Physiological Studies of Ornamental Bulb Dormancy

Dormancy in bulbs describes a complex phenomenon involving temporal cessation of growth in metabolically active plant parts until the conditions become favourable. The entire physiology of metabolic arrest with its induction and termination is under hormonal, molecular and environmental control. At present, the molecular regulation of dormancy is still remains unclear and least understood. Indian floriculture industry totally depends on import of flower bulbs every year due to the development of deep dormancy in bulbs. Dormant bulb requires an ample of cold treatment period to release its dormancy. Moreover, dormancy limits the production immediately after harvest and importing of bulbs from the other countries increases the chances of entry of exotic pests and diseases which challenges our farmer’s economy. To overcome this problem, necessary treatments are required to practice for easy sprouting by modulating the biosynthetic pathway of inhibitory substances.