Effect of High-intensity Light Given Prior to Low-temperature Treatment on the Long-day Flowering of Pharbitis nil

Pharbitis nil, strain Violet which had been exposed to high-intensitylight (18,000 lux at 23?C) for 7 days followed by a low-temperaturetreatment (13–14?C) for 7 days initiated flower buds evenunder continuous light, but plants given these treatments inreverse order failed to bud. Three days of high-intensity lightat 23?C was most effective in promoting the flower-inducingeffect of the subsequent low-temperature period. Six days oflow temperature following the 3-day high-intensity light periodinduced near-maximum flowering response. DCMU (5?10^–6M) given during the high-intensity light period inhibited flowering,but when given during or after the low-temperature period itwas ineffective. DCMU at the same concentration given before,during or after an inductive 16-hr dark period at 26?C did notinhibit flowering. Sucrose, ATP, NADPH and some other reducingagents tested did not nullify the DCMU effect nor substitutefor the effect of high-intensity light. But, the high-intensitylight effect could be substituted, at least partly, by 5-chlorosalicylicacid, 3,4-dichlorobenzoic acid and some other benzoic acid derivatives,which are highly effective in inducing long-day flowering inthe short-day plant, Lemna paucicostata. (Received October 20, 1981; Accepted February 3, 1982)     

Floral initiation under continuous light in Pharbitis nil, a typical short-day plant

Seedling-cuttings of Pharbitis nil, a typical short-day plant,initiated floral buds under continuous light of 2200–2400lux at 24–26?C. When cultured under poor-nutritional conditions,the node bearing the first floral bud was as low as the 4thone. A close relation between floral initiation under continuouslight and retarded vegetative growth was observed. (Received September 28, 1973; )     

Flowering of Stylosanthes guianensis in Relation to Juvenility and the Long-Short Day Requirement

Seedlings of Stylosanthes guianensis var. guianensis were grownin long (14 h) days in five temperature regimes for varyingperiods before transfer to short (11 h) days at 30 ?C/21 ?C.The juvenile phase before seedlings responded to inductive conditionswas c. 45–50 d, 50–60 d and 60–70 d for cv.Schofield, cv. Cook and C.P.I. 34906 respectively, which ispositively related to their critical photoperiod for flowering.Temperatures favourable for growth (e.g. 30 ?C/26 ?C) reducedthe juvenile phase in C.P.I. 34906 and in Cook, which did notflower in 11 h days unless previously exposed to more than 18long days. In a second experiment cv. Cook was confirmed as a long-shortday plant. Seedlings were grown for 50 d in a glasshouse withnatural daylength extended to 13, 14, 16 or 24 h before transferto 12 h photoperiods. Cook floral development was positivelyrelated to daylength provenance before transfer and plants incontinuous 12 h did not flower. Shortening daylength after 48 cycles of 12 h to 11.75 h didnot result in continued floral development in Cook plants butcv. Graham plants were initiated or transitional by 75 d. Key words: Stylosanthes guianensis, Photoperiod, Temperature, Flowering     

Correlation between Level of Phenylpropanoids in Cotyledons and Flowering in Pharbitis Seedlings under High-Fluence Illumination

Strain Violet of Pharbitis nil flowers under continuous lightwhen exposed to fluence rate greater than 30 W m^–2 (15,000lux) for 12 days or longer, but strain Kidachi does not flower.A high fluence rate promoted the accumulation of chlorogenicacid (CGA), pinoresinol-ß-glucoside (PRG) and p-coumaroylquinicacid (COQ) in strain Violet, while in strain Kidachi the levelof these compounds did not increase even under the highest fluencerate tested. The level of CGA, PRG and COQ in the cotyledonsof strain Violet increased in pararell with induction of floweringunder high-fluence illumination. Aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) inhibitedflowering simulutaneously suppressing the accumulation of CGAand PRG. (Received November 30, 1993; Accepted May 7, 1994)     

Genes for dwarfing and photoperiod flowering response inPharbitis nil choisy

Dwarfing and sensitivity to the duration of a single inductive dark period for flowering ofPharbitis nil in F₂ progeny of a cross between the tall strain Tendan, and the dwarf, Kidachi appear to be controlled by the alleles at two independent loci. Progeny of a similar cross between the tall strain Violet and the dwarf Kidachi at F₂ and F₃ also showed single locus segregation for tall: dwarf plants. In this cross, differences in photoperiodic response could be identified in F₃ families but they were not simply inherited. There was some evidence of difficulties with classification of the F₂ plants, but also, the flowering of the F₁ between the two less sensitive strains Tendan and Violet indicated complex inheritance of their photoperiodic response. Complementary dominant alleles at three independent loci may be necessary for flowering in even shorter dark periods with the sensitive strain Kidachi. The dwarf strain Kidachi has a reduced gibberellin (GA) content (Barendse and Lang 1972), it flowers in a short dark period without terminal flowering, and it responds positively to GA application both for flowering and growth. However, since control of dwarfing and photoperiodic sensitivity can be separated genetically, there is no strick link between the gibberellin responsiveness of Kidachi for its growth and flowering. Despite the complexity of flowering genetics in Violet×Kidachi, a short-dark-period-sensitive, terminal flowering and tall F₇ line was obtained in a pedigree previously held heterozygous for the dwarf: tall character but not selected for flowering time. Thus, flowering in a short dark period can also be obtained in the presence of the non-dwarfing allele from strain Violet, again demonstrating genetic independence.     

Effects of Light and Temperature on Flower-opening of Pharbitis nil

Flower buds of Pharbitis nil cut from plants growing in thefield opened rapidly when kept in darkness for 8 hr followedby continuous light at 20–25°C, but those kept indarkness for 4 hr opened promptly oniy when the temperatureduring the following light period was kept at 23°C or lower.Buds exposed to continuous light at 25°C did not open, butthose exposed to continuous light at 23°C opened slowly.At a lower temperature, the buds opened rapidly even in continuouslight. When the buds were placed in darkness at 25°C at13:30, 17:30 and 21:30 (artificial light from 17:30 to 21:30),they opened about 10 hr after the onset of darkness regardlessof the time of the onset of darkness, but when the buds werekept at 20°C in light from 13:30, 17:30 and 21:30, theyopened at 3:30–5:30 regardless of the time of transferto the lower temperature. The biological clock which controlsthe time of flower-opening is suggested to be easily reset bya light-off signal, but not by a shift from a normal to lowertemperature (20°C). At the lower temperature, the time offlower-opening probably is determined by the time of the latestpreceding light-off (or light-on) signal. ¹Dedicated to Professor Dr. Erwin Biinning on the occasion ofhis 75th birthday. (Received October 23, 1980; Accepted December 15, 1980)     

Flowering response of Ipomoea batatas scions grafted onto Pharbitis nil stocks

Young seedlings of Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. cv. Big One did not form floral buds, but were induced to flower when grafted onto Pharbitis nil Chois. cv. Violet with its cotyledons exposed to a 16 h dark period (SD). Four SD were required to induce flowering in I. batatas scions when the grafted plants were first grown under an 8 h dark period (LD) for 18 days and then exposed to SD. Transmission of the flowering stimulus across the graft union required 4 days. It was also slow in the graft combination of P. nil and P. nil , but increased greatly when the graft union was established more completely. These results suggest that the flowering stimulus of P. nil may move symplastically and its life may be between 4 and 6 days. Although the leaves of I. batatas inhibited flowering, the flowering response of P. nil grafted onto I. batatas suggested that the involvement of a transmissible flowering-inhibitor was unlikely.     

Flowering response of Lemna perpusilla 6746 to a single dark period

Lemna perpusilla 6746 is induced to flower by a single longdark period, but the floral buds once formed disappear afterseveral days under 5000 lux/25?C. Such regression of floralbuds is prevented by lowering the light intensity or temperature,but if the light intensity and/or temperature are lowered beyondcritical levels, new floral buds form. If the cultures are subjectedto 100 lux/20?C, neither regression nor new formation of floralbuds occurs. Under such conditions, the number of floral frondsreaches maximum about 6 days after the inductive dark periodand reamins unchanged for at least 10 days, while the percentageof floral fronds rapidly decreases thereafter, owing to thedilution by newly developed vegetative fronds. When the cultures are subjected to various lengths of a singledark period (25?C) followed by 100 lux/20?C, flowering responsesrepresented by the number of floral fronds per flask show rhythmicfluctuation with a cycle length of about 24 hr. Similar rhythmicresponse is observed when a brief light interruption is givenat different times during a single long dark period. (Received December 2, 1974; )     

Varietal Difference in the Ability to Flower in Response to Poor Nutrition and its Correlation with Chlorogenic Acid Accumulation in Pharbitis nil

Strain Kidachi of Pharbitis nil scarcely flowered in responseto poor nutrition (culture in tap water) under continuous light,although strain Violet flowered easily. In parallel to the floweringresponse, the chlorogenic acid (CGA) content in the cotyledonsdid not increase during the culture in tap water in Kidachi,although it rapidly increased in Violet. The F¹ hybrids betweenthese two strains and their F² progeny flowered in responseto poor nutrition, although F¹ showed a lower and F² a muchlower flowering response than the parent Violet. These floweringresponses were closely correlated with the accumulation of CGAin the cotyledons. ¹Present address: Botany Department, Institute of Agriculture,Yezin, Burma. (Received November 20, 1987; Accepted March 13, 1988)     

Floral initiation of Pharbitis nil, a short-day plant, under continuous high-intensity light

Pharbitis nil, a short-day plant, initiated floral buds undercontinuous illumination at 23°C, provided that the lightintensity was kept at 16,000 lux or above. Stem elongation ofthe plants was strongly inhibited but leaves developed normallyunder this condition. (Received November 26, 1971; )     

Environmental factors controlling the time of flower-opening in Pharbitis nil

Pharbitis nil, strain Violet, subjected to various photoperiods(24-hr cycle at 24?C) bloomed about 10 hr after light-off whenthe light period was 10 hr or longer, and about 20 hr afterlight-on when the light period was shorter. The higher the temperature(20–30?C) during the dark period, the later the time offlower-opening, with the temperature during the last half ofthe dark period having a stronger effect than that during thefirst half. In continuous dark or light, flower buds of Pharbitis openedabout every 24 hr at all temperatures tested between 20 and28?C, which suggests the participation of a circadian rhythmin determining the time of flower-opening. A light pulse given6–12 or 28–36 hr after the onset of the dark periodgreatly advanced the phase of this rhythm (8–10 hr). Phasedelay of this rhythm could not be obtained by light pulses givenat any time. (Received September 29, 1979; )     

Partial substitution by long days of short days required for floral induction in Impatiens balsamina

Two SD cycles are necessary for initiation of floral buds inImpatiens balsamina L., var. Rose. Floral buds are also initiatedin plants exposed to only one SD cycle +16- or 20-hr LDs; LDsby themselves are noninductive. Floral bud initiation is hastenedand the number of initiated flowers increases with longer darkperiods in the supplementary photoperiodic cycles. (Received May 6, 1972; )     

Long-Day Flowering of Perilla Plants Cultured in Nitrogen-Poor Media

Green-leaved and red-leaved Perilla plants (short-day plants)cultured aseptically on diluted modified White's medium or onfull strength White's medium (W) containing reduced concentrationsof nitrogen sources, initiated flower buds under continuouslight (2,000–2,200 lux fluorescent lamps) at 24–26?C.The addition of sucrose to the medium promoted flower formation;the optimum concentration was 2% in 1/10?W medium. The plantscultured on unfertilized vermiculite also developed flower budsreadily, unlike those on fertilized vermiculite. High-intensity light (8,000 lux fluorescent lamps) given duringthe first 30 days of culture promoted flowering. This effectwas also produced to a lesser degree by the addition of sucroseto the medium, instead. On the other hand, high-intensity lightgiven during the second 30 days or throughout the culture periodinhibited flowering, irrespective of the presence of sucrosein the medium. (Received February 4, 1982; Accepted June 14, 1982)     

Low temperature exotherms of winter buds of hardy conifers

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) of winter buds and the excisedprimordial shoots of sub-alpine or sub-cold firs revealed thatthese buds had all low temperature exotherms around –30?C.However, no low temperature exotherm below –15?C was detectedin the spring buds. In the winter bud of Abies firma, a temperatefir native to Japan, a low temperature exotherm was detectedaround –20?C, which is higher by 10?C than that of sub-alpineor sub-cold firs. The low temperature exotherms of these firsoccurred at nearly the same temperatures that result in thedeath of these primordial shoots. On the other hand, littleor no low temperature exotherm was detected in the winter budsof sub-cold spruces. In larch winter buds, numerous small exothermswere observed, which are probably due to the many leaf primordiain the buds. Unlike many temperate deciduous broad-leaved trees,no low temperature exotherm was detected below –15?C inwinter twig xylem of conifers such as Abies, Picea, Pinus, Larixand Pseudotsuga. Thus, very hardy coniferous twigs can tolerateextracellular freezing to –70?C. ¹ Contribution No. 1907 from the Institute of Low TemperatureScience. (Received June 8, 1978; )     

Supercooling ability of Rhododendron flower buds in relation to cooling rate and cold hardiness

The freezing process and supercooling ability in flower budsof 11 native Rhododendron species were examined with referenceto the cooling rate and cold hardiness by differential thermalanalysis. The freezing patterns of the excised whole buds variedwith the season: in autumn, buds froze as whole units, whilein winter, freezing was initiated in the scales and propagatedto each floret. The supercooling ability of florets was enhancedduring winter. The freezing patterns in winter buds were stronglyinfluenced by the cooling rate (1 to 30°C/hr). Althoughthe first exotherm in scales occurred at –5 to –10°Gand was rate-independent, the occurrence of several floret exothermsshifted considerably to lower subzero temperatures at slowerrates. The most reliable cooling rate for testing maximum supercoolingability was l°C/hr. The exotherm in florets of hardier speciesoccurred at –20 to –25°C and at –7 to–20°C for less hardy ones, and were well correlatedwith their killing temperatures. Water relations within budtissues in response to freezing are briefly discussed. (Received June 26, 1980; )     

Patterns of Assimilate Distribution and Source--sink Relationships in the Young Reproductive Tomato Plant (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

Patterns of distribution of ¹⁴C were determined in 47-day-oldtomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) 24 h after theapplication of [¹⁴C]sucrose to individual source leaves fromleaves 1–10 (leaf 1 being the first leaf produced abovethe cotyledons). The first inflorescence of these plants wasbetween the ‘buds visible’ and the ‘firstanthesis’ stages of development. The predominant sink organs in these plants were the root system,the stem, the developing first inflorescence and the shoot ‘apex’(all tissues above node 10). The contribution made by individualsource leaves to the assimilate reaching these organs dependedupon the vertical position of the leaf on the main-stem axisand upon its position with respect to the phyllotactic arrangementof the leaves about this axis. The root system received assimilateprincipally from leaf 5 and higher leaves, and the stem apexfrom the four lowest leaves. The developing first inflorescencereceived assimilates mainly from leaves in the two orthostichiesadjacent to the radial position of the inflorescence on thevertical axis of the plant; these included leaves which weremajor contributors of ¹⁴C to the root system (leaves 6 and 8)and to the shoot apex (leaves 1 and 3). This pattern of distributionof assimilate may explain why root-restriction treatments andremoval of young leaves at the shoot apex can reduce the extentof flower bud abortion in the first inflorescence under conditionsof reduced photoassimilate availability. Lycopersicon esculentum Mill, tomato, assimilate distribution, source-sink relationships     

Influence of Water Stress on Flowering and Seed Production of Macroptilium atropurpureum cv. Siratro

Macroptilium atropurpureum cv. Siratro was grown in large soilbeds with a constant water table below, developing a dawn leafwatêr potential of --0.25 MPa. Water stresses equivalentto -0.7 or -1.0 MPa were developed over 14 d, causing reducedstem and bud elongation, leaf expansion, and bud differentiationand survival. Apex size, the proportion of buds which were floralor vegetative, the early phases of floral initiation, and seedformation on advanced inflorescences were little affected duringthe water deficit period. Upon rewatering previously stressed plants showed increasesrelative to control plants in the rates of shoot appearance,leaf expansion and new node appearance. The ratio of buds becomingfloral was independent of watering treatment, and the enhancedrate of floral bud production in the previously-stressed treatmentswas due to higher rates of total bud differentiation which persistedfor up to six weeks after rewatering. Survival of floral budswas reduced by previous stress, but number of flowers per inflorescence,pod setting, seed number per pod and 100-seed weight were independentof treatment. Seed production was controlled by inflorescencedensity. Rate of seed production was independent of treatmentduring water deficit and four weeks subsequently, and was thenenhanced by 46 and 54 per cent relative to the control in the–0.7 and –1.0 MPa treatments respectively. Macroptilium atropurpureum, Siratro, floral initiation, flowering, seed production, water stress, bud development     

Giant oil cells in the cotyledons ofPharbitis nil and other convolvulacean plants

Suspension of protoplasts (ca. 13–25 μm in diameter) that were isolated from the mesophyll of the cotyledons ofPharbitis nil, strain Violet, contained many large spherical or spheroidal bodies (ca. 100 μm in diameter). Microscopic observation of these bodies and some anatomic studies of the cotyledons during embryogenesis and after germination showed that these bodies are giant cells containing many oil drops stainable with Sudan dyes. Such giant cells were found in four otherPharbitis nil strains, Nepal, Tendan, Africa and Tokyo-kokei, and in six other Convolvulacean plants,Ipomoea batatas, cv. Koukei-14,Calystegia japonica, Calystegia hederacea, Calonyction aculeatum, Quamoclit pennata andCuscuta japonica.     

Requirements for Floral Induction in Contrasting White Clover (Trifolium repens) Populations

Norm, I. B. 1987. Requirements for floral induction in contrastingwhite clover (Trifolium repens) populations.—J. exp. Bot.38: 900–907. Floral initiation and development of four contrasting whiteclover (Trifolium repens) populations was examined after differentinduction treatments (16 h, 5 ?C and 8 h, 5 ?C. The number of reproductive stolons and of reproductive budsper stolon was increased after cold induction. Varietal differencesin response to daylength were large; some varieties respondingbetter to a long day cold period, others to a short day coldperiod while one variety required no induction at all. Whetherthe daylength effect was due to photoperiod, irradiance or totheir interaction was not known. The induction periods had a subsequent effect upon pedunclelength, floret and ovule number. Short days and chilling reducedpeduncle length but increased ovule number, whereas long daysand chilling tended to increase floret number. Nectar concentrationwas highest after short day induction. Key words: White clover, floral initiation, floral induction     

Photoperiodic Regulation of Flowering in Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.)

To test the proposition that photoperiodic controls synchronizethe flowering of cowpeas, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. [V. sinensis(L.) Savi], the day-length requirements for floral initiationand for flowering were investigated in several short-day accessions.No evidence was found of different critical photoperiods atdifferent stages of development, but exposure to only 2–4short days was required for floral initiation compared withabout 20 for development to open flowers. Pod setting was increasedafter exposure to even one short day more than the number requiredfor flower opening. Floral buds at higher nodes appeared to require fewer shortdays for development to flowering than buds at the lower nodes,and displayed faster rates of development. Inflorescence budsdid not resume development if they were exposed to 15 or morelong days following inflorescence initiation. Thus, any tendencytowards synchronous flowering in cowpeas is not due to the criticalday-length for flower development being shorter than that forflower initiation, but could be the result of cumulative photoperiodicinduction of plants and the more rapid development of later-formedflowers. Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp., cowpeas, flower initiation, flower development, fruit set, photoperiodism