HortScience · 1985 · 19 citations · 1 references
Life SciencesPlant BiologyPlant SciencesCrop PhysiologyPlant EcophysiologyPlant PhysiologyCold Stress PhysiologyFlowering PhysiologySeedling Stage Stress ToleranceSeedling SurvivalCold StressFloweringPlant Cold Stress PhysiologySeedling Cold ToleranceTemperature Effects On Flowering TimeTemperature-responsive Flowering
Abstract Broccoli plants ( Brassica oleraceae L. var. italica Plenk) were grown in an air-conditioned, 22°/18°C day/night temperature, greenhouse in the Southeastern Plant Environmental Laboratories in Raleigh, N.C. Seedlings 6 to 33 days from seeding were exposed to cold treatments of −3° to −5° or +1° to +2° for periods of 7 to 34 days, then returned to higher temperatures. Days from seeding to flowering were determined. Plants 13 or more days from seeding and exposed to 14 or more days of cold treatment were induced to flower earlier than untreated plants. The critical stem size for cold inductions was 5 to 8 mm diameter. Susceptible plants weighed 4 to 50 g at the beginning of the cold treatment phase. Plants outside that range were nonsusceptible.
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