Foliar Heat Tolerance of Two Hybrid Hollies

Abstract

Temperatures producing heat damage in leaves of Ilex ×meserveae S.Y. Hu `Blue Prince' and Ilex rugosa × cornuta Lindl. & Paxt. `Mesdob' (China Boy) were evaluated using electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll fluorescence techniques. Whole leaves were exposed to temperatures from 30 to 65C for 30 minutes to determine critical midpoint heat-killing temperatures (TJ using electrolyte leakage techniques. The T m for `Blue Prince' and `Mesdob' was 52.4 ± 0.lC and 53.8 ± 0.lC, respectively. Dark-adapted leaves were heated for 30 minutes in darkness at temperatures between 30 and 57C before chlorophyll fluorescence was measured. Initial (F 0 ) and peak fluorescence measurements were higher at 54 and 55C for `Mesdob' than for `Blue Prince'. Cultivar had no effect on variable fluorescence (F,). Based on the F v : F o ratio, `Mesdob' was estimated to have a higher optimal plant growth temperature than `Blue Prince'. The physiologic data support the hypothesis that I. cornuta as a parent conferred heat tolerance to the interspecific hybrid in this study.