Photoperiodic Flowering Response of Essential Oil, Grain, and Fiber Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Cultivars

Cultivation of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in tropical and subtropical regions can be challenging if the flowering behavior of a given cultivar is unknown, poorly understood, or not accurately selected for the photoperiod. Identifying cultivars adapted to local environmental conditions is key to optimizing hemp vegetative and flowering performance. We investigated the effects of varying light cycles in regulating extension growth and flowering response of 15 essential oil and 12 fiber/grain hemp cultivars both indoors and outdoors. Plants were subjected to 11 photoperiods in the controlled rooms ranging from 12 to 18 h, and natural day length in the field. The critical photoperiod threshold was identified for seven essential oil cultivars and two fiber/grain cultivars. “Cherry Wine-CC,” “PUMA-3,” and “PUMA-4” had the shortest critical day length between 13 h 45 min and 14 h. The flowering of essential oil cultivars was generally delayed by 1–2 days when the photoperiod exceeded 13 h compared with 12 h, and flowering was further delayed by 7–8 days when the photoperiod exceeded 14 h. In fiber/grain cultivars, flowering was generally delayed by 1–3 days when the day length exceeded 14 h. Flowering for most essential oil cultivars was delayed by 5–13 days under a 14-h photoperiod compared with 13 h 45 min, suggesting a photoperiod difference as little as 15 min can significantly influence the floral initiation of some essential oil cultivars. Cultivars represented by the same name but acquired from different sources can perform differently under the same environmental conditions, suggesting genetic variation among cultivars with the same name. Average days to flower of fiber/grain cultivars was correlated with reported cultivar origin, with faster flowering occurring among northern cultivars when compared with southern cultivars. Plant height generally increased as the day length increased in essential oil cultivars but was not affected in fiber/grain cultivars. In addition, civil twilight of ~2 μmol·m−2·s−1 was discovered to be biologically effective in regulating hemp flowering. Collectively, we conclude that most of the essential oil cultivars and some southern fiber/grain cultivars tested express suitable photoperiods for tropical and sub-tropical region cultivation.

Effects of Runner Removal and Partial Defoliation on the Growth and Yield Performance of ‘Favori’ Everbearing Strawberry Plants

It is not known to what degree growth and fruit yield are source-limited in everbearing strawberry plants. The growth and yield performance effect of bi-weekly removal of all runners and/or one or two leaves during the cropping season of tunnel-grown ‘Favori’ everbearing strawberry plants was determined. Plants were grown on a table-top system in an open plastic tunnel under natural light conditions in Norway from May to October. Removal of runners and leaves was bi-weekly from 5 June until 25 September. Fruits were harvested from 5 July to 7 October. Bi-weekly runner removal increased total and marketable yield and number and size of fruits, while increasing leaf thinning had the opposite effects. However, none of the treatments affected the fruit number and yield of the first fruiting flush. The treatments did not affect realization of the yield potential of the plants at planting, whereas the continued floral initiation and fruit growth were enhanced by runner removal. Increasing leaf thinning had the opposite effects. Both floral initiation and fruit growth in heavily flowering and fruiting everbearing strawberry are source-limited owing to the high fruit/leaf ratio of such plants.

Photoperiodic Flowering Response of Essential Oil, Grain, and Fiber Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Cultivars

Cultivation of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in tropical and subtropical regions can be challenging if flowering behavior of a given cultivar is unknown, poorly understood, or not accurately selected for the photoperiod. Identifying cultivars adapted to local environmental conditions is key to optimizing hemp vegetative and flowering performance. We investigated the effects of varying light cycles in regulating extension growth and flowering response of 15 essential oil and 12 fiber/grain hemp cultivars both in indoors and outdoors. Plants were subjected to eleven photoperiods in the controlled rooms ranging from 12 h to 18 h, and natural day length in the field. The critical photoperiod threshold was identified for seven essential oil cultivars and two fiber/grain cultivars. 'Cherry Wine-CC', 'PUMA-3', and 'PUMA-4' had the shortest critical day length between 13 h 45 min and 14 h. The flowering of essential oil cultivars was generally delayed by 1 to 2 d when photoperiod exceeded 13 h compared to 12 h, and flowering was further delayed by 7 to 8 d when photoperiod exceed 14 h. In fiber/grain cultivars, flowering was generally delayed by 1 to 3 d when day length exceeded 14 h. Flowering for most essential oil cultivars was delayed by 5 to 13 d under 14 h photoperiod compared to 13 h 45 min, suggesting a photoperiod difference as little as 15 min can significantly influence the floral initiation of some essential oil cultivars. Cultivars represented by the same name but acquired from different sources can perform differently under the same environmental conditions, suggesting genetic variation among cultivars with the same name. Average days to flower of fiber/grain cultivars was correlated with reported cultivar origin with faster flowering occurring among northern cultivars when compared to southern cultivars. Plant height generally increased as the day length increased in essential oil cultivars but was not affected in fiber/grain cultivars. In addition, civil twilight of approximately 2 μmol m^-2 s^-1 was discovered to be biologically effective in regulating hemp flowering. Collectively, we conclude that most of the essential oil cultivars and some southern fiber/grain cultivars tested express suitable photoperiods for tropical and sub-tropical region cultivation.

Screening of Key Proteins Affecting Floral Initiation of Saffron Under Cold Stress Using iTRAQ-Based Proteomics

BackgroundSaffron crocus (Crocus sativus) is an expensive and valuable species that presents preventive and curative effects. This study aimed to screen the key proteins affecting the floral initiation of saffron under cold stress and thus increasing yield by regulating the temperature.ResultsProtein expression profiles in flowering and non-flowering saffron buds were established using isobaric tags for relative or absolute quantitation (iTRAQ). A total of 5,624 proteins were identified, and 201 differentially abundant protein species (DAPs) were further obtained between the flowering and non-flowering groups. The most important functions of the upregulated DAPs were “sucrose metabolic process,” “lipid transport,” “glutathione metabolic process,” and “gene silencing by RNA.” Downregulated DAPs were significantly enriched in “starch biosynthetic process” and several oxidative stress response pathways. Three new flower-related proteins, CsFLK, CseIF4a, and CsHUA1, were identified in this study. The following eight key genes were validated by real-time qPCR in flowering and non-flowering top buds from five different growth phases: floral induction- and floral organ development-related genes CsFLK, CseIF4A, CsHUA1, and CsGSTU7; sucrose synthase activity-related genes CsSUS1 and CsSUS2; and starch synthase activity-related genes CsGBSS1 and CsPU1. These findings demonstrate the important roles played by sucrose/starch biosynthesis pathways in floral development at the mRNA level. During normal floral organ development, the sucrose contents in the top buds of saffron increased, and the starch contents decreased. In contrast, non-flowering buds showed significantly decreased sucrose contents under cold stress and no significant changes in starch contents compared with those in the dormancy stage.ConclusionIn this report, the protein profiles of saffron under cold stress and a normal environment were revealed for the first time by iTRAQ. A possible “reactive oxygen species–antioxidant system–starch/sugar interconversion flowering pathway” was established to explain the phenomenon that saffron does not bloom due to low temperature treatment.

Differential Expression of Key Floral Initiation Genes in Response to Plant Growth Regulator Application and Alternate Bearing in Pecan

Regarding pecan (Carya illinoinensis), alternate bearing, which is a biennial fluctuation of crop yield, is a major hindrance for the pecan industry. Little is known about the internal cues that trigger pecan shoots to become reproductive. This 2-year study approached the mysteries of alternate bearing of pecan by determining whether pecan homologs of three genes known to control floral initiation in other species are expressed differently at various times of the growing season or in distinct plant tissues, and whether expression of these genes can be manipulated by plant growth regulator (PGR) application when compared with an untreated control group. The flowering genes of interest were pecan homologs of leafy (CpLFY), apetala1 (CpAP1), and flowering locus t (CpFT). During year 1 (2014), PGRs ethephon and gibberellin GA3 were applied at the shoot level 1 week before each of three tissue sampling dates (13 June, 3 July, 29 July). During the following year (2015), two more PGRs were added to the study [a second double rate (2X) of gibberellin GA3 and ethylene inhibitor aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG)] for a total of four PGRs (applied on 10 June, 1 July, and 23 July) plus the untreated control. Experimental leaf and bud tissues were sampled from fruiting and nonfruiting shoots on mature ‘Western’ pecan trees and analyzed separately. Normalized expression levels of CpLFY and CpAP1 were significantly higher in buds than in leaves. Normalized expression of CpLFY in bud tissues differed statistically based on the sampling date in 2014, with the earliest date (13 June) having higher expression than the two later dates that year. In 2015, a treatment × date interaction revealed that, compared with the untreated control, CpLFY expression was significantly lower in shoots treated with both gibberellin GA3 dosages on 1 July. A few weeks later (23 July), CpLFY expression was lower in the 2X GA3 treatment group and higher in samples treated with AVG. In 2014, CpAP1 expression in buds was significant, with a treatment × date interaction in which ethephon increased CpAP1 expression, but only on one date (29 July). In 2015, bud CpAP1 expression was significantly higher in fruiting than in nonfruiting shoots; however, again, only on one date. The results reveal differential expression of these key flowering genes based on tissue type, sampling date, and fruiting status of the shoot and PGR treatment. Results suggest that more research of the effects of PGRs is necessary for understanding the flowering behavior of pecan and mitigating the intensity of alternate bearing.