New York State Flower GrowersINCORPORATED

BULLETIN 294 Secretary, Charles Wilton, Prattsburg, Steuben Co., N. Y. 14873 MAY 1970

Dr. James W. BoodleyNamed Chairman of

Department of Floriculture& Ornamental Horticulture

At their April meeting the Board of Trustees of CornellUniversity approved the appointment of Professor JamesW. Boodley as Chairman of the Department of Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture effective July 1, 1970.Professor Boodley will succeed Dr. John G. Seeley whowill devote full time to research, teaching and extensionactivities.

Dr. Boodley received his Bachelor of Science degree in1953 from the Department of Horticulture at The Pennsylvania State University. At Pennsylvania State. Dr. JohnSeeley was his advisor in graduate studies that resulted inthe Master of Science Degree in 1954 and the Doctor ofPhilosophy in 1956.

He was Assistant Professor of Horticulture at The

Pennsylvania State University until October 1958 atwhich time he came to Cornell.

At Cornell he has engaged in research, extension andteaching of floriculture crop production practices. He wasa pioneer in the use of gibberellic acid on azaleas and production of seedlings under fluorescent light sources.

He is a co-developer of the Cornell Peat-lite Mixes thathave found wide use by commercial plant producers. Themixes, composed of combinations of peat moss and ver-miculite or perlite enriched with essential nutrients, havethe advantages of being well aerated and well drained,light in weight and sterile. They are ideally suited to incorporation in today's modern, labor-saving, efficient systems of horticultural crop production. They have beenwidely used for bedding plants, poinsellias, geraniumsand potted mums.

Professor Boodley's research in foliar analysis techniques for floriculture crops has led to the development ofa practical system of foliar analysis especially useful torose and carnation growers. The system, available togrowers through the Department's Foliar Analysis Laboratory, provides an important new tool which enables thegrower to improve the precision of his crop productionmanagement.

More recently, Dr. Boodley has placed research emphasis on the post-harvest physiology of cut flowers. He developed the Cornell Solution, a flower preservative material which prolongs the life of cut flowers. The Solutionhas become a standard material in post-harvest physiologyresearch, and is used commercially by many growers,wholesalers and retailers.

James W. Boodley

Professor Boodley teaches two courses in the Department, Commercial Florist Crop Production, and Greenhouse Management. He serves as the Department's FieldRepresentative for the Graduate School and has been advisor to numerous graduate students in floriculture.

Dr. Boodley has been a frequent participant in Cooper-alive Extension programs for florists held throughout theState. He has supervised the Floriculture Soil TestingLaboratory and Ihe Foliar Analysis Laboratory duringhis Cornell tenure and has made regular visits to greenhouse operations to observe soil management practices asthey relate to growers' participation in the soil and foliartesting programs.

Dr. Boodley is a member of the American Society forHorticultural Science and an honorary member of thePennsylvania Flower Growers Association and the NewYork Stale Flower Growers, Inc. He also serves as a director of the newly formed national plant-growing organization Bedding Plants, Inc. This organization is dedicatedto the development and promotion of the bedding plant industry throughout the United States.

Dr. Boodley is a member of the following honoraries:Pi Alpha Xi, National Floriculture Honorary Fraternity;Phi Epsilon Phi and Sigma Xi. He is also a member ofRotary International.

New York State Flower Growers Bulletin No. 294, May, 1970

Notes

for the

Retailer

Profit by Your Wholesalers' ServicesIf you haven't checked the management services which

your wholesalers offer, you should. Because their businessdepends on you and the other retailers to whom they sell,they are natural sources of assistance.

Depending on the types of assistance he offers, yourwholesaler, or wholesalers, may be able to help you "butter your bread." Some wholesalers offer services on salespromotion, buying and new developments in products.Others try to "think retail" and also provide services thathelp to increase profits as well as sales. They alsc offerassistance with financing and accounting, to mention twoother examples.

Small Marketers Aids No. 140 entitled Profit by YourWholesalers' Services by Richard M. Hill, Professor ofBusiness Administration, Department of Business Administration, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, outlinestypes of services and the extent to which they are available.These vary with wholesalers and lines of merchandise.Your wholesaler-distributor may or may not provide all ofthe services discussed in this Aid but reading about themshould help you when you investigate his offerings.Danger Signals in a Small Store

Small Marketers Aids No. 141, Danger Signals in aSmall Store by Bruce Goodpasture, states danger signalswarn the owner-manager that something has started to gowrong. They can be especially helpful to men and womenin newly established businesses (firms that are less than 2years old). This Aid was written mainly for such individuals. Its purpose is to help them recognize their management problems in the early stages so they can look forassistance while there is time to help the business.

You may obtain your copy of the above Aids as well ashave your name placed on the mailing list to receive Aidson a regular basis by writing to Small Business Administration, Washington, D. C. 20416.

Retail Florist, Small Business Bibliography Number 74, Small Business Administration, Washington,D. C December 1967.

And when you're writing to the Small Business Administration, you should also request this bibliography whichprovides the established and prospective retail florist alist of publications and trade associations which should behelpful in promoting a progressive and profitable business. It is an excellent listing of publications and agenciesand should be a part of your files.

Official Retailer Guide for the Care and Handling ofRoses available from Roses, Inc.

An excellent wall chart detailing in words and diagramsthe care of cut roses in the retail shop is available at nocharge from Roses, Inc., 1152 Haslett Road, Haslett,Mich., 48840. The chart represents an excellent employeetraining aid and a constant reminder for oldtimers.F. T. D. Becomes a Cooperative on July 1, 1970.

John L. Bodette, F. T. D. Executive Vice-President andSecretary, announces that effective July, 1970, F.T. D.will be organized as, and operate as, a cooperative.

"This is the most important action taken by the association sincethe establishment of its clearinghouse in 1924,"declared John L. Bodette, F. T. D. Executive Vice-President and Secretary. "We can now provide F. T. D. members with more services at lower cost because of tax savings under the cooperative form," Mr. Bodette said, "andmembers will enjoy patronage returns to their use ofF. T. D. services."

Cornell Extension Bulletins of Interest to RetailersThese three Cornell Bulletins should be standard items

in the retail florists' library:Cornell Extension Bulletin 1703—Care and Use ofPlants in the Home by C. C. Fischer and R. T. Fox.Cornell Extension Bulletin 1087—Artificial Lightingfor Decorative Plants by E. F. Schaufler and C. C.Fischer.

Cornell Extension Bulletin 1117—Care of FloweringPlants in the Home by C. C. Fischer.

To obtain your copy, see your Cooperative ExtensionAgentor write to Mailing Room, Building #7, Cornell Research Park, Ithaca, New York, 14850. Single copies arefree to New York State residents; a charge of 15£ percopy for Bulletins 1073 and 1087, and 5$ per copy forBulletin 1117, is made to out-of-state residents.

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Editor's Note: To list events in The Florists' Calendar,send program title, dates, and location toEditor, New York State Flower GrowersBulletin, Department of Floriculture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 14850.

July 26-29 S.A.F. Convention, Roosevelt Hotel, NewOrleans, Louisiana.

August 30, 31, Long Island Flower Growers Associa-September 1 tion Conference, King's Grant Motel,

Plainview, Long Island.Sept. 1-7 New York State FairOctober 5-7 National Bedding Plant Conference, Mich

igan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

October 10-12 New York State Flower IndustriesConvention, Hotel Syracuse, Syracuse, New York.

New York State Flower Growers Bulletin No. 294, May, 1970

Response of 30 Carnation Cultivars to Photoperiod*R. W. Langhans, R. Freeman and Arthur Binc

Department of Floriculture, Cornell University; Cooperative Extension, Suffolk County: and Department ofFloriculture. Cornell University. Ithaca, Respectively

The philosophy and cultural manipulations of the 'onecrop' carnation system have been described in previousNew York State Flower Groiver Bulletin articles (1).Today, many growers use this method to produce carnations specifically for the Christmas and Valentine holidays. Our previous work indicated a varietal response tophotoperiod, i.e., some cultivars flowered more rapidlyand in a shorter cropping time than others (2, 3). Forthe 'one crop' system, the quicker-flowering cultivarswould appear to be most desirable. It is interesting to notethat for years carnation breeders have been selecting cultivars that do not crop, but rather have selected for continuous production. We understand most carnation breedersare testing their new selections to see if they will fit the'one crop' system as well.

To determine the varietal response to photoperiod, 30carnation cultivars (reds and pinks) were selected. Thecuttings were supplied through the courtesy of YoderBrothers, Barberton, Ohio. Four treatments were used:a) grown under natural days, b) grown under 18 hours,c) grown under 18 hours and suckered (all side shootsremoved), d) grown under 9 hours. Because we haveseen a difference in response between Ithaca and LongIsland, the plants were grown in both locations and theresults will be given for both.

Materials and Methods

Rooted cuttings were planted on August 2, 1968, in asterilized growing medium at 6" x 7" in Ithaca and 5" x 7"on Long Island. The minimum greenhouse temperatureswere 50°F nights and 60°-65°F days. Greenhouses were notcooled, therefore temperatures were higher especially during the first few months of the project. The plants werepinched 12 clays after planting, watered, fertilized andsprayed as outlined in CornellRecommendations for Commercial Floriculture Crops.

Ithaca trials: The 18-hour photoperiod was started immediately after pinching. The plants received all of thenatural sunlight plus incandescent light for a total of 18hours of light. Black sateen shading cloth was pulledaround, not over, the benches to prevent the light fromilluminating the other treatments. The lighting programturned on the incandescent lamps (mum-type lighting toachieve approximately 10 to 20 ft-c) for the period 4:30pm to 10:00 pm and again from 4:00 am to 8:30 am.Lighting was discontinued on October 25 when flowerbuds were about the size of a pea.

The two other treatments included natural days and an18-hour photoperiod as previously described, but all sideshoots were removed (suckering).

Long Island trials: Two photoperiod treatments wereused: 18-hour and 9-hour. Plants subjected to the 18-hourtreatment received all of the natural daylight hours. One-

We wish to thank the Fred C. Gloeckner Foundation and theNew York Florists' Club for financial support of this project.

half hour before sunset the lights were turned on and remained on long enough so the daylight hours, plus illuminated hours, totaled 18 hours. Mum-type lighting wasused to achieve 10 to 20 ft-c. The 9-hour photoperiod wasachieved by covering the benches with black sateen clothat 5:00 pm and removing it at 8:00 am each day. Allphotoperiod treatments were stopped when buds were thesize of a pea.

Results

Flower quality was good in all treatments at both locations, and ranged in the top SAF carnation grades. Thequality data, therefore, will not be given. The two 18-hourtreatments at Ithaca were also similar in quality andtiming, so only the 18-hour results will be given. Whiledifficult to measure, suckering appeared to slightly improve stem strength.

Peak production was calculated by determining the datewhen exactly half the flowers on a plant were harvested.

We hoped an obvious division which we could use toclassify the various carnation cultivars according to response to photoperiod, such as that used for chrysanthemums, would be apparent. However, no such criteriaemerged. The control of carnation flowering clearly involves multiple factors. Photoperiod, temperature andlight intensity each plays a role in determining the speedof flowering. High temperatures will speed flowering aswe have previously shown (4, 5, 6). Table 1 shows theaverage number of weeks to peak production for all 30cultivars for the 3 treatments at the 2 locations used in

this study. The results clearly show the effect of photoperiod and light intensity. The differences between longdays (18-hour) and short days (9-hour natural day) was5 to 8 weeks. The difference between Long Island andIthaca (less light intensity in Ithaca) when both sets ofplants were grown at 18 hours was 3 weeks.

Table 2 shows the number of weeks to peak productionfor the 3 photoperiodic treatments at both locations. Thereis no apparent clear-cut separation of the cultivars. Theyare apparently responding differently to the various environmental factors of photoperiod and light intensity. Thiscan be seen especially with the cultivar 'CSU Light PinkSim' which peaked quickest under 18 hours at LongIsland and slowest under 18 hours at Ithaca. If the cultivars are to be categorized, apparently a different methodwill have to be used.

Summary

Thirty cultivars (reds and pinks) were grown under 3photoperiods and at 2 locations to determine the possibilities of classifying carnations into response groups. Thedata proved to be too variable to allow this to be done.These cultivars apparently respond differently to the environmental factors of temperature, photoperiod and lightintensity.

(continued on page 6)

New York State Flower Growers Bulletin No. 294, May, 1970

Boron Deficiency In RosesJames W.

The classical symptoms of boron deficiency have beenwell described in many text books and articles. The growing point of the plant dies, leaves become brittle and misshapen, and generally thick in substance. Frequently a proliferation of side branches results in a witch's broom effect.

These symptoms generally represent a severe deficiencyof the element. There are times, however, when the classical symptoms do not appear, or when there is some variation of symptoms to the point where boron would not. besuspect. The practical result is a loss of cut because theflowers are unmarketable. Such was the recent case withone of our rose growers.

The problem became serious in early winter of 1969,with the first apparent symptoms being a very slightbrowning of the petal margin of flowers of 'White Butterfly.' The grower stated the injury looked very similar tothat caused by thrips; however, no insects were found. Thegrower first observed the symptoms in July, but thoughtthe problem was due to spray injury. At that time thesymptoms were seen on two separate plantings of 'WhiteButterfly' but not on a third planting or on any other varieties. The spray program being followed was i/> pint Par-non plus 1 lb. of Dylox and 3 cups of liquid soap per 100gallons of water. Since other varieties did not show symptoms, the spray program was ruled out as the causal factor.

The soil mixture used for growing ranges in age fromfour to ten years and it is generally made up of a combination of sand and heavy clay loam with peat and otherorganic material such as corn cobs, peanut shells, grassand other mulches incorporated.

Fertilizer is applied at every watering. During the summer this may be three or four times a week using100 ppm N and 180 ppm K. During the winter watering isdone once or twice weekly with 60 ppm N and 180 ppm K.Superphosphate and lime are added at planting lime. Regular soil tests show the levels of nutrients are being keptwithin the proper ranges. A soil test of 41 ppm nitrates, 4phosphorus, 45 potash, 100 calcium, pH 6.3 and totalsoluble salts 55 is representative of conditions.

Speculations of possible causes eliminated such thingsas mercury damage since no thermometers had beenbroken, nor had the greenhouse range been painted withinthe past year.

Following consultation the grower found that additionalvarieties were beginning to show the same symptoms.Besides 'White Butterfly', there were 'Golden Rapture No.5', 'Forever Yours', 'Red American Beauty'. 'Carina'.'Peter's BriarclifF, and 'Seventeen'.

Foliar samples were submitted for analysis and of the elements tested, boron was found to be extremely deficient.Two samples of 'White Butterfly' contained 8 ppm and 11ppm boron. Critical level is considered to be 30 ppm. Additional leaf samples were taken to confirm the problem.These showed levels of 7 and 11 ppm boron in 'White Butterfly and 18 ppm in 'Forever Yours'. Corrective applications of 20 Mule Team Borax at one ounce per 100 squarefeet of area were made. Leaf samples w'ere taken, two,three and four weeks after boron applications to determinethe rapidity of obtaining proper plant levels.

Boodley

Samples taken two weeks following treatment showedlevels of boron in 'White Butterfly' had risen to 57 and to22 ppm in 'Forever Yours'. The following week levels for'White Butterfly' were 139 and 62 and 'Forever Yours'contained 47 ppm. One week later levels were 117 and 61for 'White Butterfly' and 37 for 'Forever Yours'.

The plants began to show noticeable signs of improvedgrowth two weeks after applying the boron. Althoughsome flowers would never recover, the new growth and developing (lowers were normal in appearance.

Because the symptoms of this boron deficiency problemwere not generally typical. I have saved their descriptionuntil now.

Symptoms or Noticeable Damage'White Butterfly'—Browning of the petal margin, and

in some cases a browning (necrosis) of the entire flower(breakdown of internal tissue within the petals), occurred.This could easily be confused with freezing or chilling injury. The necrosis of the edge of the petal often gave thepetal a slightly ruffled or curled look and quite oftencaused the flower to have a crippled appearance.

'Golden Rapture No. 5'—This variety exhibited thesame general characteristics as 'While Butterfly' but withpossibly more browning of the entire flower.

'Forever Yours'—The veins in the petals were dark(almost black) and stand out quite noticeably. The edgesof the petals were brown and the same crippling effectwas noticeable as was observed on the white and yellow.With the 'Forever Yours', instead of a browning of theflower, a bluish cast was observed. This bluing was verysimilar to that seen in a very old rose. This discolorationwas often seen on four or six petals but these were seldomthe outermost petals, generally they were the second orthird row of petals. On some flowers the bluing wasnoticeable on all petals.

Some damage was also seen on 'Red American Beauty','Carina'. 'Peter's BriarclifF and 'Seventeen'.

On all varieties the symptoms became much worse withage. A rose that had been cut for a few days often hadpetals that turned completely brown and dried. Lastingquality was severely reduced. The only symptom observedon the foliage was a curling of the leaf tips.

The photographs show some of the various symptoms.They are presented for whatever value the reader may derive. They should never be used as a positive identificationof a boron deficiency of roses. Only by a foliar analysiscan a truly positive diagnosis be made.

Summary

A boron deficiency of roses that resulted in symptomsunlike the classical ones wras found. Foliar analysis confirmed that boron was critically low. Corrective applications of boron resulted in an improved level within theplant tissue two weeks after treatment. Plant symptomsbegan to decline within three weeks after treatment. Thegrower was advised of a continuing cultural program thatwould prevent the problem from re-occurring.

(See Illustrations Opposite Page)

New York State Flower Growers Bulletin No. 294, May, 1970

'White Butterfly' showing browning of internal tissue and crinkling of petals.

'White Butterfly', severe petal distortion. 'White Butterfly', browning of petal margin andleaf distortion.

'Forever Yours', petal curl, browning of petal margin. 'Forever Yours', petal distortion, marginal browning.

'Golden Rapture No. 5', blackened center ofbuds.

'Golden Rapture No. 5', distortion of buds. 'Golden Rapture No. 5', breakdown of tissue,leaf distortion.

New York State Flower Growers Bulletin No. 294, May, 1970

Response of 30 Carnation Cultivars to Photoperiod

(continued from page 3)

Table 1. The average number of weeks to peak productionfor 30 cultivars of carnation grown under 9-hour,natural and 18-hour photoperiods at Ithaca and LongIsland.

Location Photoperiod

9-hour Natural day 18-hour

Long Island 28 20

Ithaca 28 23

Table 2., The number of weeks to peak production for 30cultivars of carnation grown under 4 photoperiods inIthaca and Long Island.

Photoperiod

Cultivar 18-hour Natural 9-hour

L.I. Ithaca Ithaca L..I

REDScania 19 22 28 28

Cardinal Sim 20 22 27 27Scania 3 C (GRA) 21 22 29 28

Peterson's Red Sim 19 23 30 27

Ohio Red Sim 19 23 27 27

Red Gayety 20 23 27 28

Carousel Red 19 24 28 28

CSU Scania 21 25 29 28

CSU Red Sim 20 25 28 28

Solred 20 25 29 30

Improved Red Sim 25 27 31 30

PINKLinda 21 21 29 28

CSU Linda 19 22 28 28

Improved New Pink Sim 20 22 27 27

Pink Sim 20 22 27 28

Peterson's New Pink Sim 19 22 27 28

Debbie 20 22 27 28

Ohio Light Pink Sim 19 24 29 28

Light Pink Gayety 21 24 31 29

Ellen Marie 19 24 28 29

CSU Light Pink Sim 19 25 29 28

SALMON PINKFlamingo 20 21 27 30

Laddie Sim 18 21 28 27

Portrait 20 22 27 28

Shibuya Sim 20 22 29 28

Apollo 20 23 29 28

Dusty 20 23 28 28

Persian Pink Sim 19 24 28 28

Dandy Pink Sim 20 24 27 28

Bonnie Lee 21 27 29 30

Literature Cited

1. Freeman, R. and A. Bing. 1968. Timing 'one crop' carnations.New York State Flower Growers Bui. 272:1-4.

2. Freeman, R. and A. Bing. 1968. Timing four carnation varieties.New York State Flower Growers Bui. 277:1-2, 4.

3. Freeman, R. and A. Bing. 1969. Timing eleven carnation varieties. New York State Flower Growers Bui. 278:1-2, 4.

4. Freeman, R. and R. W. Langhans. 1965. Influence of day andnight temperatures on carnations. New York State FlowerGrowers Bui. 232:1-3.

5. Freeman, R. and R. W. Langhans. 1965. Response of carnationsto photoperiod and temperature. New York State FlowerGrowers Bui. 233:1-3.

6. Langhans, R. 1968. Photoperiod, temperature and lightintensityeffect 'one crop' carnations. New York State Flower GrowersBui. 273:1-2, 4.

Research

BriefsInfluence of Various Commercial Floral Preservatives and

8 Hydroxyquinoline Citrate Plus Sucrose on Developmentand Lasting Ability of Flower Buds of Several Chrysanthemum Cultivars, F.J. Marousky, Florida FlowerGrowers, Vol.7, No. 1, 106, January, 1970.

Recent research by the author indicated that standardchrysanthemums could be harvested in the bud stage(about 1% to 214-inch diameter) and successfullyopened off the plant in 8-hydroxyquinoline citrate(8-HQC) and sucrose solutions. The technique appeared sufficiently promising to warrant further exploration for commercial applica^on. The tef's reported used large-flowering incurve and spidt. %ulti-vars, and additional information on how to handlestandards and especially spray tyj e (pompon) cultivars was needed.

The experiments indicate that chrysanthemum flowerscould be harvested as buds and opened in commercialfloral preservatives. Considering flower diameter,fresh weight, and vase life, the best floral preservativeswere 8-HQC+sucrose and Everbloom. Flowers openedin Roselife were commercially acceptable but did notattain the weight or size as flowers held in 8-HQC+sucrose. Flowers opened in F M Super had much shortervase-life than those opened in 8-HQC+sucrose orEverbloom. Possible different concentrations of F M

Super or Roselife might increase flower longevity or size. Flowers held in Bloomlife or water openedpoorly and did not have commercially acceptable symmetry. Chlorosis was evident on foliage of stems heldin preservatives. Chlorosis appeared 17-20 days afterharvest which is in agreement with previous research.Flower buds of spray chrysanthemum cultivars heldin 8-HQC+sucrose followed similar patterns of development reported for large incurved flowers. Flowerbuds of spray cultivars held in 8+HQC—sucroseopened and weighed more than flowers held in water.Flowers on stems held in 8-HQC+sucrose were similar in symmetry to flowers which developed on the intact plant.

These data suggest that flowers of spray cultivarscould be harvested, handled, and opened in a mannersimilar to that used with the large incurved chrysanthemum cultivars. Commercially available floral-preservatives might be used for opening bud-cut chrysanthemums in a possible new marketing procedure. Commercial application of this procedure could reduce costof transportation, facilitate harvest, and reduce damage. Because of the range of bud size that can beopened successfully, mechanical harvesting might beconsidered.

A REGULAR SOIL TESTING PROGRAM IS AN

IMPORTANT MANAGEMENT TOOL