Growth and Flowering before and after Storage of African Marigold and Salvia Seedlings Stored under Different Light Conditions

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the growth and flowering of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) and salvia (Salvia splendens F. Sello ex Ruem & Schult.) seedlings before and after storage under fluorescent lamps and green LED radiation conditions with different light intensities during storage. The both seedlings were kept under a storage room controlled at 8 degrees C air temperature and 40 +/- 10% relative humidity conditions. Light intensities were maintained at 15 and 30 mu mol.m(-2).s(-1) during storage. In lighting treatments, dry weight of African marigold at 28 days after storage was not significantly different, and decreased approximately 29% compared to pre-storage under dark treatment. There was no significant difference in the leaf area of salvia seedlings stored under dark condition compared to before storage, but the leaf area under green light radiation with higher light intensity (treatment GH) was two times greater than before storage. The survival rate after transplanting of African marigold stored under dark condition was 10%, and days to flowering increased compared to those stored under fluorescent and green light with higher light intensity (treatment FLH, GH). Comparing to before storage, growth and flowering of the both seedlings after storage were significantly promoted by the light exposure during storage. The present experimental results show that the light intensity should be decided to maintain minimum growth during lighting storage and storage quality of the seedlings such as flowering promotion and extended blooming period after lighting treatment during storage period from the above results.