Effects of Temperature, Photoperiod and Light Intensity on Growth and Flowering in Eustoma grandiflorum

Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) is relatively sensitive to temperature and light conditions. For year round production of good quality potted plants and energy saving, it is necessary to understand the growth and flowering response to the combined conditions of these environmental factors. This study was conducted to examine the growth and flowering responses to temperature, photoperiod, and light intensity during the post-seedling stage. 'El Paso Deep Blue' lisianthus plants with four true leaf pairs were grown in growth chambers maintained at average daily temperatures (ADT) of 14, 20, and $26^{\circ}C$ and provided with three photosynthetic photon fluxes [PPF; 100, 200, and $400{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$] for 8 (08:00-16:00) and 16 hours (08:00-24:00) by fluorescent and incandescent lamps, resulting in four daily light integrals (DLI): about 3, 6 (two photoperiods), 12 (two photoperiods), and $24mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}d^{-1}$. After treatment for three weeks followed by growth for one week in a greenhouse of $20{\pm}3^{\circ}C$, growth and development were measured. Higher temperature, higher PPF, and longer photoperiod promoted plant growth and flowering; however the impacts of PPF and photoperiod were smaller than those of temperature. As ADT and DLI increased, the number of leaves, number of flowers, lateral shoot length, and shoot dry weight increased. An increase of about $1mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}d^{-1}$ DLI could constitute an increase of 0.40 to $0.76^{\circ}C$ ADT depending on these crop characteristics when ADT and DLI are above $20^{\circ}C$ and $12mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}d^{-1}$, respectively. Therefore, growers can select a regimen of heating or supplemental lighting without delaying harvesting time or decreasing crop quality.