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.