Special Research Report #530 Production Technology
Energy Efficient Poinsettia Production #1
Diane Camberato 1, Brian Krug 2, and Roberto Lopez 1
1 Department of Horticulture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
2 University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Durha, NH 03824
BACKGROUND
The Christmas poinsettia is the second most valuable flowering potted crop sold in the United States (U.S.) and had a reported wholesale value in 2011 of $139 million in the top-15 producing states. Profitability is increasingly threatened as the cost to heat
greenhouses has increased by over 120% in the last 15 years. As energy costs continue to increase and poinsettia prices remain relatively constant, poinsettia producers are lowering their greenhouse air temperature set points without knowledge of cultivar responses.
One strategy to address this issue is to reduce temperatures during finishing (RTF) or
cold finish. Two red cultivars from each of the four major poinsettia breeding companies were selected based on their early response attributes (initiate and finish within 6 to 8 weeks), moderate to high-vigor, and naturally large bracts. These attributes are essential for RTF.
The objectives of this study were to quantify how RTF applied two weeks after the start of short days (SD) influence time to marketability and anthesis (first pollen shed), plant height, and bract area index.
External Link: Final research report on Energy Efficient Poinsettia Production