Effect of Low Temperature Storage on Breaking the Rest of Allium victorialis L. ssp. platyphyllum Hult. Bulb

Abstract

Two experiments were undertaken to test the effects of low temperatures on the breaking of rest in Allium victorialis L. ssp. platyphyllum Hult. bulbs and on their subsequent growth characteristics.
Under natural conditions, bulbs of these wild species do not sprout in the late summer but in the following spring. However, sprouting was accelerated by transplanting the dormant bulbs from the field to the greenhouse kept at about 25°C (day) and 15°C (night) under natural day length. The sprouting rate was very low in bulbs transplanted before November; the leaves did not elongate normally as the bulbs lacked sufficient exposure to low temperature in the field. The plants became dwarfed. When bulbs were transplanted in December, the sprouting rate increased, the leaves expanded earlier, and the plants grew taller.
Bulbs stored at 0°C for short periods grew better than did those stored at 5°C, but as the storage duration was lengthened, the bulbs in both treatments grew equally well. These results confirm that the rest of A. victorialis could be broken by chilling bulbs.