Effect of Night Interruption with Mist and Shade Cooling Systems on Subsequent Growth and Flowering of Cymbidium ‘Red Fire’ and ‘Yokihi’

Abstract

Growth and flowering of Cymbidium 'Red Fire' and 'Yokihi' plants were examined in a greenhouse with cooling systems in summer, and with night interruption (NI) lighting in winter as a forcing culture system. The greenhouse was divided into two sections with separate cooling controls during the summer season. One section was cooled by a mist system (mist), while the other section was cooled by a shade screen (shade). During the winter, the greenhouse was redivided into three sections within each cooling system. Plants were grown with NI either at a low light intensity of 3-7 µmol･m -2 ･s -1 (LNI) or a high light intensity of 120 µmol･m -2 ･s -1 (HNI) using high-pressure sodium lamps during the 22:00-02:00 HR. The control plants were grown under 9 h short-day condition. NI for 16 weeks and cooling for 9 weeks were employed twice during the 2 years of the experimental period. The air temperature was approximately 2°C lower in the mist than in the shade and the relative humidity was 80 ± 5% in the mist compared to 55 ± 5% in the shade. The daily light integral in the mist section was 48% higher than in the shade section. The time from initial planting to flowering pseudobulb emergence decreased with both LNI and HNI for both cultivars, regardless of the cooling treatments. Under NI conditions, however, between 60% and 100% of plants of both cultivars flowered in the mist, whereas no or 20% of 'Red Fire' or 'Yokihi' plants, respectively, flowered in the shade treatment over 2 years. Plants grown under the mist had bigger pseudobulbs than those grown in the shade under both NI treatments. These results show that commercial use of NI in winter and a mist cooling system in summer would decrease crop production time to 2 years and increase profits in Cymbidium forcing culture.