Studies on the Growth, Flowering, and Production of Female Sterile Flowers as Affected by Different Levels of Foliar Potassium in<i>Solanum sisymbrifolium</i>Lam.

Abstract

As compared to a high level of foliar potassium, a low but not a deficient level promotes shoot elongation and flowering inS.sisymbrifolium. This is accompanied by formation of flowers with rudimentary ovaries in which the megagametophyte in the ovules aborts at the two- or the four-nucleate stage. Plants having a higher K content do not bear the female sterile flowers. Inflorescences of the high-K plants with 20 per cent fewer buds have 23 per cent higher dry weight than inflorescences of low-K plants. The ratio of organic nitrogen to dry weight is not affected, indicating that the inflorescences of the high-K plants are better supplied with metabolites in general.