Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for
a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and
private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without
the permission of the Author.
THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON
THE GROWTH AND FLOWERING OF ORIENTAL LILIES (Lilium cu l t ivars)
A t hesis p resented in partial fu lfilment of the requirement s for the d egree of
Doc tor of Phi lo s ophy at
Massey Univer s i t y .
John Paiba Sa linger 1978
ABSTRACT
The p o tentia l i ty of growi ng d warf cu l t ivars of Orienta l l i l i es a s f lmve ring p o t pla nt s wa s i nvest iga t ed . Two cu l t ivars, L. auratwn 'Little Gem1and L xparkmanni 'Li t tle Robi n' we re g rown to a sse ss the i r su i tab i l i ty a nd d e termi ne a p red i ctab le schedu le of p roduct i o n .
Ini tia l ly i t was esta b l i shed that t hese p lant s could be grown sa t isfact ori ly in conta iners and that after adequ a te ve rna l i za ti o n adequate growth a nd flowe ring t ook p la ce.
In bu lbs se lec t ed a f t e r na tura l sene scence, ve rna liza t i on can b e ach i eved b y p lanting a nd sto ring t he bu lbs ou td oors t o
exp erience nat u ra l wi nt e r chi l li ng and a l so arti ficia l ly b y storage at control led coo l temp e ra t ure s. P lanting pri o r to a rt ifi cia l coo l st orage wa s not advantag eous.
There i s a mi nimum p e ri od of st orage of
3 5
days a ndp referab ly 42 days for b o t h cul t i va rs, whi le temp era tu res may ra nge from 1 . 7°C to 8°C for L. auratum 'Li t t le Gem and to 12°C for
L.
x parkmanni 'Litt le Rob i n '.The peri ods from p la nt i ng to emergence a nd eme rgence t o macroscop i ca ll y visib le flower bud s are inversely re lated t o the length of t i me the bulb s a re st ored , irrespect i ve of the cool temp eratu re. Subsequent growth to a nthesi s is d i rectl y rela t ed to the temp e ra tu re a t which the p lant s are grown a nd i nd epend a nt of p revi ous sto rage t imes a nd t emperat ure s. The t ime requ ired to a ch ieve anthesis i s consi ste nt in any one t empera t ure re gime .
Althoug h the long er the time the b u l b s e xp e ri ence coo l
temperatu res, the sooner the p lants a chie ve anthesis, the t ota l t ime from commencement of st orage t o anthesi s i s simi lar for a l l storag e p eri ods u p to
1 0
weeks.When b u l bs are i nadequa t e ly vernali zed , gro wt h a nd floweri ng i s i rregular; g rowt h being rose t t ed a nd anthesis d e layed o r occuring spa smod i ca l ly.
The gr owth and d evelopment o f l i li es i s con sidered and compar ed wi th that of o th er b u lbous geophyles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Gratefu l thanks are given to Prof. J.A. Vea l e a nd Prof. R. G.
Thoma s for d iscussions and provision of facilities. Thanks are a cknowledged to Prof. R. J . Townsley, Dr I. Gord on and Dr M.A.
Nich o l s for sta tistica l a ssistance and to Dr J.S. Yeates for the d onation of bulb s.
The assistance o f technical sta ff of Ma ssey University and the encourag emen t o f my own family in the cu ltiva tion of the p lants is gratef u l l y a cknowledged .
l
2
3
Chap ter
1 . 1 1.1. 1 1.1. 2
l.l. 3
2. l 2.2 2. 2. l
2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 2.2.5 2.2. 6
3. l 3.2 3.3 3.4 3. 4 .l 3.4.2 3.4.3 3.5
3. 5. 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ab stract
Acknowledgements Intr od uction The l ily p lant
Classification of l i lies Botanical classification Hor ticul tural c l as s ific ati on Comp arison of Longifl orum hybrid s and Or i ental hybr id s
Gr owth and d evel o pment o f the l i l y p lan t
Studies on d evelop ment Lil y mo rphology
Basal or con t ractil e r oo t S tem r oots
The stem The flmver
The nectaries or o s mophor es Fru it and seed
Factor s influencing the fl owering of l i l i es
Inductive factor s Ver nalizatio n Dormancy in lilie s For cing of lil ies The pr oducti on stage The pr ogramming s tage The greenhouse stage
The influence of temp er atur e on rep r oduction of lil ies Germina t ion of seed
Page
3 3 3 4
6 6 7 8 10 ll 15 16 17
18
1 9 2l 21 23 23 23
24 24
Chapter
4
5
3.5.2 3.5.3 3.6 3. 7
3. 7 . l 3.7 . 2
3.7 .3
4. 1 4. 2 4.3 4.4
4. 4. 1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4
5. 1
5. 1. 2 5.1. 3 5. 1. 4 5. 1. 5
5.2 5. 2 . l 5. 2. 3 5.2.4 5.2.5
Epigeal ger minat i on
Temperatu r e and f er t i l izat ion Reproduct i on asexu al l y
The inf luen ce o f light on f lower ing in l i l i es
Light int en s i ty
Li g ht as a subst i tu t i on f or vernal i zat i on
Pho toper iod
The g eophyt ic hab i t Geophytes
Co mpari son of g eo phyt es
Def in i t ion of bu l bous g eo phyt es
Compar i son of lil ies wi t h o t her t ypes o f bu l bs
Per i od i c classi f i cat i on S t ructur a l c las s i f icati on
Thermo-r es pon s ive cla s s i f icat ion S t ructural compar i s on b etween l i li es and ot her mono co t s
Exper iment a l as pect s Exper iment 1
Ob ject
Mater i als and met hod s Record s and Resu lt s Di scu s s i on
Conclusi ons Exper iment I I Ob ject
Mat er ials and me t hod s Records and Resu lts Discu ssion
Cone lu sions
Page
25 2 5 27
27 27
28 29 30 30 3 1 34
35 35 36
38
39
r�2 44
47 49
49 49 5 1 54 55
Chapter Page
Exp eriment Ill
5.3.1 Object 55
5.3.2 Mater ials and methods 56
5.3.3 Records and Resu lts 58
5. 3. 4 Discussion 63
5.3.5 Conclusions 65
Exp eriment IV
5.4.1 Ob ject 65
5.4.2 Material s and methods 65
5.4.3 Records and Results 66
5. 4. 4 Discussion 68
5.4.5 Conclusions 69
Experiment V
5. 5. 1 Object 7 0
5. 5.2 Haterials and methods 7 0
5.5.3 Records and Results 7 l
5. 5.4 Discussion 77
5.5.5 Conclusion 7 8
Experiment V I
5.6.1 Ob ject 7 9
5.6.2 Mat erials and methods 7 9
5.6.3 Records and Resul t s 80
5.6.4 Discussion 83
5.6.5 Conclusions 84
6 Discussion and cone lu sions
6. 1 Introduction 85
6.2 Cool t emperat ur e effects 85
6. 2. l Grmvt h t o anthes is 85
6.3 Cultivat ion periods 86
6.3.1 Total cu l t ivat ion period 86
6.3.2 Cu l t ivat ion aft er storage 86
6.4 Blueprint grmving 87
6.5 Fut ure r e search 88
6. 5. 1 Long term cool stor age 88-
6.5.2 Bu lb production 88
Chapter
6.5.3 Genetic a sp ects
Graphs of experime nt s App e nd ice s
Bibliogra p hy
Page
8 9 90 96 118
Pho t ogr a p h 1 2
3 4 5
6 7
LI ST OF I LLUSTRATIONS
Pr i nc ipa l par t s of a l i l y Betwe e n page s 6-7
Longt itud ina l s ec ti on of bulbs
Fo liage of L x parkma nni 'Li ttle Rob i n' View of Exper im e nt 2
Flower of L. auraturn 'Little Gem'
Exper iment 5: i nf luence of prep la nting storage
Experiment 6: p lants in gro\vth cab inets Exp eriment 6: p la nts in gla s s house
13-14 13-14 54-55 54-55
7 8-7 9 8 4-85 84-85
