Effects of ethrel and gibberellin on impatiens plants

Abstract

Impatiens ( Impatiens balsamina L.) is a qualitative short-day plant that flowers, in Israel, all year round. This lowers the quality of impatiens stock plants. The goal of this work was to examine treatments that will eliminate flowering in stock plants without reducing other qualities of the cutting crop. Impatiens plants (cv. Tempo Pink (Sultanii) and Aruba (New-Guinea)) were sprayed with ethrel alone or in combination with gibberellin. Ethrel treatment caused a transient increase in ethylene production and inhibited vegetative growth. A bi-weekly ethrel application, at 400 ppm and above, resulted in a complete elimination of flowering. Ethrel treatments led to an increase in cutting crop with a better rooting, but a shorter cutting length due to growth inhibition. Gibberellin, when applied in combination with ethrel, restored vegetative growth to control levels without affecting flowering.