Breaking Corm Dormancy and Accelerated Flowering of Gladiolus with Methyl Disulfide

Abstract

The dormant period of corms in spring-flowering gladiolus ( Gladiolus × tubergenii ‘Charm’) was shortened with a 4-hour treatment of methyl disulfide (MeS 2 ), one of the volatiles from garlic. Flowering rate of the treated corms with or without 15 days of storage at 30C was greatly enhanced compared with untreated control corms. In plants from 4-hour MeS 2 -treated corms, flower quality, as measured by flower stalk length, flower inflorescence length, floret number, and leaf number, was acceptable for December and January markets. The most beneficial effect by 4-hr MeS 2 treatment was an increase in cut flowers on the second shoots, which did not flower on control corms. The relationship between accelerated sprouting by MeS 2 treatment and rapid increase in respiration was also discussed.