Effects of Temperature on Cold Acclimation and Deacclimation in Flower Buds of Evergreen Azaleas

The effects of various storage temperature/duration combinations(5, 10 and 17°/4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks) on cold acclimationand deacclimation of flower buds were studied in four speciesof evergreen azaleas having different natural distribution andcold hardiness. The freezing process and the exotherm temperaturedistribution of florets in excised whole buds determined bydifferential thermal analysis were used as the diagnostics todetermine the degree of bud acclimation and deacclimation. Theacclimation in buds lasted for as long as 12 to 16 weeks at5°C storage, and from 8 to 12 weeks at 10°C, and itappeared to be maintained after the chilling requirement forbreaking bud dormancy had been satisfied. Therefore, bud acclimationseems to be maintained independently from bud dormancy. Thedehardening effect on acclimated buds occurred as a result ofshort exposures to higher temperatures or long exposures tolower temperatures, and there was no relation between the rateof deacclimation and the degree of hardiness in each species.Among three storage temperatures examined, 5°C was the mosteffective for the maintenance of cold acclimation in flowerbuds and the small difference of floret water contents at 5and 10°C storage is not significant. (Received August 28, 1982; Accepted February 4, 1983)