Short-day treatment alters Douglas-fir seedling dehardening and transplant root proliferation at varying rhizosphere temperatures

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1526-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglass F. Jacobs ◽  
Anthony S. Davis ◽  
Barrett C. Wilson ◽  
R. Kasten Dumroese ◽  
Rosa C. Goodman ◽  
...  

We tested effects of shortened day length during nursery culture on Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedling development at dormancy release. Seedlings from a 42°N source were grown either under ambient photoperiods (long-day (LD)) or with a 28 day period of 9 h light : 15 h dark photoperiods (short-day (SD)). Seedlings were periodically removed from freezer storage from January to May. Sensitivity of plant tissues to cold temperatures was investigated via electrolyte leakage at nine test temperatures ranging from 2 to –40 °C. New root growth was assessed with rhizosphere temperatures of 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C. From 2 to –13 °C, there was no difference between treatments in cold hardiness. However, at or below –18 °C, LD seedlings exhibited higher indices of damage than SD seedlings. The LT50 (temperature at which 50% cell electrolyte leakage occurred) was consistently lower for SD than LD seedlings. Rhizosphere temperature differentially influenced new root proliferation: LD seedlings had greater new root production than SD seedlings at 20 °C, whereas the opposite response was detected at 10 °C. Our results confirm photoperiod sensitivity of Douglas-fir sources from relatively low (i.e., <45°N) latitudes. Increased spring cold hardiness and greater rooting at lower rhizosphere temperatures may improve field performance potential of SD-treated seedlings.

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1096-1105 ◽  
Author(s):  
C DB Hawkins ◽  
K B Shewan

Fifteen seed lots, five each from natural-stand, seed-orchard, and full-sib collections, of interior spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm., and their naturally occurring hybrids) were sown in February 1993. One half of each seed lot received an ambient photoperiod (control) treatment, while the other half got a blackout (short-day) treatment. All seedlings were grown under ambient photoperiod except during the 17 days of blackout. Frost hardiness assessments were done between July and May. Blackout treatment was effective in regulating height and promoting frost hardiness in all seed lots, particularly vigorous ones. Seed lots originating from high latitude or elevation were more frost hardy both at fall lift and spring planting. Full-sib seed lots from similar latitude displayed no elevational frost-hardiness trend. Blackout treatment promoted seedling dormancy (estimated with days to bud break) at lift, but it had little or no effect on dormancy at planting. Seedling dormancy and frost hardiness were acquired and lost differently, suggesting that they are independent physiological processes. Blackout treatment significantly reduced new roots at planting in all lots. This could retard early field performance and negate the apparent utility of blackout treatment.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0240390
Author(s):  
Hongxu Dong ◽  
Lindsay V. Clark ◽  
Xiaoli Jin ◽  
Kossonou Anzoua ◽  
Larisa Bagmet ◽  
...  

Miscanthus is a close relative of Saccharum and a potentially valuable genetic resource for improving sugarcane. Differences in flowering time within and between Miscanthus and Saccharum hinders intra- and interspecific hybridizations. A series of greenhouse experiments were conducted over three years to determine how to synchronize flowering time of Saccharum and Miscanthus genotypes. We found that day length was an important factor influencing when Miscanthus and Saccharum flowered. Sugarcane could be induced to flower in a central Illinois greenhouse using supplemental lighting to reduce the rate at which days shortened during the autumn and winter to 1 min d-1, which allowed us to synchronize the flowering of some sugarcane genotypes with Miscanthus genotypes primarily from low latitudes. In a complementary growth chamber experiment, we evaluated 33 Miscanthus genotypes, including 28 M. sinensis, 2 M. floridulus, and 3 M. ×giganteus collected from 20.9° S to 44.9° N for response to three day lengths (10 h, 12.5 h, and 15 h). High latitude-adapted M. sinensis flowered mainly under 15 h days, but unexpectedly, short days resulted in short, stocky plants that did not flower; in some cases, flag leaves developed under short days but heading did not occur. In contrast, for M. sinensis and M. floridulus from low latitudes, shorter day lengths typically resulted in earlier flowering, and for some low latitude genotypes, 15 h days resulted in no flowering. However, the highest ratio of reproductive shoots to total number of culms was typically observed for 12.5 h or 15 h days. Latitude of origin was significantly associated with culm length, and the shorter the days, the stronger the relationship. Nearly all entries achieved maximal culm length under the 15 h treatment, but the nearer to the equator an accession originated, the less of a difference in culm length between the short-day treatments and the 15 h day treatment. Under short days, short culms for high-latitude accessions was achieved by different physiological mechanisms for M. sinensis genetic groups from the mainland in comparison to those from Japan; for mainland accessions, the mechanism was reduced internode length, whereas for Japanese accessions the phyllochron under short days was greater than under long days. Thus, for M. sinensis, short days typically hastened floral induction, consistent with the expectations for a facultative short-day plant. However, for high latitude accessions of M. sinensis, days less than 12.5 h also signaled that plants should prepare for winter by producing many short culms with limited elongation and development; moreover, this response was also epistatic to flowering. Thus, to flower M. sinensis that originates from high latitudes synchronously with sugarcane, the former needs day lengths >12.5 h (perhaps as high as 15 h), whereas that the latter needs day lengths <12.5 h.


1969 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-235
Author(s):  
Arturo Riollano

Studies on the effects of photoperiodism and other factors were conducted to obtain information which might be useful in a breeding program with pigeonpeas. The information was sought for accelerating this work in a region where extremes of day-length vary by only 2 hours because of its location in latitude 18°. By shortening the length of day to 8 hours through the use of a darkroom, and planting during the month of February, it was possible to induce flower formation 4 months earlier in two early varieties and 7 weeks earlier in a late variety. However, this short-day treatment did not appreciably affect the time of flower induction in an all-season, or "Totiempo" variety. One-gallon tin-can containers and 10-inch polyethylene bags were found satisfactory for growing pigeonpea plants of different varieties.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 692
Author(s):  
Johanna Riikonen ◽  
Jaana Luoranen

Determination of safe times at which to transfer seedlings to freezer storage is problematic in forest tree nurseries. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between pre-storage frost hardiness (FH) of different plant parts, dry matter content (DMC), chilling hours (the sum of hours when temperature was between −5 °C and +5 °C), and post-storage vitality, and the impact of short-day (SD) treatment on these relationships. One and a half year old control seedlings and SD-treated seedlings of Norway spruce were transferred to freezer storage (−3 °C) on five occasions during autumn. On each occasion, the FH of buds, needles, stem, and roots, as well as DMC, were determined, and chilling hours were calculated. The vitality of the freezer-stored seedlings was determined through their root growth capacity in the subsequent spring, and through the field performance of the seedlings (shoot growth and seedling damage) at the end of the following two growing seasons. Seedlings were considered to be storable when the FH of the needles was at least −25 °C, and the FH of the roots was about −10 °C in both treatments. Early storage reduced the vitality of the seedlings. SD treatment did not advance the storability of the seedlings, although it alleviated some of the negative effects of early storage by improving the FH of needles and stem, but not that of the roots. The DMC value, indicating storability, was higher for SD-treated seedlings than for control seedlings. When data from five experiments conducted in Suonenjoki were combined, it was found that the relationship between accumulation of chilling hours and needle FH was dependent on nursery treatment and assessment year, which reduces the reliability of using chilling hours in predicting the storability of Norway spruce seedlings. The predicted climate change may complicate the fall acclimation of seedlings. New, user-friendly methods for determining storability of seedlings are urgently needed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 542-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Colombo ◽  
E. M. Raitanen

Shoot frost hardiness development in white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) container seedlings in response to intermittent short days (4 days per week) and warm (not less than 15 °C) or cool (10/5 °C, day/night) temperatures was assessed using the diffusate-electrical conductivity technique. A slight increase in frost hardiness was found within 2 weeks of the start of warm, short days. Frost hardiness increased linearly with time under warm, short days from week 7 to week 14, with seedlings being resistant to damage at −10 °C on week 14. Approximately one-quarter of the seedlings developed brown-green foliage colour after 5 weeks of warm, short day treatment. These seedlings were significantly more frost hardy than the remainder of the seedlings which had dark green foliage. Seedlings exposed to warm, intermittent short days for 13 weeks and then to cool continuous short days for a further 6 weeks became hardy to −20 °C, while seedlings exposed to warm, intermittent short days only for the full 19 week period did not harden to the −20 °C level. Key words: Thuja, day length, photoperiod


2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
X B Zhu ◽  
R M Cox ◽  
C -PA Bourque ◽  
P A Arp

One-year-old, cold-hardened, container-grown yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) seedlings were exposed to cold treatments after being pretreated with a simulated winter thaw. Freezing injury to roots and shoots was assessed by relative electrolyte leakage and triphenyltetrazolium chloride reduction. Growth characteristics were also determined after 60 days under greenhouse conditions. Relative electrolyte leakage and triphenyltetrazolium chloride reduction measurements showed that roots became increasingly damaged with decreasing cold-treatment temperatures. However, plants pretreated with thaws showed significantly lower stem increment, shoot length, and leaf area in response to the cold temperatures than did the unthawed plants. Variation in these growth parameters was also significantly correlated with both root and shoot freezing injury parameters. Cold hardiness under different thaw pretreatments was assessed using the highest freezing temperature that caused significant injury, referred to as the critical temperature. For seedlings without the thaw pretreatment, shoot and root critical temperatures were estimated as –52.5 and 23.8°C, respectively. Following 12 days of thaw, these temperatures increased to –24.08°C for shoots and –13°C for roots. Twelve days of thaw, or growing degree-day (>4°C) accumulations greater than 66 during a thaw, could sufficiently deharden roots and shoots such that they would be susceptible to freezing damage at ambient temperatures commonly encountered in the Canadian Maritimes. We also observed that root pressure declined significantly with increasing root freezing injury. Sufficient root pressure is required for springtime refilling of xylem embolisms caused by winter cavitation of the vessels in this species. Weak root pressure caused by freezing injury would represent a risk of shoot dieback and tree decline due to the remaining embolisms reducing water flow to the developing foliage. The rapid reduction of shoot cold hardiness may also indicate the threat of late-spring frosts to this species. These induced changes are especially important under climate change scenarios that suggest increases in winter temperatures and changes in seasonality in eastern Canada.Key words: climate change, cold hardiness, electrolyte leakage, growth, root pressure, TTC reduction.


HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 1263-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent L. Black ◽  
Harry J. Swartz ◽  
Gerald F. Deitzer ◽  
Bryan Butler ◽  
Craig K. Chandler

The effect of altered red/far-red light environment on subsequent field performance of strawberry plug plants was tested. Two wavelength-selective plastic films were compared to neutral shade and full-sun control for conditioning `Chandler' strawberry plug plants before transplanting to a winter production system. The following year, plug plants of `Chandler', `Sweet Charlie', and `Allstar' were conditioned under the same treatments, with the addition of a continuous incandescent light and a short-day photoperiod, and plant performance was followed in the winter production system in Florida, a cold-climate annual hill system in Maryland, and in a low-input greenhouse production system. During the first year, the red light-filtering film slightly advanced fruiting in Florida. However, during the second year, the effect of the red light-filtering film was not significant, and a short-day treatment resulted in a greater reduction in runnering and increased early crown and flower development. For June-bearing strawberry plants maintained above 20 °C, altering the red/far-red environment did not consistently advance flowering.


HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 849C-849
Author(s):  
Victoria L. Davidson* ◽  
Dean A. Kopsell ◽  
James E. Pollard

Experiments were conducted to investigate the potential effect on floral bud initiation in strawberry (Fragaria × ananasa, cv. Chandler) by interrupting inductive short day cycles with a day-length extension treatment. Vegetative plants were exposed to 10-, 15-, or 20-day cycles of inductive short days in growth chambers. After receiving an inductive short day treatment plants were transferred to a greenhouse where they were exposed to non-inductive long days, which stimulated panicle elongation. Dissections of apical meristems immediately following each cycle of short days revealed that cycles of 20 days resulted in detectable floral bud formation. After 15 days in the greenhouse, all short day treatments had initiated floral buds. In the greenhouse, under long days, subsequent flowering in cohorts of plants which had previously received inductive short days showed a positive correlation between interruption of short days with day length extension and reduction in the number of floral buds initiated on earliest emerging panicles. These results suggest potential for manipulation of floral bud induction and potentially fruit size in Chandler, and perhaps other cultivars by interruption of a cycle of inductive short days with a day length extension treatment.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongxu Dong ◽  
Lindsay V. Clark ◽  
Xiaoli Jin ◽  
Kossonou Anzoua ◽  
Larisa Bagmet ◽  
...  

AbstractMiscanthus is a close relative of Saccharum and a potentially valuable genetic resource for improving sugarcane. Differences in flowering time within and between Miscanthus and Saccharum hinders intra- and interspecific hybridizations. A series of greenhouse experiments were conducted over three years to determine how to synchronize flowering time of Saccharum and Miscanthus genotypes. We found that day length was an important factor influencing when Miscanthus and Saccharum flowered. Sugarcane could be induced to flower in a central Illinois greenhouse using supplemental lighting to reduce the rate at which days shortened during the autumn and winter to 1 min d-1, which allowed us to synchronize the flowering of some sugarcane genotypes with Miscanthus genotypes primarily from low latitudes. In a complementary growth chamber experiment, we evaluated 33 Miscanthus genotypes, including 28 M. sinensis, 2 M. floridulus, and 3 M. ×giganteus collected from 20.9° S to 44.9° N for response to three day lengths (10 h, 12.5 h, and 15 h). High latitude-adapted M. sinensis flowered mainly under 15 h days, but unexpectedly, short days resulted in short, stocky plants that did not flower; in some cases, flag leaves developed under short days but heading did not occur. In contrast, for M. sinensis and M. floridulus from low latitudes, shorter day lengths typically resulted in earlier flowering, and for some low latitude genotypes, 15 h days resulted in no flowering. However, the highest ratio of reproductive shoots to total number of culms was typically observed for 12.5 h or 15 h days. Latitude of origin was significantly associated with culm length, and the shorter the days, the stronger the relationship. Nearly all entries achieved maximal culm length under the 15 h treatment, but the nearer to the equator an accession originated, the less of a difference in culm length between the short-day treatments and the 15 h day treatment. Under short days, short culms for high-latitude accessions was achieved by different physiological mechanisms for M. sinensis genetic groups from the mainland in comparison to those from Japan; for mainland accessions, the mechanism was reduced internode length, whereas for Japanese accessions the phyllochron under short days was greater than under long days. Thus, for M. sinensis, short days typically hastened floral induction, consistent with the expectations for a facultative short-day plant. However, for high latitude accessions of M. sinensis, days less than 12.5 h also signaled that plants should prepare for winter by producing many short culms with limited elongation and development; moreover, this response was also epistatic to flowering. Thus, to flower M. sinensis that originates from high latitudes synchronously with sugarcane, the former needs day lengths >12.5 h (perhaps as high as 15 h), whereas that the latter needs day lengths <12.5 h.


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