Variability in the length of flower bud differentiation period of common buckwheat

Abstract

reproductive growth, vegetative growth. A method on the basis of morphological observation to describe developmental stages of growing point in common buckwheat was proposed. On the basis of the proposed method, transition of developmental phase from vegetative to reproductive phase was investigated. Effect of day length on de velopmental process was also investigated. Transition of developmental phase occurred later in primary branches, especially in those from higher node order of main stem, than in main stem. Flower bud differentiation in primary branches was initiated only after certain number of leaf primordia were differentiated. Short day treatment hastened flower bud differentiation and shortened the length of axillary flower bud differentiation period during which vegetative organs were also differentiated. From these results, it was suggested that day length influences the ratio of the amount of vegetative to reproductive organ which would influence the percentage of fertilization or yield through altering source-sink relation.