Evaluation of Public Acceptability and Longevity of Forced Bloomed Poinsettia (<i>Euphorbia pulcherrima</i>) Pots in Indoor Decorations

Abstract

Production of attractive marketable poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) pot plants throughout the year can be achieved by forced blooming in the off season, but it is necessary to study their post production conditions and public acceptability prior to marketing. The poinsettia pot plants produced in the off season, when evaluated on its acceptability by the general public through a questionnaire, indicated that 76.6 % of the participants accepted it as a suitable pot plant for indoor decorations in local festivals. In the experiments conducted to evaluate retention of attractiveness of poinsettia under different indoor conditions, mainly at different light levels, it was revealed that leaves, bracts and bract color of these artificially-induced plants remained more than 8 weeks under 1600-4000 lux light level. Almost all leaves and more than 50 % of colorful bracts dropped under the 1-50 lux, and 50-200 lux light levels within the first four weeks while their color reduced to 50 %.

Evaluation of Existing Research Concerning Sustainability in the Value Chain of Ornamental Plants

“…The external quality of many ornamentals have been considerable enhanced by the increase of number of shoots and flowers with increasing light supply (Hendriks 2001). Apart from the external quality the plant longevity has also been improved by increasing the light supply (Moe et al 1992;Serek and Trolle 2000;Hendriks 2001;Bulle 2005;Karunananda and Peiris 2011). These phenomena have been associated with a large carbohydrate reserves in the plants (Moe et al 1992;Serek and Trolle 2000;Hendriks 2001).…”

“…These phenomena have been associated with a large carbohydrate reserves in the plants (Moe et al 1992;Serek and Trolle 2000;Hendriks 2001). Additionally, a reduction of light supply at the end of production, to simulate the indoor conditions to acclimatize the ornamental plants have been reported (Nell and Barret 1986;Conover et al 1993;Karunananda and Peiris 2011). The reduction of light supply at the end of production induce the plant to achieve some physiological (reduction of the light compensation point and dark assimilation), morphological and anatomical adaptations (Reyes et al 1996;Hendriks 2001;Bulle 2005).…”

Assessment of Different PGPR Formulations as a Biological Fertilizer in Cultivation of Poinsettia (&lt;i&gt;Euphorbia pulcherrima&lt;/i&gt;)

“…Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd.ex Klotzsch.) or Atatürk çiçeği (Turkish local name) is one of the most important potted plants grown for their flshy bracts and has been used mainly as a traditional Christmas decoration since the 17 th century [1]. For Christmas, the main flowers are poinsettias, consumed especially in the colour red traditional version [2].…”