Forcing Ranunculus for early flowering. The effect of corm moisture content, duration of the cooling period and the number of sprouting shoot-buds on the yield of cut flowers.
1990
Lubovsky U. | Ozeri N.
In cultivating Ranunculus for exporting cut flowers, it is recommended to give a forcing treatment to the corms before planting in order to hasten the blooming process. The forcing treatment is carried out by soaking the corms in flowing water for 12-18 hours and then storing them for 5-6 weeks at 5-6 degrees C. This forcing procedure makes it possible to obtain early flowering during the export season when flower prices are relatively high. We have tested the effects of full and partial turgor of corms as well as 3 and 6 weeks duration of the cooling period, on the distribution of yield. The results show clearly that partial turgor, which results from moisture loss, prevents corms from responding to the forcing treatment. The best forcing treatment was obtained when the corms were exposed to a 6 weeks cooling period and were in full turgor. Three weeks of cooling, even when corms were in full turgor, gave only a partial forcing response. In addition, we examined the influence of the number of buds existing on corms on the planting date as a result of the forcing treatment made in full turgor. It was found that corms carrying several buds at planting had a better flower yield than those with single buds.
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