1998 Volume 67 Issue 1 Pages 106-111
The effects of illuminating the liquid-shaking culture on the absorption of nutrients by enlarging miniature bulbs of Lilium japonicum Thunb. were investigated. When bulbs (0.3 to 0.4g FW) were cultured for 165 days under the light or dark condition in the three kinds of liquid media containing different types and concentrations of sugars, light promoted enlargement. A media with 3% glucose under light was optimum for bulb enlargement ; fresh bulb weight reached about 5.3 g by the end of the experiment. Cumulative absorption of sugars, NH4+, NO3-, H2PO4- and K+ by bulbs exposed to light and sucrose was significantly higher than those grown in the dark ; Light and sucrose had no effect on Ca2+ and Mg2+ absorption. The gain in fresh bulb weight in the light almost equalled that of sugar absorption by the bulb, which suggests that bulb enlargement was not related to photosynthesis but to promotion of sugar absorption from the medium. Thus, light illuminating the liquid-shaking culture enabled us to produce 5 g bulbs (about 9 cm in circumference) in 5-6 months.
