LIGHT AND TEMPERATURE ON LONGEVITY OF RHIPSALIDOPSIS |
| Authors: | G. Hartley, T.A. Nell, R.T. Leonard, J.E. Barrett, T.H. Boyle |
| Keywords: | Easter cactus, postproduction, flowering potted plant, plant quality |
| Abstract:
Flowering ‘Evita’, ‘Purple Pride’ and ‘Red Pride’ Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri (Easter Cactus) were evaluated for postproduction quality and longevity. Plants were placed into interior conditions of 18, 21 or 24C in combination with either 7 or 14 μmol•m-2•s-1 irradiance levels (12 hr/day). There was a cultivar and temperature interaction for individual flower longevity and the number of days required for the last flower to open. ‘Evita’ showed the greatest decrease in number of days (16 days) to the last open flower compared to ‘Purple Pride’ (6 days) and ‘Red Pride’ (8 days) when temperatures were increased from 18 to 24C. Individual flower longevity for all cultivars increased as temperature was decreased. Flower longevity for ‘Evita’ increased 62% while longevity for ‘Purple Pride’ and ‘Red Pride’ increased 57 and 53%, respectively. Total plant longevity was greatly influenced by cultivar selections. Total plant longevity for 'Evita' was 40 days compared to only 31 days for ‘Red Pride.’ Decreasing temperature from 24 to 18C increased the total plant longevity by 60% in all cultivars. At least 97% of the flowers for all the cultivars opened under the interior conditions. Temperature and irradiance levels had no significant effect on the percent of flowers opening. Irradiance levels had no significant effect on any of the parameters measured. | |
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