ISHS Acta Horticulturae 681: IV International Congress on Artichoke
EFFECTS OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON HEAT STRESS IN ANNUAL ARTICHOKE PRODUCTION |
| Author: | W.L. Schrader |
| Keywords: | yield, foliar plant treatments, harvesting time, earliness |
| Abstract:
Artichoke is a cool season perennial crop that is grown as an annual from seed in southern California. Growing artichokes as annuals from seed allows growers to harvest during the winter from November to March. Artichoke seed is planted in May, transplants moved to the field in July, and harvesting begins as early as November in years with relatively cool fall weather. Hot fall weather during September and October suppresses plant growth and causes premature flowering, which lowers yield and average bud size. Plant growth regulator (PGR) treatments were evaluated in annual artichokes to determine if they could reduce the adverse effects of hot weather during September and October. Treatments included multiple applications of Apogee (gibberellin inhibitor), Retain (ethylene inhibitor), Apogee + Retain, Cytokinin, and untreated control plots. Numbers of harvestable buds were counted as a measure of earlier flowering induced by hot weather. Apogee and cytokinin reduced heat stress during hot fall artichoke production. Other plant growth regulator treatments increased the number of harvestable buds compared to control plots. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
