EFFECTS OF NITROGEN DRESSING ON FLOWER-BUD BLASTING IN TULIPS DURING FORCING

Administration of nitrate to tulips during forcing reduced flower-bud blasting in susceptible plants. Susceptibility was increased by the application of inadequate temperature treatments to the bulbs or the exposure of bulbs and developing plants to ethylene. The effect of nitrogen administration was more pronounced in boxed tulips than in tulips planted in the soil of the glasshouse.

An increase in the nitrogen content of bulbs brought about by administration of nitrate during the growing season made the bulbs more susceptible to ethylene-induced blasting. In the absence of exposure to ethylene no relationship was found between the nitrogen content of the bulbs and the incidence of flower blasting.