Development of a new method for breaking buds on ornamental flowering plants.
Abstract:
Introduction We have carried out a considerable amount of research on induction of bud breaking in roses, gerbera and a variety of other plants. Much of this research has focused on using plant growth regulators (PGRs) and cultural methods (e.g. photoperiodic control in gerbera) and was funded in part by the Hill Foundation as well as the national IR4 program. Unfortunately of these methods, the ones that were effective did not allow targeted initiation of one particular dormant bud. At the same time we also tried to find a targeted method that could be used to cause individual specific lateral buds to break. The currently-funded work is aimed at exploiting a discovery by us of such a targeted budbreaking method. This method is based on our observation that localized axillary bud break on the flower stem of Rosa hybrida ‘Kardinal’ can be induced to break through mechanical manipulation of the stem by partially compressing the internode above a specific axillary bud. We call this treatment a “Partial Crush†(PC) treatment. It induces a bud break at the proximal node, which will grow to produce a flower stem for subsequent harvest without harming the current stem or successive growth. The effect on cut-flower rose was to generate a specific and timed bud break from 7 to 14 days earlier than stem pruning or flower harvesting. Applying this treatment can potentially increase and better time production of cut flower roses. Furthermore, the method may be applicable in a variety of ornamental plants and it is part of this project to explore which other plants might respond to this treatment and how the treatment might need to be modified to maximize effectiveness. The scientific basis for the process of bud breaking is that apical dominance inhibits axillary bud breaks and lateral shoot branching due to the inhibitory effects of auxin (IAA), which is biosynthesized in the shoot apex and polar transported in the plant...
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Keywords: ICFG Hill 2009-2010 Midterm Report
Libraries: Floriculture