Effect of Plant Density and Variety on Allometry of Inflorescence Architecture in Gypsophila paniculata L.

Abstract

The effect of plant density and variety on allometry in Gypsophila paniculata L. was studied. Increasing plant density significantly reduced fresh weight, total branch length (the sum of the lengths of all primary branches), number of dichasia, number of florets per dichasium, and total number of florets in cut flowers in 'New Face'. The relationships between fresh weight and the total branch length, number of dichasia, and total number of florets were negatively allometric, isometric, and positively allometric, respectively. There were allometric relationships between fresh weight and the number of dichasia, number of florets per dichasium, and total number of florets on each branch order. The allometric exponents of regression relating the number of dichasia and the total number of florets to fresh weight increased from lower-to higher-order branches. On the other hand, the allometric exponents of regression relating the number of florets per dichasium to fresh weight were similar in almost all orders. Significant differences were found in fresh weight and parameters of inflorescence architecture among varieties grown under identical plant density. Allometric exponents relating the total branch length and number of dichasia to fresh weight, varied, and those relating the total number of florets to fresh weight were stable among varieties grown under identical plant density.

Far-red Light Supplemented with Weak Red Light Promotes Flowering of Gypsophila paniculata

“…Cut flower quality of G. paniculata is affected by plant density and growth period (Fudano et al, 2007;Hayashi et al, 1992Hayashi et al, , 2009. In these studies, cut flower length and weight were determined with the number of units and florets to evaluate cut flower quality, and stem diameter was found to have strong effects on some determinants of cut flower quality.…”