The Effect of Daily Light Integral on Bedding Plant Growth and Flowering

Abstract

Daily light integral (DLI) describes the rate at which photosynthetically active radiation is delivered over a 24-hour period and is a useful measurement for describing the greenhouse light environment. A study was conducted to quantify the growth and flowering responses of bedding plants to DLI. Eight bedding plant species [ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum L.), begonia (Begonia ×semperflorens-cultorum L.), impatiens (Impatiens wallerana L.), marigold (Tagetes erecta L.), petunia (Petunia ×hybrida Juss.), salvia (Salvia coccinea L.), vinca (Catharanthus roseus L.), and zinnia (Zinnia elegans L.)] were grown outdoors in direct solar radiation or under one of three shade cloths (50, 70 or 90% photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) reduction) that provided DLI treatments ranging from 5 to 43 mol·m–2·d–1. The total plant dry mass increased for all species, except begonia and impatiens, as DLI increased from 5 to 43 mol·m–2·d–1. Total plant dry mass of begonia and impatiens increased as DLI increased from 5 to 19 mol·m–2·d–1. Impatiens, begonia, salvia, ageratum, petunia, vinca, zinnia, and marigold achieved 50% of their maximum flower dry mass at 7, 8, 12, 14, 19, 20, 22, and 23 mol·m–2·d–1, respectively. The highest flower number for petunia, salvia, vinca, and zinnia occurred at 43 mol·m–2·d–1. Time to flower decreased for all species, except begonia and impatiens, as DLI increased to 19 or 43 mol·m–2·d–1. There was no consistent plant height response to DLI across species, although the shoot and flower dry mass per unit height increased for all species as DLI increased from 5 to 43 mol·m–2·d–1. Guidelines for managing DLI for bedding plant production in greenhouses are discussed.