THE EFFECTS OF PHOTOPERIOD, PPF, PROMALIN, STS AND WATER ON FLOWERING OF ASIATIC HYBRID LILIES

Three genetically dwarf Asiatic lilies ‘Golden’, ‘Coral’, and ‘Peach’ were grown under 8, 12, 16, or 24-hour photoperiods with the daily photosynthetic photon flox (PPF) of 13 or 6.5 mol·d^-1. Bulbs were soaked in 100 ml/l Promalin for 48 hours, water for 48 hours, and 4 mM silver thiosulphate (STS) for 24 hours or foliar sprayed with 4 mM STS. In experiment 1, 100 ml/l Promalin strongly inhibited shoot elongation, leaf unfolding, and root initiation and growth.
By the time the experiment was terminated, 98, 90 or 75% of ‘Coral’, ‘Golden’ or ‘Peach’ plants treated with 100 ml/l Promalin did not show visible buds.
Compared to 13 mol·d^-1, the 6.5 mol·d^-1 PPF treatment increased abortions in ‘Golden’ from 0.3 to 1.7 buds per plant but not in ‘Peach’ and ‘Coral’. STS foliar spray slightly reduced bud abortions in ‘Golden’ and ‘Coral’. In experiment 2, none of the plants treated with 100 ml/l Promalin flowered.
For ‘Peach’ and ‘Coral’, pre-plant soaking in water and STS also had inhibitory effects on days to emergence and to visible bud.
Control plants were the tallest for all three cultivars.
For ‘Coral’ and ‘Peach’, bulbs soaked in water for 48 hours produced the shortest plants; for ‘Golden’, STS soaked bulbs produced the shortest plants.

Both experiments demonstrated that salable plants of these 3 cultivars could be forced in a growth room with photoperiods of 8 to 24 hours and PPF’s of 13 mol·d^-1 without considerable bud abortions.

V International Symposium on Flower Bulbs

X. Zhang, J.W. White, D.J. Beattie

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1990.266.31