Effect of chipping and scoring techniques on bulb production of Lachenalia cultivars

Abstract

The genus Lachenalia (Asparagaceae) represents spectacular and botanically diverse ornamental, bulbous species originating from Southern Africa. The main aim of this study was to determine, for the first time, the possibility of propagation of lachenalia cultivars ('Namakwa', 'Rainbow Bells', 'Rupert') by two in vivo techniques: chipping and scoring, which can be applied in procedures of bulb production. In the second part of the experiment, the plant growth and the quality of bulblets after the first season of cultivation in a greenhouse were estimated. The survival ability of bulb-scale segments and scored bulbs of the tested cultivars ranged from 62% to 95%. Chipping method generated eight bulblets per mother bulb with an average weight and diameter of 0.17 g and 0.29 cm, respectively, while scoring two/three bulblets per mother bulb with an average weight and diameter of 0.28 g and 0.5 cm, respectively. In the first season of cultivation, bulblets obtained by chipping produced longer leaves than those obtained by scoring technique. Only bulblets of 'Rupert' obtained by scoring showed the capacity to flower ('Namakwa' and 'Rainbow Bells' remained in a juvenile phase). When assessing the bulb yield after the first season of cultivation, it was found that irrespective of cultivar, bulbs obtained by chipping achieved twice the weight coefficient of those obtained by scoring.