DORMANCY RELEASE OF EASTER LILY BULB BY LOW O₂ CONCENTRATION TREATMENTS

For forcing of Easter lily, bulbs harvested from late May to late June in Okino-erabu island (Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan), certain hot water treatments are required for release of bulb dormancy before the low temperature vernalization treatment.
In this report, the authors describe another method for release of bulb dormancy: low O₂ concentration (respiratory control) treatment.
The effects of low O₂ concentration treatments on bulb dormancy release were investigated by the following three methods: cool water dipping, airtight packing and packing with dry ice for 24, 48 and 72 hrs with bulbs received in late June.
In the standard cultivating procedure for forcing culture, untreated bulbs did not sprout until late November.
However, bulbs treated by cool water dipping, airtight packing and packing with dry ice for 72 hrs, sprouted (100, 100 and 91.7% respectively) and flowered by mid to late November, while bulbs treated by hot water soaking (the standard procedure for dormancy release) also sprouted (100%) and flowered by mid November.
The cut flower quality of bulbs treated with anaerobic conditions was better than that of bulbs treated by the hot water soaking method.

IX International Symposium on Flower Bulbs

W.A. Wakakitsu Amaki, W.A. Wakanori Amaki

anaerobic condition, dormancy release, forcing culture, Lilium longiflorum, low O₂ concentration, respiratory control

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.673.81