EARLY INDUCTION OF FLOWERING IN KIWIFRUIT SEEDLINGS

Actinidia deliciosa seedlings were manipulated to shorten the juvenile phase.
Plants were grown to age 9 months as single stems either in a greenhouse (15C min., 13 hr daylength) or 6 months in greenhouse plus 3 months in a growth room (25C constant, 16 hr day) to produce "small" (44–80 nodes on main stem) and "large" (61–117 nodes) plants, respectively.
At 9 months the plants were either sprayed with Alar (750 ppm) or not sprayed and subsequently branches were allowed to grow at high nodes under greenhouse conditions.
Growth ceased at age 11–12 months and after either 1 or 7 months of rest in the greenhouse the plants were chilled (3C) for 7 weeks before return to the greenhouse.
Flowering occurred in 25% of "large" plants and 8% of "small" plants (n=12) at age 16 months after 1 month of rest.
Seven months of rest did not increase the percentage of plants flowering.
Alar had inconsistent effects on flowering.
Seedlings which flowered had shoot systems with >80 nodes.

II International Symposium on Kiwifruit

L.J. Davies

Alar, controlled environment, juvenility, daminozide

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1992.297.30