MODELING THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON FLOWERING OF HIBISCUS MOSCHEUTOS

Effects of forcing temperature on phenological and morphological development of Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Disco Belle Mixed’ were determined by growing plants under long days in glass houses set at 15, 18, 21, 24, or 27°C. Actual rather than setting temperatures were used in the analysis.
Time from the onset of long-day forcing to visible bud (VB) decreased from 101 to 24 days as average daily temperature (ADT) increased from 15.7 to 25.0°C, and time from VB to flower decreased from 54 to 29 days as ADT increased from 19.4 to 27.6°C. Although higher ADT accelerated flowering, the diameter of the first flower, total number of flower buds per plant, and plant height at flowering decreased as ADT increased.
A curvilinear model was used to describe the effect of ADT on days to VB or flower.
An exponential model was developed to quantify the relationship between flower bud diameter, ADT, and days to flower.
The models can be implemented in a decision-support system to predict the ADT required to achieve a target flowering date or the flowering date at a given ADT, bud diameter, or both.

II Modelling Plant Growth, Environmental Control and Farm Management in Protected Cultivation

S. Wang, Royal D. Heins, W. H. Carlson, Arthur C. Cameron

Bud development, decision support, hibiscus

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.456.18