Uniconazole promotes carbohydrate accumulation in bulbs of Lilium Oriental hybrid ‘Sorbonne’

Abstract

Lilium Oriental hybrid ‘Sorbonne’ is one of the most popular commercial lilium varieties in cut flower market in China. Carbohydrate reserves in bulbs have an extraordinary buffering and supportive role during blossoming periods for good quality flowers. Great efforts have been made to study the carbohydrate metabolism in root crops such as white yam using plant growth regulators (Abdul Jaleel et al., 1). These studies proved that the triazole compounds are effective in promoting the carbohydrate accumulation in sink organs. Uniconazole [(E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4, 4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-l-yl)-1-penten-3-ol] is a potent and active member of the triazole family which is able to induce changes in morphogenesis, photosynthetic ability, phytohormonal balance and favor the carbon flux to sink organs (Fletcher et al., 3). Triazole family has also been extensively used in ornamental plants to control plant height and produce compact plants (Monica Meijon et al., 4). However, to our knowledge, little attention has been paid to test the effect of uniconazole on the morphological characteristics and carbohydrate metabolism of bulb in lily plants. Thus, the main objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of uniconazole on carbohydrate accumulation in bulbs of Lilium Oriental hybrid ‘Sorbonne’.