ISSN:
1399-3054
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Tulip bulbs cv. Apeldoorn are dry stored at 5°C for 12 weeks to ensure subsequent optimal flowering when planted in the greenhouse at higher temperatures of 17–20°C. Both temperature and duration of the cold treatment determine the subsequent rate of the shoot elongation, the time until anthesis and the flower size, pigmentation and water content. In search for cold-specific physiological changes, possibly related to the development of the potential of proper flowering (flowering preparation), we studied the redistribution of organic nitrogen in both cooled (5°C) and non-cooled (17°C) bulbs.During 12 weeks of dry storage, the total protein- and free amino acid-nitrogen content decreased in the scales, whereas the opposite was found in the basal plate (with root primordia) and the shoot. In the shoot, this occurred significantly more at 17°C than at 5°C. At the same time, there was a tissue-specific change in the free amino acid composition in both cooled and non-cooled bulbs. Changes specific for the 5°C treatment were only found for the alanine content, in both the basal plate (with root primordia) and the shoot, and for the proline, asparagine, threonine, glycine and isoleucine content, in the shoot only. These changes are, for the greater part, completed within the first 6–8 weeks of dry storage. Bulbs stored for such a short period of time at 5°C still show flowering disorders. Thus, flowering preparation is only partly accompanied by changes in free amino acid contents.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.1992.tb01317.x
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