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Promotion of Flowering in Brassica campestris L. cv Ceres by Sucrose

Department of Botany, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, Department of Botany, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium

Flower initiation of the quantitative long-day plant Brassica campestris cv Ceres was earlier and at a lower final leaf number when sucrose was added to the medium in which plants were grown in sterile culture. The optimal concentration of sucrose was 40 to 80 millimolar. This flower-promoting effect of sucrose was not osmotic, as mannitol, sodium chloride, and polyethylene glycol were not effective at equal osmotic potentials.

Seedlings grown heterotrophically after treatment with 4-chloro-5-(dimethylamino)-2-phenyl-3-(2H)-pyridazinone to prevent chlorophyll accumulation were also induced to form flower primordia earlier as the sucrose concentration in the medium was increased up to 80 millimolar. Inclusion of 4 millimolar sodium nitrate in the culture medium of green plants did not reduce the flower-promoting effects of sucrose but delayed initiation in plants grown without added sucrose.

Removal of CO₂ during a single main or supplementary light period, or both, greatly reduced flower initiation. It is concluded that sucrose may be an important controlling factor determining floral initiation in Brassica.