Effects of Plant Size, Temperature, and Light Intensity on Flowering of Phalaenopsis Hybrids in Mediterranean Greenhouses

Table 2

Effects of the different treatments during the phase of flower induction on flowering time of Phalaenopsis hybrids. Within each factor, ns or different letters indicate, respectively, nonsignificant and significant differences at . Experiment 1 (effect of plant size): Large = “Sogo Yukidian”; Medium = “Chain Xen Diamond”; Small = “Pinlong”; = 5 leaves per plant in Large and Small hybrids and 7 leaves per plant in the Medium hybrid; = 3 and 5 leaves per plant, respectively. Experiment 2 (effects of thermal regime): hybrid “Premium”; = 21/19°C, = 19/17°C. Experiment 3 (effects of light intensity): hybrid “Premium”; = reference light regime; = supplemental lighting with additional PPFD of 150 mol m⁻² s⁻¹ for 6 hours per day.

	Stem emergence (DBT)	First flower anthesis (DBT)	Complete anthesis of the inflorescence^* (DBT)
Experiment 1 (effect of the hybrid)
Large	34.4^b	112.5^b	—
Medium	30.2^c	106.6^c	—
Small	46.4^a	122.7^a	—
Experiment 1 (effect of the plant size)
	34.5^b	111.4^b	—
	39.5^a	116.5^a	—
Experiment 2 (effects of thermal regime)
	47.5	160.6	196.5
	55.0	168.5	201.5
	ns	ns	ns
Experiment 3 (effects of light intensity)
	43.4^a	149.3^a	185.4
	35.9^b	142.9^b	180.2
			ns

Time for complete anthesis is not determined in hybrids for potted blooming plant.