SHORT DURATION HEAT PRECONDITIONING AND HEAT TOLERANCE IN ORNAMENTAL BEDDING PLANTS

Abstract

One of the greatest impediments to production of marketable ornamental herbaceous plants in southern U.S. is high temperature stress. Exposure of plants to sub-lethal temperature (heat preconditioning) before sustained heat stress helps some plants to tolerate subsequent heat stress a phenomenon often referred as acquired thermotolerance. The objective of this research was to examine various morphological, physiological and anatomical responses of `Vista red' (heat tolerant) and `Sizzler red'(heat sensitive) cultivars of Salvia splendens to heat preconditioning (HC) and subsequent heat stress treatments (challenging temperatures, CT). Cultivars of Salvia were subjected to short duration HC of 35 °C for 3 hours every third day until 5 weeks after germination and subsequent exposure to two CT treatments 30/23 °C and 35/28 °C (D/N) cycles in growth chambers for the next five weeks. Plant growth, marketable quality, stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis declined for Sizzler Red without HC treatment. Compared with nonpreconditioned plants, heat preconditioned Sizzler Red had 38.28% higher root dry weight, 95% greater leaf thickness, 50% higher marketable quality at 35/28 °C heat stress condition. Heat preconditioning helped both Vista Red and Sizzler to survive in both the heat stress treatments. Vista Red had greater heat tolerant traits than Sizzler Red, these traits exacerbated with heat preconditioning treatment. The results demonstrated that heat preconditioning enhanced heat tolerance in cultivars of Salvia, which could be related to maintenance of dense plant growth with shorter internodes, thicker stems, greater stomatal conductance, extensive root growth that compensated the transpirational water loss and overall cooling of plants.