Gibberellic Acid Application Causes Erratic Flowering on Young Corms of Amorphophallus muelleri Blume (Araceae)

• Published in: Horticulture journal Vol. 88; no. 1; pp. 92 - 99
• Main Authors: Santosa, Edi, Mine, Yoko, Lontoh, Adolf Pieter, Sugiyama, Nobuo, Sari, Maryati, Kurniawati, Ani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo The Japanese Society for Horticultural Science 2019; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: abnormal inflorescence; Amorphophallus; corm age; Corms; Flowering; flowering induction; GA3; Gibberellic acid; Mass production; seed production; Seeds
• ISSN: 2189-0102; 2189-0110
• DOI: 10.2503/hortj.UTD-016

Flowering induction in Amorphophallus muelleri Blume is required for mass production of seeds within a short period of time. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) application on flowering induction for non-flowering-aged corms (immature corms) in A. muelleri. Research was conducted at Leuwikopo Farm, Bogor-Indonesia in May 2015–August 2016. Dormant corms of bulbils (0 year), 1-, and 2-year-old were treated with 0, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm GA3. A 3-year-old corm was used as an additional control. Results demonstrated that GA3 application effectively induced flowering in 2-year-old corms. Bulbils flowered at a rate of 1.7–6.7% and 1-year-old corm at a rate of 2.8–16.7% irrespective of GA3 levels; 100% and 50–100% of inflorescences, respectively, were abnormal leading to low seed production. The GA3 application caused erratic flowering in bulbils and one-year-old corms, indicating age-dependent-flowering in A. muelleri. The erratic flowering caused a detrimental effect on seed production. In this experiment, 2-year-old corms produced larger inflorescences and a lower number of abnormal inflorescences. Thus, application of GA3 at a level of 1500 ppm on 2-year-old corms is recommended for mass production of A. muelleri seeds within a short period of time. In the future, it will be interesting to study the physiological mechanism of the erratic flowering phenomenon across corm age in A. muelleri.