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Temperature effects on plant growth

Article · March 1991

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 Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin - March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON PLANT GROWTH
John Erwin
University o f Minnesota
Introduction relationship between D T a n d N T are
compared to each other we f i n d that
Temperature is perhaps the most easily they have similar internode lengths
manipulated factor in controlled envi- (Figure 3). This led us to the conclusion
ronment. Interestingly, relatively little that plant stem elongation is dependent
attention has been given as to how tem- on the difference (DIF) between DT
perature can be varied to manipulate and NT and not the actual DT or NT
Plant stem elon- plant growth. Recent research has shown plants are grown under between 50 and
gation is depend- that how we deliver high and low tem- 80°F. DIF is defined as the mathemati-
ent on the differ- peratures during a 24 hour period can cal DIFference between D T a n d N T
ence (DIF) be- have a dramatic impact on how a plant (DT-NT). A positive D I F occurs when
tween DT and NT grows. Stem elongation, plant color, the D T is less than NT.
and not the actua2 rate of plant development, flower num-
DT or N T plants ber, a n d flower size can all be manipu- Plant stem elongation increases as DIF
are grown under lated altering temperatures diurnally. increases (Figure 4). In other words,
between 50 and This article will summarize some of the plant height increases as D T increases
8OoF. recent findings on how this temperature relative to NT. However, the increase
affects plant growth. in plant height as DIF increases is not
the same over all values of DIF (Figure
PLANT MORPHOLOGY 5). There is a greater increase in stem
elongation when DIF is increased from
I. Stem Elongation a 0 D I F to a +DIF then when D I F is in-
creased the same amount from a -DIF
How you vary your temperatures during to a 0 DIF.
a 24 hour period has a dramatic effect on
the amount of stem elongation which Plant stem elongation is greatest a t the
occurs on a crop. Most glasshouse crops end of the night a n d the beginning of
a r e grown in environments which range the day. As a result, plant stem elonga-
Plant stem elon- in temperature between 50 and 80'F. tion is most sensitive to cool tempera-
gation increases as Within this
DIF increases. temperature
range, plant
height in-
creases as
d a y tem-
perature
(DT) in-
creases (Fig-
ure 1). In
contrast,
plant height
decreases as
night tem-
perature
(NT) in-
creases (Fig-
ure 2).

Interest-
ingly, when
plants with
a similar
Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin - March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2
tures as
close to Plant stem elon-
sunrise as gation is most sen-
possible. sitive to cool tem-
T h e peratures during
longer the first 3 hours of
you wait the morning.
after sun-
rise to
drop tem-
p e r a -
tures, the
less the
a f f e c t on
s t e m
elonga-
tion.

M o s t
plant spe-
cies re-
spond to
Figure 2. The e f f e c t of increasing night temperature f r o m 14 to 26OC DIF. T h e
on Easter lily plant height at flowering. o n l y
group of
plant spe-
c i e s Most plant species
w h i c h respond to DIF.
does not
show a n y
response
to DIF
are the
spring
b u l b
crops. In
addition,
seedlings
w h i c h
d e v e 1o p
f r o m
large seed The degree o f the
such a s response of plant
bean a n d species varies de-
pumpkin pendent on their
s h o w indigenous envi-
little re- ronment.
Figure 3. The e f f e c t of the relationship between d a y and night tem-
perature on Easter lily plant height at flowering. sponse to
DIF.
tures during the first 3 hours of the
morning. You can almost get as much The degree of the response of plant
height control by cooling plants below species varies dependent on their indige-
the N T (i.e. -DIF) during the first 3 nous environment. In general, the greater
hours of the day as if you gave plants the difference between DT a n d N T of a
a -DIF all day (Figure 6). It is impor- species in its native environment, the
tant that plants receive cool tempera- greater the response to DIF. Therefore,

21
 Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin - March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2
plant species to DIF. In
which show contrast, arti-
the least re- ficially in-
sponse to DIF creased day-
are tropical length will re-
species. In duce the re-
Plant resonses to contrast, spe- sponse to DIF.
DIF decrease as cies w h i c h
day length in- show the Plant re-
creases. greatest re- sponses to DIF
sponse to DIF decrease a s
are the tem- day length in-
perate species c r e a s e s .
and/or spe- Therefore,
cies from you will get
high alti- the greatest
tudes. For in- response to
stance, New DIF on De-
Guinea impa- cember 23 (the
tiens show shortest day
little response of the year)
to DIF. In and the least
contrast, response to
Easter lilies D I F on June
show a sig- 21 (the long-
nificant re- est day of the
sponse to DIF. year) when
Artificially g r o w i n g
shortened plants under a
day-length natural photo-
will increase Figure 4. The e f f e c t o f increasing DIF f r o m -12 to period.
the response 12OC on Chrysanthemum internode length.
P l a n t stem
elongation re-
sponses to DIF
are very rapid.
Plant stem elon- Plants will re-
gation responses to spond to DIF
DIF are very rapid. a f t e r a single
day. Y o u c a n
change the
rate of stem
elongation on
a daily basis.

Practical im-
plications:

1. Plant stem
elongation is
often greater
during sunny
weather than
cloudy since
Figure 5. The e f f e c t o f increasing DIF on poinsettia cv 'Dark Red s u n n y
Annette Hegg' plant height at flowering. weather tends

22
Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin
- March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2
crops it is in our best inter-
est to not let D T increase
Higher D T will often mean
more growth retardants. This
has special significance to
production of food crops in
greenhouses as growth reta-
rdants a r e not registered for
use on many of these crops.

3. You can get a significant

reduction in stem elongation
from changing your green-
house temperature regime
from a +DIF regime to a 0
DIF regime.

4. Dropping temperatures
during the first 3 hours of
the day allows you to reduce
a significant amount of stem
elongation, but still main-
tain a high rate of plant de- You can get a sig-
velopment (see next section). nificant reduction
Figure 6. The e f f e c t o f a cool temperature dip at first in stem elongation
light on plant stem elongation. The plant on the f a r 5. Attempting to use DIF to f r o m changing
l e f t received a 0 D I F treatment. The plant on the f a r control stem elongation of your greenhouse
right received a -8OCDIF treatment. The center right tropical species from envi- temperature re-
plant shows how a 2 hour dip in temperature at first ronments with similar DT gime from a +DIF
light reduces elongation more than a 7 hour dip in and N T is often not practi- regime to a 0 DIF
temperature started 2 hours nf t e r first light (center cal. regime.
l e f t plant).
to increase
plant tem-
p c r a t u re.
S u c h
h i g h e r
plant tcm-
pcraturcs
during the
day dc-
liver a
t D l F to
p l a n t s
cvcn when
g r c c n -
housc tcm-
pera t urcs
I r e hcld
sonstant.

2. With
m o s t
5 r e e n - Figure 7. The e f f e c t o f d a y arid night temperature on Fuchsia cv ’Dollar
h 0 u S e Princess’ leaf chlorophyll content.

23
 Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin - March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2

Leaf color be- 5. There is little benefit to

comes 'greener' as using DIF after April 3 1 due
DIF increases. to the extended day length.

[I. Leaf Color

Leaf color is influenced by

DIF. Leaf color becomes
'greener' as DIF increases
(Figure 7). In other words, if
you increase D T and decrease
NT.

Chlorosis will always occur

when DT are cooler than NT.
The chlorosis can also be
Chlorosis will induced if plants receive a
always occur when cool temperature pulse, i.e.
DT are cooler than less than the NT, during the
NT. first 3 hours of the day.

Do not apply a -DIF to plants

immediately after they ger-
minate or after you trans-
plant. Applying DIF too early
in development can cause se-
vere chlorosis, which can re-
sult in death and/or delay in
flowering. Applying DIF too
Do not apply early a f t e r transplanting can
-DIF to plants im reduce rooting. Figure 8. The e f f e c t of increasing D I F f r o m
mediately after the, -12 to 12OC on Fuchsia cv 'Dollar Princess' leaf
germinate or afte Chlorosis can be reduced by size.
you transplant.

Chlorosis can be
reduced by expos-
ing plants to light
during the middle
of the night.
Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin - March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2
T h e chloro-
sis response
is rapid. A? Plants will often
with stem 'green up' after
elongation! they are grown in
leaf color a +DIF environ-
can be ment for a period
changed on o f time.
a daily ba-
sis.

T h e degree
of leaf chlo-
rosis seen in
different
D I F envi-
ronments
d i f f e r s a-
mong plant
species. As
Figure 10. Typical temperature response curve. Note the base with stem
temperature, linear range, m a x i m u m rate and decrease in rate at high e l o n g a t i o n
temperatures. t h e most
sensitive The cholorosis re-
species a r e rponse is rapid.
0.1052 + 0.0940 * ADT Constant
plants f r o m
o High DT
A High NT e nviron-
m e n t s
I
where DT
3.01
and NT
v a r y
widely. Af-
rican violets
show little
leaf chloro-
sis in a -DIF
1.5- environ-
m e n t
m whereas
1 .o- morning
glory seed-
0.5 i ' l ' l ~ J ' J ' ~ ' J ~ j
lings
~ J
turn
r
white a n d
d i e in a
Average Daily Temperature ( " C ) -DIF envi-
k igure 11. The e f f e c t o f average daily temperature on Easter lily leaf ronmen t.
Irtifolding rate ficr day.
a f t e r they a r e grown in a +DIF environ- Practical implications:
ment for a period of time. The Easter
lilies shown in Figure 3 were all chlo- 1. Leaf chlorosis occurs whenever DT is
rotic after they were placed in a -DIF less than NT. Often growers panic or be-
environment. However, after approxi- lieve they have a nutrient deficiency on
mately 2 weeks they were the same a crop when they see the chlorosis. T h e
color as plants grown in a +DIF envi- chlorosis will disappear or will be re-
ronmen t.

25
 Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin - March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2
duced in time.
Plants can be
Leaf area in- 'greened up' if
creases as DIF in- they are grown
creases. i n a +DIF en-
vironment f o r
the last week
before sales.

2. T h e leaf
chlorosis can
result in a re-
duced photo-
synthetic rate.
As a result,
plants which
Leaf orientation a r e chlorotic
becomes more can have a re-
upright as DIF in- duced fresh or
creases. d r y weight.
Such a reduc-
tion i n plant
Figure 12. The e f f e e t o f d a y and night temperature on Fuchsia cv
weight can
'Dollar Princess' flower initiation and time to flower.
have an imDact
on your plant quality. mately 68'F. As either D T or N T
deviates from 68'F, leaf size decreases.
111. Leaf Size:

Leaf area increases as DIF increases

The ef feet o f tem- (Figure 8). Most plants respond in this IV. Leaf Orientation:
prature on the rate fashion. However, Easter lily and fern
of plant develop- leaf expansion does not appear to in- Leaf orientation becomes more upright
ment is similar crease with DIF. Instead, leaf expansion as DIF increases (Figure 9). This is
across plant spe- has a n optimal temperature of approxi- most obvious on plants with long leaves.
cies.
DEVEL-
OPMENT
RATE

Theeffect
of tem-
perature
on the rate
of plant
develop-
ment is
similar
a c r o s s
plant spe-
cies (Fig-
ure10). In
general
there is a
base tem-
Figure 13. The e f f e c t o f d a y and night temperature on New Guinea pera ture
impatiens flower initiation and time to flower. a t which

26
Minnesota Flower Growers Bulletin
no growth occurs. As temperature in-
creases the rate of plant development
increases in a straight line to a maxi-
mum temperature. As temperatures in-
crease above this temperature, the rate
of plant development slows. We are al-
most always dealing with plant growth
in the range of temperatures between
the base temperature and the maximum
temperature.
Plant development rate increases as
average daily temperature increases
between 50 a n d 80°F. If either D T or
N T increases above 80°F, the rate of
development slows in most species. Inter-
estingly, this rule holds even for tradi-
tionally warm climate crops such as hi-
biscus.
One way we can measure the rate of
plant development is by calculating the
leaf unfolding rate of a plant. We find
t h a t t h e leaf unfolding rate of a plant
increases linearly a s average daily tem-
perature increases between 50 and 80°F
(Figure 11). This concept is used com-
mercially to force Easter lilies each
year. T h e effect of temperature on
Easter lily leaf unfolding can be de-
scribed by the function: Leaf Unfold-
ing Rate/Day = (0.094 x ADT) - 0.1052.
FLOWER INITIATION
Plants can be sensitive to DT, NT or DT
a n d N T with respect to flower initia-
tion. For example, fuchsia are very
sesitive to high DT. If DT exceeds
76'F. fuchsia flower initiation is de-
View publication stats
- March, 1991 Volume 40, Number 2
layed (Figure 12). Flower number per We find that the
node is reduced by either high or low leaf unfolding rate
DT. of a dant increases
linearly as aver-
Poinsettia are especially sensitive to age daily tempera-
high NT. NT above 72'F will delay ture increases be-
flower initiation. tween 50 and 8OOF.
Chrysanthemum, New Guinea impatiens
and Christmas cactus a r e sensitive to
high DT or NT (Figure 13). D T or N T
above 68°F delay flower initiation i n
chrysanthemum. D T or N T above 72°F
delays flower initiation in Christmas Fuchsia re very
cactus. D T or N T above 76'F delays sesitive to high DT.
flower initiation in New Guinea impa- I f DT exceeds
tiens. 76'F, fuchsia
flower initiation is
With all of these species there is a n op- delayed.
timal temperature f o r flower initiation.
Temperatures above or below that tem-
perature either delay flower initiation
and/or reduce flower number.
The author wishes to thank the follow-
ing individuals for their part i n this
research: Royal Heins, William Carlson,
Merium Karlsson, Robert Berghage a n d
Brian Kovanda. In addition the author Poinsettia are es-
wishes to thank the following organiza- pecially sensitive to
tions for their support of this research: high NT.
The Michigan State Agriculture Experi-
ment Station, The American Floral En-
dowment, The Bedding Plant Founda-
tion, The Fred C. Gloeckner Foundation,
The Ohio State Florists Association,
Growers supportive of Michigan State
Research, The Minnesota Agriculture
Experiment Station and T h e Minnesota Chrysanthemum,
Extension Service. New Guinea impa-
tiens and Christ-
mas cactus are sen-
sitive to high DT
or NT.
27