Open Access

ARTICLE

Effect of Shoot Control on Flower Bud Differentiation, Flowering, and Fruit Setting in Zanthoxylum armatum DC.

by Xiandang Shen^1,2,3, Runxi He^2,3, Xin Li³, Zhuogong Shi^2,3,*, Jinfang Meng^2,3,*

1 Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Southwest China, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China
2 Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Forest Resources in the Southwest Mountains, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China
3 College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China

* Corresponding Authors: Zhuogong Shi. Email: ; Jinfang Meng. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(12), 3251-3266. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2023.042735

Received 09 June 2023; Accepted 13 September 2023; Issue published 28 December 2023

Abstract

In this study, newly sprouted shoots of Zanthoxylum armatum (Z. armatum), which were collected after the harvesting period, were used as the primary experimental specimens. A randomized block design and paraffin sectioning method were used to investigate the flower bud differentiation process and the quantity and vitality of buds. Furthermore, the study examined the response of flowering and fruiting to cultivation methods for shoot growth, including layering and plant growth regulator application. The results showed that (a) layering and application of plant growth regulators for Z. armatum accelerated the process of flower bud differentiation by approximately 20 days compared to the control group. Additionally, both shoot control methods generated more and larger bud primordia and perianth primordia during the same differentiation phase. (b) The application of plant growth regulators resulted in well-developed buds, exhibiting higher levels of flower bud differentiation than the layering method. The quality of flower bud formation for both shoot control methods was superior to that of the control group. (c) The flowering phenological period was relatively consistent between the two cultivation methods, but the fruit maturity phase for shoot-controlled trees occurred 20 days earlier than the control group. (d) Both layering and the application of plant growth regulators significantly decreased the rates of unfertilized flower shedding and fruit shedding. However, no significant difference was noted in fruit setting per inflorescence and per flower between the two methods and the control. The effect of altitude for both methods on the fruit setting was not significant. Under both shoot control methods, the Z. armatum exhibited earlier morphological differentiation of flower buds, faster differentiation process, improved flower bud quality, and significantly decreased rates of flower and fruit shedding. Thus, these cultivation methods demonstrated the potential to promote flowering, improve fruit setting, and reduce fruit shedding in Z. armatum.

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