None of the Campanula lines evaluated tolerates warm temperatures and low light intensity

The production of ornamental plants has a yearly turnover in billions of euros with Europe as the major producer. It is important to assess the postharvest quality of potted plants to provide tools to reduce the losses during transport and/or handling. The producers examine postharvest quality e.g. by assessment of the plants? tolerance to different temperatures and light conditions. In the current study, two potted Campanula lines, i.e. 1 and 2, were evaluated in terms of postharvest performance, longevity and plant quality. Plants were kept under different temperatures (i.e. 5, 23 and 28?C, treatments) and low light intensity (50 ?mol m2 s-1) mimicking transport/storage and indoor conditions. Furthermore, plants were kept in the greenhouse as control. The plants were evaluated every week by measurement of height, diameter, number of flowers and leaf color. Additionally, photos of flowers and whole plants were taken. The experimental data showed that both lines did not tolerate the highest temperatures. Plants kept at 23?C senesced after 3 weeks and plants kept at 28?C completely senesced after 2 weeks, due to wilting and fungal infections. Plants kept at 5?C did not notably increase in size over the 3 weeks neither did the flower number increase compared to the other treatments. Both Campanula lines tolerated being kept at low temperatures, thus exhibiting potential to be stored and transported under cold environment before sale, hence potentially lowering postharvest losses. Line 1 kept in the greenhouse produced more flowers than plants kept in any other treatments. Furthermore, line 2 only displayed flowers when kept in the greenhouse. This could indicate that the two Campanula lines need higher light intensity to initiate anthesis. Collectively, it was found that none of the Campanula lines tolerated warm temperatures and low light intensity. However, the plants coped with low temperatures and only developed slowly. ? SourcesPOSTHARVEST QUALITY OF NOVEL CAMPANULA LINES - ASSESSMENT OF INDOOR LONGEVITY AND QUALITYHanne B?ge Hansen, Bruno Trevenzoli Favero*, Henrik L?tkenDept. of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Fac. of Sciences, Univ. of Copenhagen, Hoejbakkegaard, Denmark.*btf@plen.ku.dkICH2018 Istanbul, 30th International Horticultural Congress, 12-16 August 2018, TurkeyPicture by newPlantsandFlowers,?Denmark European champion in new plant products