FLORAL INITIATION IN FOUR PLANT SPECIES GROWING IN CO₂ ENRICHED AIR

Abstract

Floral initiation was greatly delayed in four sorghum cultivars [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and slightly delayed in three other crop plant species (Zea mays L., Helianthus annuus L., and Gossypium hirsutum L.), when grown in atmospheres containing approximately 1, 000 ppm CO₂ as compared with plants grown in ambient air. In previous tests, hastened floral initiation had been attributed to enhanced production of photosynthate, a theory which was not confirmed by the present study.