chrysanthemums assuming that the
Look for boron
manifestation of low B appears only in
the final stages of development.
Bunt (2, 3) reported that the
symptoms of B deficiency of pot
chrysanthemums grown in sand-peat
mixtures usually appear as a change in
form in the flower rather than in the
foliage. He found that the normal
decorative habit of 'Princess Anne'
changes to an incurved form of flower,
and the petals may also show a
l o n g i t u d i n a l c u r l i n g or rolling,
resembling a quill. A black center which
is not associated with either fungal or
bacterial infection may develop in the
flower. However, none of these
symptoms were observed in our study.
Since the peripheral floral parts were
affected and not the central florets, the
symptoms do not appear to be related
to a requirement for B in development
since B is not readily translocated from
older tissue.
If a major role of B is in the
translocation of sugar (6) B deficiency
could result in the peripheral petals
losing turgidity and developing necrosis
before the central petals.
Schmidt (12) suggested that plants
with insufficient B absorb more nitrate
N than is needed and cells break down
as a result of high nitrate concn. No
attempt was made in this study to
determine the nitrate concn of the
tissue.
The B deficiency and petal necrosis
Root Temperature and Nutrient Levels
of Chrysanthemum Shoots1
R. N. Rosenthal*, C. G. Woodbridge and C. L. Pfeiffers
Washington State University, Pullman
Abstract. Shoots of 2-week old rooted
cuttings of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ram
cv. Bright Golden Anne were kept at 18-23°C
while roots were maintained at 18-23°, 16°,
10°, and 4 ° for 2 weeks. Roots at 16° or
lower reduced N while 10° or lower reduced
P. K, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu decreased with
decreasing root temperature while Ca
increased and Mg levels varied.
Effects of soil temp on nutrient
levels of leaves have been observed for
many herbaceous species ( 1 , 3 , 4 , 5, 6,
8). Generally, as soil temp decreased,
macronutrient uptake remained
relatively constant or decreased. Ca was
an exception; increasing as soil temp
1
Received for publication February 8, 1972.
Paper No. 3728. Washington Agricultural
Experiment Station, Pullman, Washington
99163. Project No. 9055,
^Present address: Washington State
Department of Highways, Olympia,
Washington.
3 Present address: Soil and Plant Laboratory,
Inc., P.O. Box 1648, Bellevue, Washington.
26
described in this paper may easily be
confused with Botrytis cinerea injury
which has been described as affecting
the older petals, generally beginning at
the tips and working inward. There is
t h e strong possibility that what
frequently has been attributed to
Botrytis injury has really been this
manifestation of B deficiency.
Another condition affecting
'Indianapolis White' chrysanthemum at
the time the plant is reaching full
flowering stage is sun scorch, sometimes
called petal burn, sun scald, or sun burn.
On first glance the B deficiency necrosis
might be confused with sun scorch, but
closer inspection would reveal the
peripheral nature of the B deficiency
whereas the sun scald is described (11)
as an arc or circle at the center of the
flower.
This study has shown that B
deficiency is a 3rd factor that can cause
petal damage of chrysanthemums. It is
possible that dollar losses to commercial
producers have been the result of an
unsuspected B deficiency. Further study
is needed to elucidate the role of B in
chrysanthemum flowering.
Literature Cited
1. Briggs, G. S. 1943. Effect of boron in the
substrate on the rate of nitrate absorption
and on nitrogen distribution in
Nasturtium. Plant Physiol 18:415-432.
decreased in tomato, spinach, beans and
barley (2, 7, 10). Micronutrient uptake
varied with soil temp (9, 10). In this
study we report the effect of root temp
on the levels of 9 elements in shoots of
young 'Bright Golden Anne'
chrysanthemum.
In July 1970, 100 rooted stem
cuttings 4 were planted, each in pumice
sand in 1 liter plastic containers having
drainage holes and these were inserted
into similar containers without holes.
This arrangement of dual containers
allowed the root medium to be
surrounded by water in temp tanks and
for the inner container to be removed
for washing the pumice sand daily with
p r e c o o l e d water and then with
precooled nutrient solution.
Five different root temp regimes
(18-23°C-ambient, 16°, 10°, 4.5°, and
4 ° ± 0.5°) were maintained with
continuously circulated water in 5 well
^Rooted cuttings were donated by Yoder
Bros., Inc., Barberton, Ohio.
H O R T S C I E N C E , V O L . 8(1), F E B R U A R Y
2. Bunt, A. C. 1965.
deficiency in peat-sand composts. The
Grower and Packer 64:440-441.
3. 1969. Peat-sand substrates for
plants grown in containers. I. The effect
of base fertilizers. Plant and Soil
31:97-110.
4. Burtner, J. C. 1942. Boron stopped fruit
cracking. Better Crops with Plant Food.
26:9, 38.
5. Criley, R. A., and W. H. Carlson. 1970.
Tissue analysis standards for various
floriculture crops. Florist's Rev.
145(3771):19-20, 70-71.
6. Gauch, H. G., and W. M. Duggar, Jr.
1953. The role of boron in the
translocation of sucrose. Plant Physiol.
28:457-467.
7. Hoagland, D. R., and D. I. Arnon. 1950.
The water-culture method for growing
plants without soil. Calif. Agr. Expt. Sta.
Cir. 347 Rev. 31 p.
8. Holley, K. T., and T. G. Dulin. 1939.
Influence of boron on flower bud
development in cotton. /. Agr. Res.
59:541-545.
9. Kiplinger, D. C , and H. K. Tayama.
1970. Foliar analysis information for
floral crops. Ohio Florists Assoc. Bui
493:2-9.
10. Kramer,. A., and A. L. Schreder. 1942.
Effect of nutrients, media and growth
substances on the growth of the Cabot
variety of Vaccinium corymbosum. J.
Agr. Res. 65:313-328.
11. Laurie, A., D. C. Kiplinger, and K. S.
Nelson. 1968. Commercial flower forcing
7th Ed. McGraw-Hill. N. Y. 514 p.
12. Schmidt, E. W. 1937. Uber den Einfluss
des Bor Auf den Nitratstoff wechsel. Ber.
Deut. Bot. Gesell 55:356-361.
13. Woodbridge, C. G., A. Venegas, and P. C.
Crandall. 1971. The boron content of
developing pear, apple and cherry flower
b u d s . J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Set
96:613-615.
insulated tanks. The shoots were
maintained at ambient temp (18-23°).
Each tank cover was a 2.54 cm
styrofoam sheet supported by a 6.35
mm sheet of composition board.
Twenty equally spaced holes in the
covers supported the plant plastic
containers and allowed the bulk of the
container to be immersed in water.
M a c r o n u t r i e n t sources for the
n u t r i e n t s o l u t i o n w e r e KNO3,
NH4NO3, MgS04, and H3PO4. Ca was
not added since sufficient was present in
the tap water used to make up the
nutrient solution. The concn (ppm) in
the nutrient solutions were: N (200), P
(5), K (200), Ca (9), S (20), Mg (13), Fe
(3), Zn (.05), Mn (.01), Cu (.02), Mo
(.01), and B (.25). The pH of the
solution was 6.8. All plants appeared
normal and of the same size throughout
the study.
The rooted cuttings were grown in
the greenhouse for 2 weeks and were
then divided into 5 groups of 20. Each
group was placed in one of the tanks so
that the roots were at a preselected
constant temp. After 2 weeks the new
shoot growth was removed, dried at
80°C in a forced-draft oven and ground.
Two shoots selected at random were
combined to form a sample giving 10
s a m p l e s p e r t r e a t m e n t . N was
1973
Table 1. Nutrient levels (dry wt basis) in shoots of chrysanthemum
temperatures.
Nutrient level (dry wt basis)
Root temp N P K Ca
°C (%) (%) (%)
18-23z 6.95a* .532a 4.04a
16 5.96b .504a 3.47b
10 6.02b .451b 2.78c
4.5 6.01b .430b 2.26d
4 5.49b .417b 2.30d
z
Ambient
v 5. Nielsen, K. F., R. L. Halstead, A. J.
Means separation within columns by Duncan multiple range test, 1% level.
determined by a micro-Kjeldahl
procedure. Samples for the remaining
nutrients were dry ashed at 600° and
the ash was taken up in dilute HC1. P
and Fe were determined
colorimetrically; Ca and K by flame
photometry; and Cu, Zn, Mn and Mg by
atomic absorption photometry.
Shoot N levels decreased as root
temp decreased from 18-23°C to 16°
but were unaffected from 16° to 4 °
(Table 1). Similar results were found for
strawberry (8) but with tomato (6) N
levels decreased with decreasing temp. P
levels significantly decreased at 10° and
below, results paralleling those for
tomato and corn (3). K decreased with
decreasing temp and Ca increased as in
studies with bean (10), tomato and
spinach (2) and barley (7). No trend in
Mg was observed in contrast to studies
with potato, corn, and bromegrass (5)
Growth of Subirrigated Japanese Holly as
Affected by Soil Type and Depth1
S. I. Patel and J. H. Tinga2
University of Georgia, Athens
Abstract. Container-grown plants of
Japanese holly (Hex crenata Thumb, cv.
Rotundifolia) were grown satisfactorily using
subirrigation for 90 days during July-Sept.
With either sandy loam or clay loam soil at a
depth of 20 or 30 cm on a constant water
level pan, soil moisture level remains near
optimum in the root zone.
It has long been known that
increased yields and accelerated plant
growth result from subirrigation as
compared to surface irrigation under
greenhouse conditions (2, 3, 5).
Further, a u t o m a t i c watering in
deceived for publication July 5, 1972. This
paper is a portion of thesis submitted to
Graduate School, University of Georgia,
Athens, by the senior author in partial
fulfillment of requirements of M.S. degree,
August, 1971.
^Graduate Assistant and Professor in
Department of Horticulture, respectively.
HORTSCIENCE, V O L . 8(1), F E B R U A R Y
at various root zone
Mg Fe Zn Mn Cu
(%) (%) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm)
.646a .145abc 101a 86a 86a 14a
.681a .139c 84b 83a 74b 12b
.774b .142bc 84b 49b 81ab
.904c .153a 73b 42b 75b
.809b .139c 67c 37b 64c
where Mg increased with increasing
temp. Levels of the minor elements
decreased as temp decreased. In
strawberry leaves (9), Mn and Cu
decreased with lower root temp but Fe
increased.
There are a number of environmental
and seasonal differences that may
account for species differences in
mineral uptake in response to root temp
changes. Conflicting results with
different species may be accounted for
by genetic differences.
Literature Cited
1. Apple, S. B., Jr. and J. S. Butts. 1953.
Soil temperature studies I. The effect of
root temperature and phosphorus on
growth and phosphorus uptake by pole
beans. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. ScL
61:325-332.
subirrigation reduces labor without
reducing quality in floral crops (4). Soil
type, mix, and column height have been
shown to be important factors in
subirrigation (1, 6). Our purpose in this
study was to test soil type and column
depth on growth of container-grown
Japanese holly.
The experiment was conducted for
90 days in July-Sept, at Athens, Ga. A
flat bed 8 m long and 1.5 m wide and
covered with 2 layers of 4 mil black
polyethylene film with edges sloped 30°
formed a shallow pan which held 3 cm
of water depth. An overflow allowed
excess rainwater to spill out. Constant
water level was maintained by metering
from a 200 liter reservoir.
Plants of similar size, 15 cm high and
15 cm wide, were planted in Appling
sandy loam or Cecil clay loam soil types
previously heated at 70°C to kill weed
seed. Four soil column depths of 15, 20,
30, and 40 cm plus 1 field control in
sandy loam soil were established. Green
plastic nursery containers 20 cm deep
1973
2. Carolus, R. L. 1949. Calcium and
potassium relationships in tomatoes and
spinach. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci.
54:281-285.
3. Knoll, H. A., N. C. Brady, and D. J.
Lathwell, 1964. Effects of soil
temperature and phosphorus fertilization
on growth and phosphorus content of
corn. Agron. J. 56:145-167.
9c 4. Mack, H. J., S. C. Fang, and S. B. Apple,
7d Jr. 1964. Effects of soil temperature and
7d phosphorus fertilization on snap beans
and peas. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci
84:332-338.
Maclean, S. J. Bourget, and R. M.
Holmes. 1961. The influence of soil
temperature on the growth and mineral
composition of corn, bromegrass, and
potatoes. Soil Set Soc. Amer. Proc.
25:369-372.
6. Nightingale, G. T. 1933. Effects of
temperature on metabolism in tomato.
Bot. Gaz. 95:35-38.
7. Overstreet, R., L. Jacobson, and R.
Handley. 1952. The effect of calcium on
the absorption of potassium by barley
roots. Plant Physiol. 27:583-590.
8. Proebsting, E. L. 1957. The effect of soil
temperature in the mineral nutrition of
the strawberry. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort.
Set 69:278-281.
9. Roberts, A. N., and A. L. Kenworthy.
1956. Growth and composition of the
strawberry plant in relation to root
temperature and intensity of nutrition.
Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. ScL 68:157-168.
10. Wallace, A. 1957. Influence of soil
temperature on cation uptake in barley
and soybeans. Soil Sci. 83:407-411.
11. Yusof, I. M., D. W. Buchanan, and J. F.
Gerber. 1969. The response of avocado
and mango to soil temperature. Proc.
Amer. Soc. Hort. ScL 94:619-621.
and 20 cm wide (2 gal) were used for
the 15 and 20 cm soil depth. To obtain
soil depth of 30 and 40 cm, the bottom
of this container was removed and
placed on top of a second container of
the same soil. Holes of 2 cm diam in the
base of the container allowed water to
move from the pan into the container
soil.
The first 2 days after being placed in
the pan of 3 cm water depth, the
containers were watered from the top to
establish capillarity. We applied 15 g of
a slow release fertilizer, 14.0 - 6.1 - 11.6
(N-P-K), in a circle around the inside of
each container. No organic matter was
added.
Soil particle measurements. The
particle size distribution of the 2 soil
types was determined by passing
through the National Bureau of
Standards Sieve Series (Table 1). A 100
g sample of each soil was obtained by
passing it through a random splitter.
Sample and screen were placed on a
Tyler Shaker for 10 min. The wt of soil
particles of each screen was recorded
and converted to % retained for Appling
sandy loam and Cecil clay loam (Table
1). The design of the experiment was
randomized complete block with 2 soil
27