Effects of growing conditions on the shelf life of Ficus benjamina.
Bulle, A.; Jongh, M. de;
Acta Horticulturae Year: 2001 Issue: No. 543 Pages: 113-115 Ref: 4 ref.
2000
บทคัดย่อ
The effect of light acclimatization on the shelf life of F. benjamina, cultivated from 26 May 1998 at different shading levels (300 and 600 W/m2), was investigated in a greenhouse. Preharvest acclimatization treatments were conducted for 1, 2 and 3 days or 1, 2, and 3 weeks, where acclimatized plants were shaded day and night with ULS 15F, which was a 50% shade condition. Plants were then placed in a dark room for 14 days (15 deg C, 70% RH), and then placed in a light room with a light intensity of 14 micro mol m-2 s-1 for 12 h/day (20 deg C and 60% RH). No leaf drop and leaf browning were observed as long as the plants were standing in the greenhouse, either shaded or not shaded. Leaf drop and leaf browning of non-acclimatized plants were severe in periods with high light intensities (July and August), when percentage leaf drop ranged from 20 to 30%. Plants grown in a dark greenhouse showed more leaf problems than plants grown in a light greenhouse. Keeping quality was better when light intensi
ties were lower (September and October). Plants acclimatized for 3 days gave 40.6% leaf drop, while non-acclimatized plants gave only 26.8%. However, acclimatization for 3 weeks resulted in 25.9% leaf drop in non-acclimatized plants and only 10.1% in acclimatized plants. Plants acclimatized for 3 days gave 53.9% brown leaves, while non-acclimatized plants gave 49.3% leaf browning. Plants acclimatized for 3 weeks gave 22.2% brown leaves, while non-acclimatized plants gave 44.6%. The results indicate that when the acclimatization period is too short, a change in the growing conditions results in a decline in keeping quality.