Ethephon Suppresses Flowering and Improves the Aesthetic Value of Purple Passion Plant (Gynura aurantiaca)
Introduction:
The genus Gynura belongs to the family Compositae, comprises more than 50 species of perennial herbs and subshrubs, and is native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Among the cultivated species, G. aurantiaca is particularly favored as an ornamental foliage plant because its leaves are gener-ously covered with numerous tiny, vivid purple hairs that give the plant a rich, colorful glow. Thus, G. aurantiaca is commonly known as purple passion or purple velvet plant.
Purple passion is easily grown from cuttings and commonly used as a hanging-basket or containerized plant. In addition, the plant’s unusual coloring often makes it well suited for adding a bright note to combination planters.
Generally, scented flowers can be a bonus with most plants, but the yellowish flowers of purple passion have a scent that is obnoxious or malodorous enough to be offensive. Addi-tionally, they grow very fast under appropriate light condi-tions if watered properly and fertilized regularly. As a result, purple passion plants can acquire a leggy appearance.
To make this plant more aesthetically pleasing, flowering(Purple Aesthetic) must be inhibited and the long creeping growth must be controlled. Since gibberellins promote floral initiation and stem elongation (4, 9), applications of antigibberellin growth regulators might be a solution to both problems. Ethephon, an ethylene-releasing chemical that has been used to induce lateral branching and flower bud abortion (2, 8, 11), may also improve the commercial value of this plant.
The(Purple Aesthetic) objectives of this study were to determine (a) if commercial plant growth regulators could be used to inhibit flow-ering and promote lateral shoot growth, resulting in more compact and higher quality plants and (b) if subsequent root-ing capacity and plant growth and flowering would be af-fected by the growth regulator treatments.
Materials and Methods
Plant material and plant growth. Single-node handles, 4 to 5 cm (1.6-2.0 in) long, Pink Passion(Purple Aesthetic) [G. aurantiaca (Blume) DC.] rooted 72-cell tray use Vergro Container Mix A (Verlite Co., ltd., Tampa, FLORIDA, consisting of Canadian peat moss, Vermiculite and Obsidian and Perlite resources all (3:1:1 vol.), October 28, 1998. Uniform handle handles were transplanted one-on-one, 15-centimeter (6-inch) dishes into the substrate that is above, on November 18, 1998. Potted plants, such as plants in a shaded greenhouse with a maximum brightness level of 284 micromol / m2 / sec (1500 meters, light), temperature, age from 16 to 28 C (60 to 82F) and relative humidity of 60% to 90%. Plants need to be watered once or twice a week, depending on the temperature and humidity. After a week it was, 5 g (0.18 oz) of fertilizer with free 18H-2.6 N–10K control (Osmocote 18-6-12, The Scotts Co., ltd., Marysville, OH) was applied to the substrate surface area of the container (s). On February 19, 1999, the plant(Purple Aesthetic) stood up, root, approximately 12 cm (4.7 in) on the surface of the substrate, leaving at three nodes. Three side shoots are formed from stem cells four days later.
Plant growth regulators and their application. March 8, 1999-160 monotonous plants, each of three shots of 6 to 10 cm (2.3 and 4 inches in length) and selected features. Solution of ansimidol (A-Rest, SePRO Co., ltd., Carmel, In) at a concentration of 25, 75 and 150 ppm of daminoside (B-Nine SP, Uniroyal Chemical Co., ltd., Middlebury, CT), 1,250, 2,500 and 5,000 ppm of paclobutrazole (Bonzi, Uniroyal Chemical Co., ltd.) on May 15, 50 and 100 ppm; chlormequate chloride (Chicocel and Olympic Horty-cultural products, mainland, PA) at 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm ethephone (Florel, Monterey park, and lawn and garden products, Fresno, CA) at 250, 500, 1000 ppm) from March 9 using deionized (di) water.
Results and Discussion
Influence of plant(Purple Aesthetic) growth regulators, plant blooming and growth opportunities. Florel completely suppressed the growth of purple passion(Purple Aesthetic), three-use concentrations, and the application of A-Rest, One-Nine, Bonzi, and Cycocel, to a lesser extent than the treatment of concentration, completely suppressed flowers (Table 1). Flowers or flower numbers, or both, were largely modified or corrected, in a quadratic, or both, line and square manner, according to tax rates of A-Rest, B-Nine, Bonzi, or Cycocel, except for the total amount of bud and flower, the number B-Nine, B-Nine, B-Nine, and B-Nine, B-Nine, B-Nine, and B-Nine, Nine installed plants showed a significant response to the dose. The application of A-Rest, B-Nine, Bonzi, and Cycocel actually results in an increase in the degree of total bud and number of flowers compared to the control, with the exception of A-Rest, Bonzi, and Cycocel at 150, 100, and 2000 ppm respectively, which results in the total number of buds and number of flowers being either the same or smaller values than we can control.