CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Flower production and quality of several lily hybrids from bulbs grown in five sites of Argentina: Tucumán (26º 56´S, 65º 21´W), Hilario Ascasubi (39º 22´ S, 62º 38´ W), Bahía Blanca (38°44´ S, 62°16´ W), Epuyén (42° 14″, S 71° 22″ W) and Trevelin, (43º 03´ S, 71º 29´ W), and bulbs from The Netherlands were evaluated in a greenhouse. Argentine bulbs of different hybrids and sites produced cut flowers of good quality, especially regarding the number and size of buds. Bulbs of L/A Fangio produced floral stems of higher quality than those of the other hybrids. Bulb behavior was different depending on the group of hybrids confirming the direct relationship between their environmental requirements and the agro-climactic characteristics of each culture site. Thus, bulbs of L. longiflorum White heaven, adapted to warmer climates, produced more buds and longer stems if they were produced in Tucumán and Bahía Blanca; on the other hand, bulbs from Trevelin of the Asiatic hybrid Navona, adapted to colder climates, produced more buds per stem; bulbs of the intermediate hybrid L/A Fangio showed no difference in the quality attributes with respect to the bulb growth site. Plants from bulbs grown in the south had a shorter cycle due to extra chill hours in field but had shorter stems. Bulbs from lower latitudes (Bahía Blanca, Hilario Ascasubi, and Tucumán) were harvested earlier and had to be kept at 20 - 22 °C until the ones grown in the south were harvested, then all the bulbs were stored at 4°C until plantation. In practice, differences in the cycle length may disappear; since the bulbs harvested in the north are subjected earlier to vernalizing temperatures. Floral stems quality from local bulbs of the hybrid White Heaven were similar to those produced from the imported ones.