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NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
This project will 1) evaluate the suitability of new crop species for commercial cut flower production, 2) develop environmentally-friendly production systems for those cut flower species best suited for floriculture production, and 3) determine proper postharvest handling for cut flowers and vegetatively-propagated cuttings. Each year a wide variety of new cultivars and species are made available from plant breeders, propagators, and suppliers. Unfortunately, little information is available on the production requirements of most new crops. University-administered trial programs are a well-established, public method for evaluating the commercial viability of new plant materials and distributing information regarding their marketability and production needs. While many species work well as cut flowers, fewer are economically feasible to produce. A major factor in determining production cost is the time required from planting to producing a marketable crop; lengthy crop times increase labor, irrigation, fertilization and pest management expenses and increase the likelihood of climatic problems. Reducing crop time while maintaining high quality would assure a profitable crop for growers. Many new floriculture taxa are attractive and easy to produce, but do not make successful commercial cut flowerr floriculture crops because of poor postharvest qualities. Testing is required to determine if new crops have the proper postharvest characteristics for commercial production and for use by the final consumer as cut flowers. In addition, vegetatively-propagated plants continue to be a growing sector of the floriculture industry for use both as bedding plants and cut flowers. The high quality shoot-tip cuttings are typically produced at the offshore locations under favorable climatic conditions. However, the cuttings often do not perform well during root formation in the United States. Information is needed to determine optimal methods for the production, harvest, handling, shipping, and subsequent propagation of unrooted cuttings. This work will provide the cut flower industry with new cut flowers to excite buyers and increase sales. It will provide production information for new cut flowers and indicate whether a new species is suitable for wholesale marketing, direct retailing, or both. This new information will substantially decrease postharvest problems associated with new specialty cut flowers and with vegetatively-propagated cuttings.
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| APPROACH:
Evaluation. NC State will evaluate 40 to 70 new cultivars annually for greenhouse and field production. The information obtained will include yield per plant, average stem length, planting density, and several ratings (1-5, with 5 best). The ratings include 1. ease of production, 2. "grow again", which refers to how likely the participant is to produce the plant on a commercial level next year, and 3. market appreciation by the general public, retailers and wholesalers. Production. Seed of promising new cut flower species and cultivars will be grown in plug flats under either ambient light or HID supplemental lighting. Seedlings will be transplanted at the appearance of 2-3, 5-6, or 8-9 true leaves and placed at 5, 10, or 15+1 C night temperatures. Data collected at harvest will include stem length, stem diameter, number of flowering plants and anthesis date. Estimated profit/loss per treatment will be calculated (gross sales less production expenses). Postharvest - Cut Flowers. The cut flower research process will consist of two stages. Stage I. During the evaluations previously described we will conduct an initial postharvest screening on the most promising 10 to 15 species/cultivars. Since each new cultivar will be available in limited quantities, only four treatments can be conducted to determine general postharvest suitability. Stage II. The most promising species from the previous year will be produced in large quantities and subjected to extensive postharvest testing. We will determine ethylene sensitivity and effectiveness of anti-ethylene agents, optimum cold storage duration and method, appropriate vase solutions and substrates, and effective commercial preservatives for these species. Vegetatively-propagated Plants. New Guinea impatiens, zonal geranium, and poinsettia cuttings will be harvested by 10 am and dipped in deionized water amended with various treatments to extend storage life. Data collected at the end of the storage period will include number and length of root initials on cuttings and cutting quality (1-5 rating, with 1 best). After storage cuttings will be propagated in a peat-based substrate at 24 C. Percentage of cuttings surviving, root dry weight and cutting quality will be recorded one to three weeks after propagation, depending on the species and experiment.
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CRIS NUMBER: 0200553
SUBFILE: CRIS
PROJECT NUMBER: NC06795
SPONSOR AGENCY: NIFA
PROJECT TYPE: HATCH
PROJECT STATUS: REVISED
MULTI-STATE PROJECT NUMBER: (N/A)
START DATE: Oct 1, 2009
TERMINATION DATE: Sep 30, 2014
GRANT PROGRAM: (N/A)
GRANT PROGRAM AREA: (N/A)
CLASSIFICATION
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| 204 | 2120 | 1060 | 2.2 | 10% |
| 204 | 2121 | 1060 | 2.2 | 15% |
| 204 | 2122 | 1060 | 2.2 | 10% |
| 204 | 2123 | 1060 | 2.2 | 10% |
| 205 | 2120 | 1060 | 2.2 | 10% |
| 205 | 2121 | 1060 | 2.2 | 15% |
| 205 | 2122 | 1060 | 2.2 | 10% |
| 205 | 2123 | 1060 | 2.2 | 10% |
| 601 | 2121 | 1060 | 2.3 | 10% |
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CLASSIFICATION HEADINGS
KA601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management
KA205 - Plant Management Systems
KA204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest)
S2120 - Herbaceous perennials and decorative greens
S2123 - Bedding/garden plants
S2122 - Potted plants
S2121 - Cut flowers, foliage, and greens
F1060 - Biology (whole systems)
G2.3 - Provide Risk Management and Financial Tools
G2.2 - Increase Efficiency of Production and Marketing Systems
RESEARCH EFFORT CATEGORIES
| BASIC |
10% |
| APPLIED |
45% |
| DEVELOPMENTAL |
45% |
KEYWORDS: cut flowers~vegetatively propagated bedding plants~evaluation~production~postharvest~ethylene~storage~shipping~preservatives~cost accounting~supplemental lighting
PROGRESS: Oct 1, 2009 TO Sep 30, 2010
OUTPUTS: The vase life of cut flowers depends on many variables. One of those variables is the quality of the water in which the flowers are placed. Durkin (1979) states that solution uptake is a "central consideration in the longevity of cut flowers" and Conrado et al. (1980) describes it as the "limiting factor" for cut flower vase life. Durkin (1979) and Conrado et al. (1980) state that water pH and mineral content, among other variables, are key factors in solution uptake. Water with a low pH is taken up more easily by cut flowers than water with a higher pH. A pH of approximately 3.5 is considered most beneficial because it deters the growth of harmful microbes. Reduced microbe contamination leads to reduced stem plugging and increased vase life. Longevity can be increased with the use of calcium, aluminum, boron, copper, nickel, or zinc salts (Nowak and Rudnicki, 1990). However, Neumaier et al. (1999) found that NaCl decreased vase life at concentrations greater than 20 mM NaCl in tap water. The objectives of this study were to characterize the effects of water EC and pH on Rosa vase life. Cut Rosa L. 'Freedom', 'Charlotte', and 'Classy' stems were subjected to solutions of various pH and electrical conductivity (EC) levels. Increasing solution pH decreased vase life. Solutions with an initial pH of 3.1 to 4.0 produced the longest vase life, averaging 13.2 days, when the buffers citrate-borate-phosphate, bis-tris propane-citrate, or their individual components were combined with HCl, NaCl, or NaOH. Solutions with an initial pH of 6.1 to 6.3 produced a vase life averaging 11.6 days and those with a pH of 7.3 to 8.2 produced a vase life averaging 9.8 days. Despite the use of buffers, the solution pH increased by an average of 1.5 at termination of vase life when HCl was added, decreased by 0.7 when NaOH was added, and decreased by 0.5 when NaCl was added. A 2 hour treatment in high pH solutions had no effect on vase life. Increasing pH was correlated with reduced water uptake. The overall solution that produced the longest vase life had a low pH, 3.1 to 4.0, and an EC of 1.0 to 1.3 dS m-1. Although 'Freedom', 'Classy', and 'Charlotte' responded differently to the various treatments, the optimum solution composition was nearly the same. In solutions where both initial pH and EC varied, initial pH accounted for 30 to 54% of variation in vase life (average 44%) and initial EC accounted for 18 to 48% of variation (average 36%). In all cases, final pH and EC were not as strongly correlated with vase life as initial pH and EC. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Ingram McCall, Diane Mays, Emma Locke, Erin Moody, Erin Clark, Alcain Carlson, Qianni Dong, Brigitte Crawford. Partner Organizations: American Floral Endowment, Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, Hill Foundation, Fred C Gloeckner Foundation, North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers Association. Collaborators: James Faust, Clemson University, Judy Laushman, ASCFG, Brian Whipker, NCSU, William Fonteno, NCSU, Sylvia Blankenship, NCSU, Paul Fisher, University of Florida, Erik Runkle, Michigan State University, John Erwin, University of Minnesota, Roberto Lopez, Purdue University, Jim Barrett, University of Florida, Chris Wien, Cornell University, Numerous industry breeders, suppliers, and producers. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project is the floriculture industry and associated breeders, suppliers, etc. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
IMPACT: 2009-10-01 TO 2010-09-30
One key aspect of the cut flower industry is marketing flowers with a long postharvest life. A long postharvest life ensures that the customers - wholesalers, retailers and final consumers - will be satisfied and return to purchase more flowers. This work will decrease postharvest problems associated with cut flowers by providing growers, wholesalers and retailers with specific pH and EC recommendations for their water, which will alert them to when they need to modify the pH and/or EC of their water. In addition, the components that comprise tap water and the EC vary across the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only "non-enforceable guidelines" for electrical conductivity as it affects cosmetics, not water safety. This means that the EC can fluctuate widely across the country without consequences for the facilities providing the water. The EPA's guidelines specify a maximum of 500 mg L-1 (0.71 dS m-1) total dissolved solids. However, many water sources have higher levels: College Station, Texas at 0.75 dS m-1; San Diego, California at 0.82 dS m-1; and Madison, Wisconsin up to 0.93 dS m-1. On the other hand, the tap water in Birmingham, Alabama has an EC of only 0.14 dS m-1. Due to the variability of tap water, researchers at the Second International Symposium on Postharvest Physiology of Cut Flowers determined that deionized or distilled water would be used as the experimental control to obtain more consistent results. However, the use of purified waters in a lab setting is problematic, because it does not reflect physiological conditions in the plant or standard commercial practices in the industry. Van Meeteren (2001) stated that "drawing distilled water through stem segments progressively decreased the rate of conductance and that this phenomenon can be eliminated by using tap water or a dilute osmoticum." Van Meeteren continued to question "the predictive value of experiments using deionized water" and speculated that positive effects could be overestimated. The optimum pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and nutrient combination need to be established for cut flowers, especially Rosa, allowing for development of a standardized laboratory "tap water".
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 2009-10-01 TO 2010-09-30
Donnell, A.A., J.M. Dole, and B.E. Whipker. 2010. Preventing Plug Stunting. Greenhouse Grower 28(10):32-34.
PROJECT CONTACT INFORMATION
| NAME: |
Dole, J. M. |
| PHONE: |
919-515-3537 |
| FAX: |
919-515-7747 |
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