ISHS Acta Horticulturae 681: IV International Congress on Artichoke
GIBBERELLIC ACID ON ARTICHOKES (CYNARA SCOLYMUS L.) CULTIVATED IN GERMANY TO PROMOTE EARLINESS AND TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY |
| Authors: | L. Halter, R. Habegger, W.H. Schnitzler |
| Keywords: | earliness, yield, quality, sugars, plant physiology |
| Abstract:
Gibberellic acid has been shown to promote earliness in artichokes and thus is interesting for timing harvest. However, its effectiveness is influenced by cultivar, time and concentration of treatment, climatic conditions and other factors. The aim of this research is to understand the physiological processes of plants influenced by exogenous application of GA3 by optimising treatments. The phenological changes after spray application, the effect on earliness and yield as well as the influence on quality were studied and results will be presented. GA3 at a concentration of 50 ppm was applied to 10 and 12 week old plants of “Green Globe” cultivar grown from seed. Changes concerning colour and plant habit were visible shortly after the treatments, although the effect was continuous for the later treatment alone. Treated plants were lighter in colour and grew more upright. The specific leaf area was higher for plants undergoing treatment 2. Influence on photosynthetic activity was also observed. The harvest period of treated plants started earlier and total yield as well as yield per date of harvest was increased, although it was only significant for the earlier treatment on 10 week old plants. Thus, the phenological changes did not directly relate to the effect on earliness. Negative influence on external quality of the harvested heads was not observed. As regards the internal quality, the valuable fructanes even tended to be increased for treatment 1. Thus, application of GA3 might even enhance pharmaceutical substances but further studies are still necessary to confirm these findings. | |
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