ISHS Acta Horticulturae 517: XXV International Horticultural Congress, Part 7: Quality of Horticultural Products
EVALUATION OF THE FLOWERING QUALITY OF RHODODENDRON SIMSII CULTIVARS THROUGH IMAGE ANALYSIS |
| Authors: | P. Lootens, P. Vandecasteele, J. Heursel |
| Keywords: | Rhododendron simsii, evergreen azalea, image analysis, quality assessment |
| Abstract:
The objective of this study was to work out a fast and objective method to evaluate the flowering of Rhododendron simsii Planch. (evergreen azalea) plants by means of an image analysis system. This was achieved by taking images from the top of the plants twice a week. Each time the image of a plant was taken, the area of the whole crown as well as the area of the flowers was measured. The ratio of the flower area over the crown area (i.e. the colour patch) was a measure of the flowering stage. A flowering curve resulted from which important flowering parameters were deduced : (i) the forcing time (time needed to force the plant into a saleable product, i.e. number of days until 30% colour patch is reached), (ii) the flowering period (number of flowering days, i.e. number of days during which the plant has a colour patch of more than 60%), and (iii) the maximum colour patch (i.e. maximum area of leaves covered by flowers, indicating the uniformity of flowering of a plant). With standardised forcing conditions, objective quantification of the effects of different cultivation treatments on flowering quality is possible. This method was tried out to compare the flowering characteristics of different forceable azalea cultivars : 'Nordlicht', 'Aline', and 'Tamira'. The forcing time was up to 3.1 days longer for 'Tamira' than for the other cultivars. This is a negative aspect for the growers, because the expensive forcing time takes longer. 'Nordlicht' flowered up to 6.8 days longer in comparison to the other cultivars. These results where in accordance to the practical experience. | |
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