Cardinal temperatures for planting-emergence phase in gladiolus

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to determine the cardinal temperatures for the planting-emergence phase of gladiolus. A controlled environment experiment was performed in a growth chamber in the Universidade Federal do Pampa - Campus Itaqui, using the completely randomized experimental design with 12 temperature treatments (5°C, 7°C, 10°C, 13°C, 16°C, 18°C, 20°C, 22°C, 25°C, 30°C, 33°C, 35°C) and ten replicates. Corms of the cultivar ‘Amsterdam’ were planted at a depth of 10cm in 1.7dm3 pots. Every day the date of emergence of the gladiolus plants was observed. Then for each treatment, the emergence rate was calculated as the inverse of the duration of the budding phase, and estimated data were achieved employing the non-linear model of simulation. The lower base and upper base temperatures were identified at the non-emergence temperatures. To estimate the optimum temperature, the root of mean square error was used. Between 22 and 25ºC the planting-emergence phase was reported to be completed in a shorter time span, although the smaller root mean square error was achieved at 22.5ºC. The cardinal temperatures of the planting-emergence phase of gladiolus, lower base, optimum and upper base temperature were 5°C, 22.5°C and 35°C, respectively.