Flower initiation in Trifolium subterraneum L. 1. Analysis of the partial processes involved

Abstract

The influence of various temperature and photoperiod regimes on flower initiation and flowering in eight strains of T. subterraneum has been examined, using the controlled environment facilities of the Earhart Laboratory. Flower initiation in subterranean clover appears to be under the control of three interacting partial processes, two of which are synergistic and promotive while the third is inhibitory. The promotive processes are possibly both light-independent, one being favoured by high temperatures and the other (the vernalization process) by low temperatures. The inhibitory process, on the other hand, is restricted to the diurnal dark period and is favoured by high temperatures. The interaction between the vernalization and dark inhibitory processes is such that in the absence of dark inhibition no vernalization is required by any strain, while on. the other hand sufficient vernalization can apparently overcome all dark inhibitory effects. Treatment with gibberellic acid eliminates the need for vernalization by plants of at least one early-flowering strain when. grown in short days at high temperatures. The strains of subterranean clover differ markedly in their responses to the three partial processes. In their response to the dark inhibitory process two strains are more affected by night temperature than by night length, while in two other strains the opposite is the case, which suggests that the dark inhibitory process could be resolved into more than one component.