INFLUENCE OF VARIATION IN PLANT CHARACTERISTICS CAUSED BY BULB WEIGHTON INFLORESCENCE AND INDIVIDUAL FLOWER LONGEVITY OF ASIATIC HYBRID LILIES AFTER HARVEST

Nongenetic variation in cut flower longevity due to plant characterist ics was investigated in whole inflorescences and individual flowers of Asiatic hybrid lilies (Lilium L.). To distinguish this variation from genetic variation, plant characteristics of five cultivars were varie d by using bulbs of three significantly different weight classes per c ultivar. Inflorescence longevity depended on total number of floral bu ds, number of buds opening and variation in bud length. Variation in i ndividual flower longevity per cultivar appeared to be small, despite a larger, number of buds per stem with increasing bulb weight Plant ch aracteristics caused only small nongenetic variation in individual new er longevity when compared to inflorescence longevity. Therefore, indi vidual Bower longevity appears to be the best criterion to discriminat e among longevity levels for a lily breeding program.