Flowering Growth Research Articles

Reproductive phenology of Uspí tree Couepia polyandra (Kunth) Rose (Chrysobalanaceae) in Campeche, Mexico

Objective. To describe reproductive phenological stages, since the formation of flower buds, flowering, fruiting, up to the formation of the ripe fruit and foliation of 21 Couepia polyandra trees; and correlation of allometric data of tree height, diameter at breast height (DBH) and crown diameter, as well as the correlation of precipitation with reproductive phenology data. Methodology. The description of the reproductive phenology (foliage, formation of flower buds, flowers, fruits) was done by direct monthly observation with a digital camera (Canon SX60HS, 65). The correlation among precipitation, allometry, and types of soils where the trees grow was calculated by recording data from each tree by measuring height, diameter at breast height (DBH) and foliage. Results. The highest tree was 21.0 m; the widest DBH measured 68 cm; and the greater crown diameter was 34.45 m; the overall averages were 10.38 m, 33.17 cm and 9.37 m, respectively. A significant correlation was found between height and DBH (r=0.91, p<0.05); the correlations for the variables Height-Crown and DBH-Crown were not significant (p>0.05). Conclusions. Water as a factor is responsible for the formation of inflorescence and fruit; determining that these phenological events are dependent variables with precipitation, highlighting a mean positive relation with the growth of flowers.

Design of temperature humidity and illumination control system for indoor flowers

In order to improve the automation of indoor flower environment monitoring, enable the flowers grow in the best environment, this paper designs an automatic control system of temperature, humidity and illumination based on STC89C52 single chip microcomputer. Temperature sensor DS18B20 is applied to sense indoor air temperature, meantime, YL-69 soil moisture sensor and photosensitive resistance are used to sense soil relative humidity and light intensity respectively. Temperature, humidity and light intensity are transmitted to single chip microcomputer for analysis and processing, and the results are displayed by OLED display module. The upper and lower limits of environmental parameters are manually preset through the keyboard. When the temperature and light intensity exceed the upper limit, the system can send out alarm signals and output control signals to drive the corresponding actuator to work; when the soil moisture is lower than the lower limit, the system will automatically alarm and water automatically; when the humidity reaches the upper limit, watering will be stopped to ensure the indoor environmental parameters in the best value suitable for flower growth. The system has been tested and debugged. The results show that the control system can effectively process and display the flower environment information, achieving the purpose of automatically adjusting and controlling the temperature, humidity and illumination of flowers, has strong promotion value.

Management of Oil Palm Bunch Failure in High Sex Ratio Palms

Bunch failure due to insufficient pollen is a serious problem in all the oil palm growing countries. It is observed that the main problem is due to lack of pollinating weevils as a result of inadequate male flowers in the plantations. The establishment of pollinating weevils in high sex ratio palms is a critical requirement for oil palm productivity. Bunch failure due to lack of pollination in high sex ratio palms was found to cause more than 90 per cent yield loss. The problem was severe, particularly, in isolated young oil palm plantations. Presence of limited number of male flowers led to fewer pollinating weevils even after inundating releases leading to poor yield. Intercropping with crops like banana and sugarcane which require great amount of water encouraged the emergence of more female than male flowers. Assisted pollination by sprinkling pollen grains on female inflorescences proved effective to a certain extent. Various treatments like severe pruning of fronds and application of gibberellic acid in high doses proved effective in mitigating the problem. These allowed natural pollination with the emergence of more male flowers and establishment of pollinating weevils. Keywords: Bunch failure, thrips, pollinating weevils, inundating releases, gibberellic acid.

Role of Biocontrol Agents in Management of Corm Rot of Saffron Caused by Fusarium oxysporum

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is considered as one of the most expensive spices. Fusarium corm rot of saffron, caused by Fusarium oxysporum, is known to cause severe yield losses worldwide. In the present study, efficacy of biocontrol agents (Trichoderma asperellum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus stratosphericus, Bacillus pumilus, and Bacillus subtilis) along with a chemical fungicide, carbendazim, was evaluated for managing the corm rot of saffron. Under in vitro conditions, using dual culture and poison food techniques on potato dextrose agar, T. asperellum and carbendazim significantly reduced the mycelial growth of the pathogen F. oxysporum, with the inhibition of 62.76 and 60.27%, respectively, compared with control. Under field conditions, dipping of saffron corms in carbendazim and T. asperellum exhibited maximum reduction of 82.77 and 77.84%, respectively, in the disease incidence, during the first year of experiment. However, during the second year, maximum reduction in the incidence of corm rot (68.63%) was recorded with the T. asperellum. Moreover, the population density of F. oxysporum was also significantly reduced by 60 and 80.19% while using T. asperellum after 75 and 260 days of sowing of saffron corms, compared to its population before planting of corms. In case of growth promotion traits, such as sprouting and flowering, biocontrol treatments reduced the number of days (average) of sprouting and flower emergence after sowing, compared to control.

Fertilizer Rate and Substrate Water Content Effect on Growth and Flowering of Beardtongue

Research has shown that reduced irrigation and fertilizer rates can still produce good plant growth when irrigation is applied efficiently to reduce leaching. The impact of reduced irrigation and fertilizer rate on flowering and plant growth would provide additional information on the potential for reduced production inputs. The objective of this research was to quantify the impact of reduced irrigation and fertilizer rate on growth and flowering of Ruby Candle beardtongue (Penstemon × ‘Ruby Candle’). A soil moisture sensor automated irrigation system was used to maintain plants at 40% volumetric water content [VWC; well-watered (WW)] or 18% VWC (reduced irrigation, RI). A controlled release fertilizer was applied at 100%, 50%, and 25% of the bag rate (12 g/plant). There was not a significant treatment effect on any flower parameter. Average plant height was greatest for plants receiving the 50% fertilizer rate (75.9 cm) and was lowest for the 100% fertilizer rate (64.5 cm). Internode length was greater for WW plants (36.9 mm) than RI plants (32.4 mm). Well-watered plants had greater fresh weight (99.1 g) than RI plants (79.2 g) and 100% fertilizer rate (97.1 g) was greater than the 25% fertilizer rate (82.7 g).

Impact of environmental factors and mulching on growth, quality and yield of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cv. ‘Loris’

Research was conducted at Hi-tech farm of Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan to evaluate the effects of different mulches and environmental conditions on growth, quality and yield of carnation cut flowers under naturally ventilated polyhouse conditions. Different types of mulch were replicated six times in a plot of 1.0 × 1.0 m size. Mulching with spent mushroom compost (M1), grass (M2), pine needles (M3) along with control (M0) was done 15 days after transplanting of rooted cuttings. The results revealed that plants mulched with spent mushroom compost (M1) recorded maximum duration of flowering (28.77 & 28.97 days), minimum days taken to reach harvesting stage (141 & 132.33 days), highest number of cut flowers per plant (6.50 & 9.47) and vase life (18.30 & 23.37 days) during first and second flush, respectively as compared to control. The maximum temperature and relative humidity inside greenhouse were 39.8oC and 85 %, respectively. However, maximum soil temperature was recorded in the plots mulched with pine needles.

A novel mutation in TFL1 homolog sustaining determinate growth in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).

BSA-seq combined with whole-genome resequencing map-based cloning delimited the cucumber det-novel locus into a 44.5kb region in chromosome 6 harboring a putative candidate gene encoding a phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (CsCEN). Determinate and indeterminate growth habits of cucumber can affect plant architecture and crop yield. The TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) controls determinate/indeterminate growth in Arabidopsis. In this study, a novel mutation in cucumber TFL1 homolog (CsCEN) has shown to regulate determinate growth and product of terminal flowers in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), which is similar to the function of CsTFL1 as previously reported. Genetic analysis in two determinate genotypes (D226 and D082) and indeterminate genotype (CCMC) revealed that a single recessive gene is responsible for this determinate growth trait. With the combination of BSA-seq and whole-genome resequencing, the locus of determinate-novel (det-novel) trait was mapped to a 44.5kb genomic region in chromosome 6. Sequence alignment identified one non-synonymous SNP mutation (A to T) in the third exon of CsCEN, resulting in an amino acid substitution (Thr to Pro), suggesting that determinate growth might be controlled by a novel gene CsCEN (Csa6G152360) which differed from the reported CsTFL1 gene. The CsCEN expression level in shoot apexes and axillary buds was significantly lower in D226 compared to CCMC, suggesting its essential role in sustaining indeterminate growth habit. Identification and characterization of the CsCEN in the present study provide a new insight into plant architecture modification and development of cucumber cultivars suited to mechanized production system.

Efficacy of different primers on growth and yield of tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.)

Tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) is an important and highly valuable flower of the cut flower industry. The most critical step in its cultivation is to break dormancy in order to initiate the growth, especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Therefore, the current research was conducted to break bulb dormancy and foster the growth of tulip in Potohar region with the help of different primers. The objective of this study was the selection of best primer at appropriate concentration level to enhance growth, yield and vase life of the flower. Tulip bulbs were treated with different primers: T0 (distilled water), T1 (chitosan @ 5 g/L), T2 (gibberellic acid @ 0.15 g/L), T3 (humic acid 160 g/L), T4 (imidacloprid 19 g/L) and T5 (salicylic acid 0.1 g/L) for 24 hours, respectively. The experiment was laid out using Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. Statistical results revealed that characteristics including early germination, plant height, number of leaves, stalk length, fresh and dry weight of flower, weight of bulbs, diameter of bulbs and number of daughter bulbs were significantly increased in T2. Whereas, leaf area, diameter of stem and flower was maximum in T0. Plants under T3 showed an increase in chlorophyll content of leaves. While floral characteristics like early formation and opening of flower bud, more number of flowers and vase life were improved in T1. Thus, statistical results showed that priming can effectively help to improve morpho-physiological attributes of tulip.

Process of Attack on Cashew Tree Branches by Diastocera trifasciata (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) and the Relationship between These Attacks and the Phenological Stages in the Gbêkê Region (Central Côte d'Ivoire).

Cerambycidae Diastocera trifasciata attacks were studied from October 2015 to September 2017 in three cashew tree orchards in the locality of Brobo in central Côte d’Ivoire. One hundred fifty-three (153) cashew trees, arranged on a diagonal from each orchard, were selected for sampling. The attacked plants and the branches cut per tree were counted every 15 days. Biotic parameters, namely phenological stages of trees, and abiotic factors, which are rainfall, relative humidity and average temperature, were recorded throughout the study. Attacks were observed from mid-September to January from the pre-flowering vegetative stage to the flowering stage. Attack period duration was therefore four and a half months per year. The peak of attacks was recorded in November with an attack rate of 88.02% in 2015 and 75.49% in 2016. No attack was recorded from February to mid-September, corresponding to the flowering, fruiting and post-harvest vegetative growth stages. This description of the attack process and the determination of D. trifasciata attack periods provides essential data for the implementation of an effective and sustainable control method of this species.

Biomaterial-Induced Stable Resistive Switching Mechanism in TiO2 Thin Films: The Role of Active Interstitial Sites/Ions in Minimum Current Leakage and Superior Bioactivity.

Leakage of current in oxide layers is the main issue for higher speed and denser resistive random-access memory. Defect engineering played a substantial role in meeting this challenge by doping or producing controlled interstitial defects or active sites. These controlled active sites enabled memory cells to form a stable and reproducible conduction filament following an electrochemical metallization model. In this study, a defect-abundant lime peel extract (LPE)-mediated anatase TiO2 thin film was fabricated using a simple hydrothermal route. The detailed structural and morphological analysis of the bioactive anatase TiO2-LPE thin film reveals the homogeneous growth of TiO2 flowers and distinct features in terms of controlled defects as compared to simple anatase TiO2. These interstitial defects (Ti+3 and Ti+4) behave as active sites for cation migrations along highly conductive K1+ ions because of the mediation of LPE. The defect-free surface reveals slight surface roughness (4.8 nm) that successfully minimizes leakage of current. The strategy enabled a reliable conductive bridge filament, which can replicate with no more electric degradation. The Ag/TiO2-LPE/FTO-based memory cell demonstrates reproducible bipolar resistive switching along with a high ON/OFF ratio (>105), excellent endurance (1.5 × 103 cycles), and long-term retention (105 s) without any electrical degradation. Furthermore, green-synthesized TiO2-LPE nanoparticles have shown superior antibacterial activity as compared to other green syntheses of different plants or fruits against the toxic microorganisms present in inorganic media.

Significance of Apoidea as Main Pollinators. Ecological and Economic Impact and Implications for Human Nutrition

Wild and managed bees provide pollination services to crops and wild plants, as well as a variety of other services beneficial to humans. Honey bees are the most economically valuable pollinator worldwide. It has been calculated that 9.5% of the total economic value of agricultural production comes from insect pollination, thus amounting to just under USD 200 billion globally. More than 100 important crops depend on pollination by honey bees. The latter pollinate not only a wide number of commercial crops but also many wild plants, some of which are threatened by extinction and constitute a valuable genetic resource. Moreover, as pollinators, honey bees play a significant role in every aspect of the ecosystem by facilitating the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants that serve as food and shelter for many large and small creatures. In this paper, we describe how the reduction in honey bee populations affects various economic sectors, as well as human health.

Hydroponics with wastewater: a review of trends and opportunities

AbstractHydroponics is a method of crop production that has been successfully used for the growth of vegetables and flowers. It uses a nutrient solution and generally controlled environmental conditions which makes it more energy intensive, yet more productive than conventional agriculture. Hydroponic systems can be used as a treatment process for partially treated wastewater or reclaimed water (RW) before its release to the environment, as plants have the ability to uptake nutrients, toxic metals and emerging contaminants. The present review has the aim to look into the advantages of hydroponics and evaluate the success of using RW as a nutrient solution. It was found that many examples exist of successful experiments; however, full‐scale examples are still limited. With the recent interest in vertical farming and the production of legal cannabis, interest in hydroponics has increased and the use of RW as a nutrient solution may finally be economically viable.

UV–Visible photo sensing properties of CdS-porous silicon (PS): P-Si and ZnO-PS: p-Si heterostructures metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) based devices

Present work reports fabrication of metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) [1] devices based on CdS-PS: p-Si and ZnO-PS: p-Si heterostructures for photo sensing applications. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) analyses confirm growth of hierarchical flower like nanostructured CdS and spherical shaped nanostructured ZnO layers of uniform thicknesses ∼170 and 160 nm respectively on PS: p-Si substrate. UV–visible absorbance spectra for CdS and ZnO nanostructures provide optical band gap of 2.6 and 3.3 eV respectively. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra analyses of the heterostructures show near band edge (NBE) emissions of nanostructured CdS at ∼450–482 nm for CdS-PS: p-Si and at ∼378–398 nm of nanostructured ZnO for ZnO-PS: p-Si along with characteristic PL peaks of PS at ∼600 nm [2] and some trap/defect assisted luminescence bands. Dark current analyses of the heterostructures give values of ideality factors (n) of 3.4 and 4.4 respectively. Heterostructures under increasing illumination intensity (17–71 µW cm−2, 400 nm) show almost symmetric rectification enhancement for positive and negative bias condition with maximum photo to dark current ratio (Iph/Id) of 10.3 and 34.3 respectively at −2 V bias. ZnO-PS: p-Si heterostructure shows superiority for UV–Visible photo sensing application in terms of high responsivity ∼2.6 AW−1, high EQE ∼800% and response time of ∼1.12 sec compared to ∼0.6 AW−1, 180% and 0.16 sec of CdS-PS: p-Si respectively at biasing of −2 V.

Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Imagery in Phenotyping of Bambara Groundnut

In this experiment, proximal measurements and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery was used to determine growth stages for bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.). The crop is a high potential crop due to its ability to yield in marginal environments, but neglected and underutilised due to lack of information on its growth in different environments. This study evaluated the correlation between Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from the ground as well as airborne sensors to test the ability of remotely sensed data to identify growth stages. NDVI and chlorophyll content of bambara groundnut leaves were measured at ground level at 18, 32, 46 and 88 days after planting (DAP) comprising vegetative, flowering, pod formation and maturity growth stages. The UAV imagery for the experimental plots was acquired with 0.2m resolution at maturity. The result showed a significant (p < 0.05) linear relationship between proximal NDVI and chlorophylls content at all growth stages ofgrowth. The R2 varied from 0.57 in the vegetative stage to 0.78 in the flowering stage. Furthermore, NDVI derived from proximal measurements and UAV data showed a significant (p < 0.05) correlation. The observed high correlation between proximal sensors, UAV data and crop parameters suggest that remote sensing technologies can be used for rapid phenotyping to hasten the development of models to assess the performance of underutilised crops for food and nutrition security.

The Relationship between Soil Temperature and Volumetric Soil Water Content in Iraq using ECMWF Data for the Period (1980-2016)

The Volumetric Soil Water Content (VSWC) and Soil Temperature (ST), are important factors in determining the phenomenon of desertification and agricultural drought, where soil temperature plays an important role in determining the date of flower growth. Surface evaporation and water leakage are also associated with climate-related evolution in terms of precipitation production and in the development of weather patterns. The methods adopted in the study depend on the monthly and annual mean of the four levels (L1, L2, L3, and L4) of the volumetric soil water content and soil temperature, taken from the European Centre Medium Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for the time period thirty seven years (1980-2016), for selected stations in Iraq (Mosul, Baghdad, Rutba, and Basrah). The greatest value of the volumetric soil water content was recorded in Mosul, and the lowest value was recorded in Basrah. The greatest value of soil temperature recorded in Basrah, and the lowest value in Mosul. The relationship between volumetric soil water content and soil temperature is a very high negative correlation for thirty seven years for the selected stations (Mosul, Baghdad, Rutba, and Basrah).

Effect of silicon and gibberellic acid on growth and flowering of gladiolus

Effect of silicon and gibberellic acid on growth and flowering of gladiolus

Growth response of red chilli plants to flowering phase against the application of Trichoderma and Pseudomonas fluorescens and P fertilizers

This study aims to determine the effect of the application of Trichoderma sp. Fungi. and Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria as biofertilizer agents and P fertilizer doses as well as interactions between microbial biofertilizer agents and P fertilizer doses on vegetative growth and early appearance of red chilli flower flowers to the initial flowering period. This greenhouse experiment was arranged factorially in a completely randomized design. The first factor was the application of microbial biofertilizer agents consisting of no microbes, Trichoderma sp., And P. fluorescens, while the second factor was the dosage of P fertilizer per 5,000 g of soil planting medium consisting of 0, 0.5, and 1.0 g SP-36. Nine combinations of treatments repeated three times to obtain 27 experimental units. The variables observed were plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, wet weight and stover dry weight at 42 days after planting (DAP) and the beginning of flower emergence. The data were analyzed by 5% ANOVA followed by a 5% HSD Test to determine the difference in influence between treatments. The results showed a very significant interaction effect between the application of microbial agents and the dose of phosphate fertilizer to height, stem diameter, leaf area, wet weight and dry weight of stover and the initial flowering time at 42 DAP. The application of P. fluorescens bacteria as a biofertilizer agent combined with 0.5 g SP-36 fertilizer dose per 5,000 g of planting media showed the highest growth effect of red chili plants at age 42 DAP in terms of plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, stover wet weight, stover dry weight, and earlier flower appearance.

Effect of source of nitrogen and vermi compost on growth, flowering attributes and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.)

The investigation entitled “Effect of nitrogen and vermi compost application on growth, flower yield, and shelf life of flower in marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) cv. Double Orange” was carried out at Jambuvadi Farm, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, during December 2016 to May 2017. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with Factorial concept (FRBD) consisting two factors with three replications. The treatment comprised with four levels of Nitrogen viz., 0kg ha-1, 150kg ha-1, 200kg ha-1, 250kg ha-1 and four levels of vermi compost 0 tonne ha-1, 2 tonne ha-1, 4 tonne ha-1 and 6 tonne ha-1.The results of the study indicated that application of nitrogen @250kg ha-1 significantly improved the plant height at 30 DAP (34.72cm), 60 DAP (55.07cm) and 90 DAP (85.39cm), increase number of primary branches (11.34) and secondary branches (33.78), stem diameter (2.03cm), fresh weight of the plant (371.60 g) and dry weight of the plant (68.03 g). While, minimum days to opening first flower (50.18 days), days to 50% flowering (62.98 days) shelf life of flower (4.03 days) and vase life of flower (6.80 days) were obtained in the treatment of 0kg ha-1 nitrogen (Control). Whereas, application of nitrogen @200kg ha-1 recorded highest flowering span (49.33days), number of flowers per plant (41.29), weight of single flower (6.03 g), weight of flowers per plant (251.98 g), flowers yield per plot (6.30kg), flowers yield per hectare (18.66 t/ha). In also of vermi compost the variation was also found significant. The maximum plant height at 30 DAP (34.53cm), 60 DAP (55.11cm) and 90 DAP (85.95cm), increase number of primary branches (10.55) and secondary branches (33.00), stem diameter (1.88cm), fresh weight of the plant (363.02 g) and dry weight of the plant (63.29 g), flowering span (49.67 days), number of flowers per plant (40.67), weight of single flower (5.75 g), weight of flowers per plant (237.99 g), flowers yield per plot (5.95kg) and flowers yield per hectare (17.63 t/ha) was noted in the treatment of vermi compost @6 tonne ha-1. However, without vermi compost (control) were recorded minimum days to opening first flower (51.36 days), days to 50% flowering (64.18 days) shelf life of flower (3.88 days) and vase life of flower (6.72 days). The interaction between the different levels of nitrogen and vermin compost failed to depict any significant effect on recorded characters.

Effects of Thinning, Physiological Stress and Gibberellic Acid on Hibiscus Flower Growth and Development

Effects of Thinning, Physiological Stress and Gibberellic Acid on Hibiscus Flower Growth and Development

Research status and countermeasureson cold resistance and photosynthetic physiological response of flowers

With the increasing attention to environmental protection and treatment, the winter heating mode in most areas is gradually changing from coal to gas or coal to electricity. Due to a variety of uncontrollable factors, there is a short period of temperature lower than the sub-low temperature, which often brings serious constraints and losses to the commercial production and ornamental utilization of flowers. Low temperature is one of the main abiotic stresses in the growth of potted flowers. The growth, development and physiological metabolism of potted flowers are directly affected by low temperature. Among them, photosynthesis is the most sensitive process to low temperature. Photosynthesis is the most important physiological and biochemical process on the earth, so the study of photosynthetic physiological response of potted flowers under low temperature stress is very important practical significance and application value in the production of potted flower varieties.