The daily light integral (DLI) is a measurement of the total amount of photosynthetically active radiation delivered over a 24-hour period and is an important factor influencing plant growth over weeks and months. Contour maps were developed to demonstrate the mean DLI for each month of the year across the contiguous United States. The maps are based on 30 years of solar radiation data for 216 sites compiled and reported by the National Renewable Energy Lab in radiometric units (watt-hours per m-2·d-1, from 300 to 3,000 nm) that we converted to quantum units (mol·m-2·d-1, 400 to 700 nm). The mean DLI ranges from 5 to 10 mol·m-2·d-1 across the northern U.S. in December to 55 to 60 mol·m-2·d-1 in the southwestern U.S. in May through July. From October through February, the differences in DLI primarily occur between the northern and southern U.S., while from May through August the differences in DLI primarily occur between the eastern and western U.S. The DLI changes rapidly during the months before and after the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, e.g., increasing by more than 60% from February to April in many locations. The contour maps provide a means of estimating the typical DLI received across the U.S. throughout the year.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. stem elongation, bract area, plant growth regulators SUMMARY. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of paclobutrazol drenches on poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) 'Freedom Red' height and flowering. In 1997 and 1998, paclobutrazol drenches [(a.i.) 0.118 mg/container; (28,350 mg = 1.0 oz)] were applied to poinsettias grown under natural photoperiods on four dates from 1 Oct. to 2 Nov. On plants receiving the paclobutrazol drench application

During the production of ornamentals in commercial greenhouses, hanging baskets are often grown above the bench or floor space to maximize production. These hanging baskets impact the light environment delivered to the crop underneath. An experiment was conducted to quantify the effect of hanging basket density (determined by number of lines of containers per greenhouse bay and container spacing per line), container content (with plants vs. no plants), and container color (white vs. green) on photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) transmission and red (R) and far-red (FR) light measurements at the greenhouse floor under the hanging basket treatments. Interception of PPF was calculated as a proportion of the treatment with no hanging baskets. Interception of PPF increased as hanging basket density increased, from 5.3% interception at 0.21 containers/yard2 to 25.5% interception at 2.57 containers/yard2. Green containers intercepted 36.1% more radiation than the white containers. Presence of plants in the containers resulted in 62.3% greater PPF interception than containers without plants. R:FR was reduced from 1.15 measured under hanging basket treatments without plants to 1.07 under hanging basket treatments containing plants.

In 1998, `Freedom Red' poinsettia stock plants were grown outdoors under 0%, 60%, and 80% shade cloth. The stock plants received a single pinch leaving 10 nodes below the pinch. Cuttings were harvested once per week for 3 weeks. The cuttings were propagated, transplanted, pinched, and grown to anthesis in the same greenhouses. After anthesis, the plants were dropped onto a concrete pad from increasing heights ranging from 10 to 70 cm. Stem breakage was recorded each time the plants were dropped. Stem breakage of the finished plants increased as the percentage of shade cloth over the stock plants increased and as cutting harvest week number increased. From the Week 1 cuttings, 0%, 8%, and 10% of the lateral stems broke off of plants from the 0%, 60%, and 80% shade cloth treatments when the plants were dropped 20 cm. From Week 2 cuttings, 6%, 30%, and 36% of the lateral stems broke off the 0%, 60%, and 80% shade treatments. From Week 3 cuttings, 0%, 29%, and 43% of the lateral stems broke off of the 0%, 60%, and 80% shade treatments that were dropped 20 cm. Thirty-six percent of the Week 3 cuttings broke off of the 80% shade treatment plants before anthesis, while none of the lateral shoots broke off of the 0% shade treatment until the plants were dropped from 40 cm.

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