Vernalization and Flowering of Australian Native Asteraceae Species

This book contains five chapters. The first chapter presents background introduction to the market demands in terms of novel flower species, the Australian horticulture industry, strategies for new crop development, environmental factors influencing flowering of Asteraceae species, and previous studies concerning two target species, Rhodanthe floribunda (D.C) Wilson and Pycnosorus thompsonianus Everett & Doust. Chapter II provides an in-depth literature review on plant growth and flowering physiology of flowering crops, and taxonomy and biology of the two flower species. In the growth physiology section, two main factors, temperature and light, are discussed. In the flowering physiology section, the author discusses the impacts of juvenility, temperature, photoperiodism and their interactions on flowering. At the end of each section, shared understanding and implications for this study are summarized. The following chapters contain details of methodology, results and discussion of the experiments on chilling treatments and floral development of the two Asteraceae species.