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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #177400
Title: EVALUATION AND FORCING OF CURCUMA AS POTTED PLANT AND CUT FLOWER

Author
item Roh, Mark
item LAWSON, ROGER - FORMER ARS EMPLOYEE
item LEE, JONG SUK - CHUNGNAM NAT'L UNIV,KOREA
item SUH, JEUNG KEUN - DANKOOK UNIV, KOREA
item CRILEY, RICHARD - UNIV OF HAWAII
item APAVATJRUT, PIMCHAI - CHIANG MAI UNIV, THAILAND

Submitted to: American Society for Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2005
Publication Date: 6/6/2005
Citation: Roh, M.S., Lawson, R., Lee, J.S., Suh, J.K., Criley, R., Apavatjrut, P. 2005. Evaluation of Curcuma as potted plant and cut flower. HortScience. 40(4):1012.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Following an initial evaluation of 16 accessions of Curcuma germplasm, several selections of Curcuma were evaluated for use as potted plants or as cut flowers. Curcuma alismatifolia and C. thorelii, 'Chiang Mai Snow' met standards for cut flower and pot plant use, respectively. Further, C. parviflora, 'White Angel' proved to be a good selection for potted plant production. Optimum storage temperatures of rhizomes in relation to greenhouse forcing and carbohydrate changes were studied. It is recommended to store rhizomes at 25 - 30oC after harvest for 2 - 3 months to break dormancy. Plants of C. parviflora 'White Angel' flowered in 50 to 89 days and 'CMU Pride' flowered in 104 days after potting, and were acceptable as potted plants. Plants of C. alismatifolia flowered 96 to 133 days after potting with stem length suitable for use as cut flowers. The floral stem length of 'White Angel', ranging from 27 to 35 cm, was naturally too short and should be increased to improve aesthetic balance between inflorescence and plant height for potted plant production. A high level of boron or manganese may cause marginal leaf burn observed on old leaves of 'CMU Pride' at flowering. The level of ethanol-soluble fructose, glucose, and sucrose in tuberous roots of Curcuma was higher than the level in rhizomes and increased as storage temperatures increased. Accelerated leaf emergence may be associated with the increase in the glucose and fructose content. Based on the similar morphological characters between C. thorelli, 'Chiang Mai Snow' and C. parviflora, 'White Angel', identification of Curcuma accessions using molecular markers is required in the future studies.