Is bud burst of temperate trees promoted by a critical daylength?

<p><strong>Is bud burst of temperate trees promoted by a critical daylength?</strong></p><p> </p><p>Bud burst of temperate trees is mainly controlled by cool temperatures during winter-dormancy (chilling), warm temperatures in spring (forcing) and daylength (photoperiod). Some tree species may rely more on one of these drivers than others (e.g. temperature driven species) but recent studies emphasize complex interactions among them for most species. As one of these factors, photoperiod can act by preventing trees from flushing too early, minimizing the risk of damaging spring frost. Yet it is unclear whether stimulating and/or inhibiting effects of photoperiod on spring phenology act (i) gradually (i.e. increasing daylength progressively accelerates bud development response to temperature) or (ii) whether photoperiod slows down bud development until reaching a critical threshold.</p><p>In this study we tested the second hypothesis by exposing twig cuttings of 5 species (Acer pseudoplatanus, Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea, Tilia cordata) to different constant photoperiods that occur before leaf-out in the latitudes of Zurich (10h, 11h, 12h, 13h). Two additional photoperiods of 8h and 16h served as a control to simulate shortest and longest natural occurring daylengths. The experiment was repeated on three occasions (from October 2019 to January 2020) to account for different dormancy depths.  Bud development was monitored twice a week.</p><p>The experiment is still running. We expect that temperature-sensitive species would leaf-out regardless of the photoperiod, while photoperiod sensitive species such as beech may wait until a critical threshold has passed. Furthermore, longer photoperiods might substitute for insufficient chilling by decreasing the required amount of forcing to bud burst. The results could serve to better implement photoperiod into phenological models.</p>

Inflorescence shoot elongation, but not flower primordia formation, is photoperiodically regulated in Arabidopsis lyrata

Background and Aims Photoperiod contains information about the progress of seasons. Plants use the changing photoperiod as a cue for the correct timing of important life history events, including flowering. Here the effect of photoperiod on flowering in four Arabidopsis lyrata populations originating from different latitudes was studied, as well as expression levels of candidate genes for governing the between-population differences. Methods Flowering of plants from four A. lyrata populations was studied in three different photoperiods after vernalization. Flowering development was separated into three steps: flower primordia formation, inflorescence shoot elongation and opening of the first flower. Circadian expression rhythms of the A. lyrata homologues of GIGANTEA (GI), FLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F-BOX 1 (FKF1), CONSTANS (CO) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) were studied in three of the populations in the intermediate (14 h) photoperiod treatment. Key Results Most plants in all populations formed visible flower primordia during vernalization. Further inflorescence development after vernalization was strongly inhibited by short days in the northern European population (latitude 61°N), only slightly in the central European population (49°N) and not at all in the North American populations (36°N and 42°N). In the 14 h daylength, where all plants from the three southernmost populations but only 60 % of the northernmost population flowered, the circadian expression rhythm of the A. lyrata FT was only detected in the southern populations, suggesting differentiation in the critical daylength for activation of the long-day pathway. However, circadian expression rhythms of A. lyrata GI, FKF1 and CO were similar between populations. Conclusions The results indicate that in A. lyrata, transition to flowering can occur through pathways independent of long days, but elongation of inflorescences is photoperiodically regulated.

Geographic Variation of Diapause Induction and Termination in the Spider Mite Tetrαnychus urticαe: Α mini-review

In eight strains of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), originating from different localities in Europe, the critical daylength for diapause induction and termination was almost the same in each strain but varied with the latitudinal origin of the strains; critical daylength was shorter in strains originating from lower latitudes and longer in those from higher latitudes. Diapause intensity, measured as the period of chilling required for diapause termination under a short day photoperiod (LD 10:14) and 19°C, again varied with the latitudinal origin of each strain, being higher the more northern the origin of the strain. An exception were two mountain strains which showed a longer critical daylength and a deeper diapause than expected on the basis of their latitudinal origin. The number of long-day (LD 17:7) cycles required for 50% diapause termination after a certain period of chilling was higher in the northern and lower in the southern strains. These results indicate that geographic strains of T urticae may differ considerably in their diapause attributes, which may be explained as an adaptation to local climatic conditions. The great plasticity of the diapause response may, among other factors, have been responsible for the wide distribution of this mite species.

Inheritance of photoperiodic control of larval diapause in the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée)

The Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis enters diapause as fully grown larvae. Owing to geographical variation in photoperiodic control of diapause, the subtropical strain from Hefei city (HF) enters diapause in response to short daylengths, whereas the tropical strain from Ledong county (LD) exhibits almost no diapause under the same conditions. The two strains were used in crosses to study the inheritance of diapause. The HF strain showed a typical long-day response with a critical daylength of approximately14.97 h at 22 °C, 14.60 h at 25 °C and 13.68 h at 28 °C. The LD strain showed weak photoperiodic responses at 22 and 25 °C; and the F1 progeny also showed a long-day response with significantly shorter critical daylength compared with the HF strain. However, the LD × HF (F × M) crosses had significantly longer critical daylengths than HF × LD crosses, indicating a sexual bias in the inheritance of diapause induction, with the male parent having more influence on the F1 progeny. The critical daylength in a backcross to HF was significantly longer than a backcross to LD. Whether the inheritance of diapause fits an additive hypothesis or not depended on photoperiod, with results from different photoperiods showing additive inheritance or incomplete dominance of either diapause or non-diapause. Unlike diapause induction, the duration of diapause for reciprocal crosses was equally influenced by each parent, suggesting that diapause incidence and maintenance are controlled by separate systems in O. furnacalis.

The Photoperiod-regulated Bud Formation of Red Pitaya (Hylocereus sp.)

Red pitaya (Hylocereus sp.), which flowers between May and October and sprouts between November and May in Taiwan, has been confirmed to be a long-day plant. The areoles on the old shoots may be induced to flower after the March equinox naturally, and the floral bud formation occurs in two to three waves from May to October. We conducted experiments on photoperiodic regulation of floral bud formation from June to Dec. 2009 and tested the feasibility of off-season production in 2011. Shortening summer daylength to 8 h inhibited the areoles at the distal end of the shoots to develop into floral buds and promoted sprouting at the proximal ends of the shoots. Night-breaking treatment between the September equinox and the winter solstice led to floral bud formation. The critical daylength seemed to be ≈12 h, and night-breaking treatment would be applicable between the September and the next March equinoxes to produce off-season crops. The duration of night-breaking required for flower differentiation was longer in the cooler than in the warmer season. Four weeks of night-breaking treatment was sufficient to promote flowering in late fall (mid-October to mid-November), but 3 months were required to generate similar result in the winter and early spring (January to March) in southern Taiwan.

Photoperiod of Poinsettia Stock Plants Influences Rooting of Cuttings

Rooting of cuttings from three cultivars of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. was evaluated after regulating the photoperiod during the stock plant stage. One group of stock plants was exposed to a night break (4 hours) and another group was exposed to natural daylength during September. Cuttings harvested in late September from `Freedom Red' and `Monet' stock plants grown under the 4-hour night break rooted more rapidly and had greater root mass than `Freedom Red' and `Monet' grown under natural daylength, whereas rooting of cuttings from `V-17 Angelika Marble' was not influenced by the photoperiods tested. Using a night break to prevent flower initiation of stock plants produced a higher-quality cutting when propagation took place after the critical daylength for flowering had passed.