Gibberellic acid soak treatments for fully-cooled tulips

Abstract

In attempts to reduce the glasshouse period of fully-cooled 5°C-forced tulips, ‘Apeldoorn’ bulbs were soaked before planting in aerated and non-aerated gibberellic acid (GA 3) solutions for 2–48 h. A 48-h treatment with 250–500 mg l −1 GA 3 was the most effective, giving a glasshouse period 7–11 days shorter than for untreated bulbs. Soaks for 24 and 48 h caused root emergence, and 48-h soaks caused perianth segment splitting in one experiment. Aerated or non-aerated GA 3 solutions gave similar results. Soaking in water alone gave a smaller increase in earliness. In general, a shortened glasshouse period was associated with shorter whole stem and last internode lengths. In GA 3 treatments, flower losses were lower than for distilled water treated and untreated bulbs. A practical treatment would be a non-aerated soak for 24 h with between 250 and 500 mg l −1 GA 3.