Delaying Natural Flowering in Pineapple Through Foliar Application of Aviglycine, an Inhibitor of Ethylene Biosynthesis

Abstract

<jats:p>In Taiwan, the major yield constraint in pineapple cultivation is natural flowering, which occurs when daylengths are shorter and nights are cooler. This natural (precocious) flowering increases the cost of cultivation and reduces the percentage of fruits of marketable size. Two field experiments were conducted to evaluate the inhibitory potential of aviglycine [(S)-trans-2-amino-4-(2 aminoethoxy)-3-butenoic acid hydrochloride, AVG] on natural flowering of ‘Tainon 17’ pineapple plants during the 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 cropping seasons. In the 2003 to 2004 season, bolting in the control exceeded 80% on 2 Mar. 2004, whereas no bolting was observed in the treatments. Inhibition of bolting by aviglycine (AVG) was dependent on the concentration and frequency of application. Bolting was less than 40% when plants were treated in Nov. and Dec. 2003 with 500 mg·L<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> of AVG four times at 15-day intervals or with five applications made at 10-day intervals. For the 2004 to 2005 season, bolting of plants treated with 250 or 375 mg·L<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> AVG was delayed 4 weeks relative to the control, whereas bolting was delayed 7 weeks by four or five applications of 500 mg·L<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> of AVG applied at 10- or 15-day intervals. Both experiments showed that four to five applications of 500 mg·L<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> of AVG at 10- or 15-day intervals delayed inflorescence emergence relative to the control for the duration of the treatments. We assume control was maintained for 1 to 2 weeks after treatments stopped. Based on these results, the date AVG treatments stop can be used to estimate the duration of delay in flowering. AVG inhibits ethylene biosynthesis and has the potential to be effectively used to delay or completely control the problem of precocious flowering and associated crop losses in pineapple.</jats:p>

Forced flowering of pineapple (Ananas comosus cv. Tainon 17) in response to cold stress, ethephon and calcium carbide with or without activated charcoal

“…This cultivar is highly sensitive to natural flowering during cooler winter months (Wang et al 2007). …”

“…About 500 ml of ice water was poured directly onto the rosette with a beaker, once or twice (2X) at 24 h intervals; T7. Plants were treated 4 times at 15 day intervals (4X15D; Wang et al 2007) with 5 ml of 500 ppm aviglycine (ReTain Ò -15% a.i., Valent BioSciences Corp., Libertyville, IL) containing 0.02% Break-Thru (Goldschmidt Chemical Corp., Hopewell, VA). Treatments T1, T2 and T7 served as controls.…”

“…Induction of reproductive development in pineapple under natural conditions is favoured by shortened day-length and cool night temperatures (van Overbeek and Cruzado 1948a;Gowing 1961;Friend and Lydon 1979;Friend 1981); however, other stresses can also induce flowering (Bartholomew et al 2003). In Taiwan (latitude 22°to 26°N), natural induction begins in late November as a result of sudden drops in temperature that coincide with passing cold fronts (Wang et al 2007). …”

“…Recent research has shown that natural flowering of 'Tainon 17' and 'Tainon 18' pineapple can be prevented with aviglycine ([S]-Trans-2-amino-4-(2-aminoethoxy)-3-butenoic acid hydrochloride, sold commercially as ReTain Ò ), an inhibitor of ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) synthase activity and thereby ethylene biosynthesis (Kuan et al 2005;Wang et al 2007). However, other growth regulators have also been recommended for this purpose (da Cunha et al 2003).…”

A New Insight into Flowering Regulation: Molecular Basis of Flowering Initiation in Magnolia × soulangeana ‘Changchun’

“…Therefore, whether these transcription factors participate in the regulation of flowering initiation in spring and summer flowering initiation in a relatively specific way still needs further study. The regulation of ethylene on flowering varies from species to species [56,57]. The transcriptional response to ethylene includes the EIL families of transcription factors (TFs) [58].…”