PROBLEMS OF SELECTION FOR ADAPTATION TO LOW-LIGHT CONDITIONS IN CUT-FLOWERS

Rising costs of energy and competition from areas with milder climates have reduced profitability of ornamental crops grown in glasshouses in the winter.
Plant breeders are looking for plants capable of producing a winter crop of good quality under low-light conditions.

To improve the efficiency of this breeding work, research projects were started in rose, chrysanthemum and carnation with the following objectives: 1. to determine environmental conditions under which screening for performance under low-light conditions can be carried out most effectively; 2. to determine the type and age of plant material best used for this screening and 3. determination of the most relevant parameters to be recorded in this screening.

In roses the main defect in winter is the formation of abortive shoots, in chrysanthemum poor stem quality and general lack of uniformity, in carnation weak stems and pale flowers.

Seedlings of roses and clonal plants of chrysanthemum and carnation were screened under various light intensities and temperatures.
The most promising preselection procedure appeared to be screening on flowering ability in roses and carnations and on dry-matter production in chrysanthemums.

I International Symposium on Floriculture Plant Breeding and Genetics

L.D. Sparnaaij, D.P. de Vries, J. de Jong

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1976.63.16