Features of Begonia grandis adaptation in contrasting cultivation conditions

Abstract

The possibilities of adaptation of Begonia grandis Dry., the most cold-resistant representative of the genus, to conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia, more severe than in areas of natural growth in China, are studied. The experiment carried out outdoors in spring-summer-autumn period in comparison with a year-round greenhouse cultivation. It was established that the development of plants placed outside the greenhouses accelerates: the flowering time was reduced by 1.5 times and fruiting began two months earlier. The productivity indicators increased such as the number of simultaneously blooming inflorescences, the number of female flowers in separate inflorescence and the number of ripened fruits. The coefficient of vegetative propagation also increased. The number of bulbils was almost 2.5 times more, with significant increase in their size. It was shown that plants of B. grandis grown in the open air were adapted to the conditions of the forest-steppe of Western Siberia. By the time of autumn frosts, they are completing flowering, form ripen seeds and bulbils. Thus, reproduction is provided both by seed and vegetative means. However, to undergo the full life cycle of B. grandis it is necessary to keep dormant tubers in greenhouse or shelter during the frosty period.

Biology of Begonia sect. Wageneria (Klotzsch) A.DC. under cultivation conditions (ex situ)

“…In begonias of the Wageneria section all vegetative shoots are plagiotropic. So, all the studied species belong to the monopodial plagiotropic long-metameric architectural model [17]. Vegetative shoots of the studied begonias are uniformly leafy along the entire length, creeping along the surface of the soil and rooting in the nodes, with a raised tip (Fig.…”

“…All the studied species bloom cultivated ex situ. Inflorescences of Begonia are axillary, dichasial, with bracts and not reduced axes, bisexual, with male flowers basal and female flowers distal, protandrous [9,18]. In begonias of the Wageneria section, dichasia are multi-tiered (Fig.…”

Leaf pigments and concentrations of phenolic compound in Begonia grandis plantlets obtained from the floral explants

“…Begonia grandis is widely employed in ornamental horticulture all over the world, but mainly in countries with subtropical and tropical climate (Tebbitt 2005). In Siberia, the species is usually grown in greenhouses or as an annual outdoor ornamental plant (Baikova and Fershalova 2020).…”