w. roland leatherwood 1 neil s. mattson 1
DESCRIPTION
Possible Roles of Silicon and Regulated Deficit Irrigation on Poinsettia Plant Quality and Postharvest Performance. W. Roland Leatherwood 1 Neil S. Mattson 1. 1 Department of Horticulture, Cornell University. Silicon Background. Abiotic stress - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
W. Roland Leatherwood1
Neil S. Mattson1
Possible Roles of Silicon and Regulated Deficit Irrigation on Poinsettia Plant Quality and Postharvest Performance
1Department of Horticulture, Cornell University
Silicon Background• Abiotic stress
– Improved adventitious rooting (Moon 2008, Gillman 2000), Decreased leaf abscission (Gillman 2000)
– Heat stress (Agarie 2008)– Drought Stress (Gao 2004, Agarie 2008)
• Horticultural characteristics– Flower diameter, stem caliper (Kamenidou 2008,
2005), branching (Moon 2008)• Little on Si & Greenhouse Crops
– Industry acceptance of Si as supplemental nutrient is uneven
Methods
• Plant material– ‘Prestige Red’ and ‘Peterstar Red’ Poinsettia
rooted cuttings– 6” Pots, commercial media.– Nutrition
• N 200 mg·L-1 (21-5-20) • Mg 30 mg·L-1 (MgSO4 · 7H20)• S 32 mg·L-1 (MgSO4 · 7H20)• Mo 0.1 mg·L-1 (Na2Mo4 · 2H2O)
Methods• Treatment design
– CRD, 15 replicates– Two way factorial of deficit irrigation and silicon
supplementation• 100, 80 and 60% RDI• Si 0 and 56 mg·L-1 (KSiO3) (2 mM)
– Statistical analysis• SAS V9.1 Tukey’s HSD with an α=0.05
– Irrigation water (RO) Si was ND and substrate Si concentration was 2.0 mg·L-1
Hei
ght (
cm)
2017 24 31 38 45 52 59 66 73
Days After Pinch
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
79
S- 100%S- 80%S- 60%S+ 100%S+ 80%S+ 60%
Peterstar
Cultivar Treatment Height (cm)
Peterstar Si- 100% 31.0 A Si+ 100% 30.0 AB Si+ 80% 29.7 BC Si+ 60% 29.6 BC
Si- 80% 28.8 BC Si- 60% 28.5 C
Significance *n=15, NS = not significant, * = 0.05, ** = 0.01.
PeterstarA
rea
(cm
2 )
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Leaf Bract Transition
Tissue Type
S+ 100%S- 100%S+ 80%S- 80%S+ 60%S- 60%
Are
a (c
m2 )
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Leaf Bract Transition
Tissue Type
S+ 100%S- 100%S+ 80%S- 80%S+ 60%S- 60%
Prestige
Disease
Disease
Treatment Total Plants Effected
Peterstar1 Prestige2
Si+ 100% 0 0Si+ 80% 0 0Si+ 60% 0 0Si- 100% 1 1Si- 80% 1 1Si- 60% 0 1
Significance1 χ2 (2, n=15)=?, p=?2 χ2 (2, n=15)=?, p=?
Strength
Photo B. Whipker
Strength
Cultivar Treatment Number of Plants with
Breaks
Average Break Height (cm)
Prestige Si+ 100% 0 50Si- 100% 2* 40*Si+ 80% 1 40Si- 80% 1 50Si+ 60% 1 40Si- 60% 0 50
χ2 (2, n=5)=3.95, p<0.0382
Findings
• Si interacts with plant water status giving differential results– No or moderate water stress, Si decreased
height and bract area– Severe water stress, Si increased height and
bract area• Si improves lateral branch strength and
may reduce Pythium occurrence.
Postharvest
Materials & Methods
• Plants were thoroughly watered• Moved to postharvest December 1st • Leaf angle measured 12/1 and periodically
thereafter terminating December 17th • Measured uppermost fully expanded free
hanging green leaves (3x)• 12 Hour day, florescent lighting, 21° C
Postharvest Wilt
Postharvest Wilt17 Days Postharvest
Cultivar Treatment Leaf Angle(°)
Peterstar Si- 100% 42.1 A Si- 60% 34.0 AB Si- 80% 28.4 B Si+ 100% 25.5 B Si+ 60% 21.8 B Si+ 80% 21.0 B
Significance **n=10, NS = not significant, * = 0.05, ** = 0.01.
Postharvest Wilt
Bract Edge Burn
Bract Edge Burn
Treatment Total Lesions
Peterstar1 Prestige2
Si+ 100% 10 1 Si- 100% 21* 6* Si+ 80% 20 1 Si- 80% 22 1 Si+ 60% 12 0 Si- 60% 6* 2*
Significance1 χ2 (2, n=10)=5.49, p<0.02012 χ2 (2, n=10)=1.91, p<0.0835
Findings
• Si supplementation forestalls wilt and may improve recovery from water stress
• There may be interactions with RDI and Si• Si supplementation reduces BEB in well
watered plants and may increase it in water stressed plants
Acknowledgements
• Post/Schenkel Endowment• USDA Hatch Funds • Ecke Ranch• Rachel Brinkman