ISHS Acta Horticulturae 813: VI International Symposium on New Floricultural Crops
TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD QUALITY LACHENALIA POT PLANTS |
| Authors: | R. Kleynhans, J.G. Niederwieser, E. Louw |
| Keywords: | forcing, flower initiation, temperature treatments, scheduling |
| Abstract:
Temperature is the main factor influencing flower formation and emergence in many flower bulb genera. Lachenalia is a winter flowering bulb crop with a warm-cold-warm growth temperature cycle. Flower initiation and development takes place during the storage period of the bulb. The natural flowering time of cultivars (produced in the Southern Hemisphere) is June-August. During this period there is a very low demand for flowering pot plants in Europe (the main export market), because of the summer holidays. The flowering time, thus has to be retarded for flowering to occur during October to April when the market demand is higher. Research on the treatment of bulbs with different storage temperatures has been performed over the last 15 years. It was found that flowering can be retarded by storing bulbs at 9°C directly after harvest. Storage at 20-25°C for a minimum of 18 weeks (early flowering cultivars) and 20 weeks (late flowering cultivars) are needed for optimal flower initiation and development. Low pre-plant temperature treatments can be used to shorten the glasshouse period. A treatment of 9°C for three weeks just before planting significantly reduced the glasshouse period, but also reduced the quality of flowers. Growth temperatures also influenced the quality of pot plants. The prevailing temperatures in the preparation phase, as well as the actual growth temperatures will play a role in the quality of the plant. Cool growing temperatures for both phases are required for best quality. | |
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