Pr. Fisher et al., QUANTIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHASES OF STEM ELONGATION AND FLOWER INITIATION IN POINSETTIA, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 121(4), 1996, pp. 686-693
Stem elongation of poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Klotz.) was quant
ified using an approach that explicitly modelled the three phases of a
sigmoidal growth curve: 1) an initial lag phase characterized by an e
xponentially increasing stem length, 2) a phase in which elongation is
nearly linear, and 3) a plateau phase in which elongation rate declin
es as stem length reaches an asymptotic maximum. For each growth phase
, suitable mathematical functions were selected for smooth height and
slope transitions between phases, The three growth phases were linked
to developmental events, particularly flower initiation and the first
observation of a visible flower bud. The model was fit to a data set o
f single-stemmed poinsettia grown with vegetative periods of 13, 26, o
r 54 days, resulting in excellent conformance (R(2) = 0.99). The model
was validated against two independent data sets, and the elongation p
attern was similar to that predicted by the model, particularly during
the linear and plateau phases. The model was formulated to allow dyna
mic simulation or adaptation in a graphical control chart. Model param
eters in the three-phase function have clear biological meaning. The f
unction is particularly suited to situations in which identification o
f growth phases in relation to developmental and horticultural variabl
es is an important objective. Further validation under a range of cond
itions is required before the model can be applied to horticultural si
tuations.