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Middle East Journal of Agriculture Volume : 07 | Issue : 04 | Oct.-Dec. | 2018 Research Pages:1717-1726 ISSN 2077-4605

Response of tithymaloides to different concentrations and methods of application of cycocel treatments

Ehsan E.A. El- Deeb

Ornamental and Landscape Gardening Res. Dept., Hort. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt. Received: 20 Oct. 2018 / Accepted 15 Dec. 2018 / Publication date: 30 Dec. 2018

ABSTRACT This study was carried out during two successive seasons (2014/2015 and 2015/ 2016) at the experimental nursery of Ornamental Plants and Landscape Garden, Hort. Res. Inst. The aim of this study was to produce high quality of as flowering pot plants by using cycocel at 0, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 ppm either as a foliar spray or a soil application. The plants received 3 doses of cycocel at 15 day-intervals from 1st Nov. to1st Dec., during the growing season. The obtained data showed that treating the plants with cycocel with the two methods of application decreased plant height, and root lengths, fresh and dry weights of roots and nitrogen content in the plants. Moreover , the addition of cycocel to the soil at 2500 ppm gave the best results in respect of stem diameter, the number of , branches, and roots / plant, fresh and dry weights of shoots and bracts, as well as the contents of chlorophylls, carotenoids, total carbohydrates, phosphorus and potassium in the plant. While, it decreased the height of the plant, leaf and root lengths, fresh and dry weights of roots and the nitrogen content.

Keywords: Euphorbia tithymaloides, cycocel, chlormequat chloride, foliar spray, soil application.

Introduction Euphorbia tithymaloides L. plant is a perennial succulent spurge, it is an erect (a fleshy ), which is also known by the old scientific names (Synonyms); Pedilanthus tithymaloides and Tithymalus tithymaloides. This plant belongs to the Family , native to tropical and subtropical and Central America. The plant has a large number of house hold names used by gardeners and the public; it is known as redbird , Christmas candle, Japanese , devil’s backbone, fiddle flower, Jewbush, milk hedge, Myrtle-Leaved spurge and redbird . The plant can grow from 1.8 to 2.4 m in height and generally is about 48 to 61 cm in width, with simple leaves arranged oppositely on the stem. The leaves are glabrous and acuminate in shape and the is anapical or axillary dichotomous cyme near the stem tips. Each cynthia (specialized plant parts forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus Euphorbia, false ) is supported by a small enclosed in bright red involucre. The plant generally flowers in mid- spring, and are propagated by seed or cuttings (June- July). Euphorbia tithymaloides plant is primarily used as an outdoor garden border plant, but certain varieties grow well indoors. The plants grow well in sandy soil .The plant grows as a house plant in any bright location; it makes a nice patio plant outdoors during warm, partly for the beautiful flowers (bird-shaped). It is a fairly easy, tolerant plant, which can survive for a pretty long time without water and tolerate the higher concentrations of boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and and high soil salinity levels. (Vardhana, 2008 and Neumann et al., 2008). The roots, stems, and leaves of the plant are known to contain euphorbol (a complex ) and other diterpene esters. Plant growth retardants are commonly applied to limit stem elongation and to produce more compact plants with high quality, as pot plants which may be achieved through the use of plant growth retardants including cycocel (Tayama et al., 1992). The effectiveness of plant growth retardants depends on time and method of application, concentration, type of and cultivar, and type of target organ as well physiological and environmental conditions (Pobudkiewicz and Nowak, 1994). The most common methods of application of growth retardants are foliar sprays and media drenches (Al- Khassawneh et al., 2006). Cycocel (CCC) (2-chloroethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) is the commercial name for chlormequat chloride. The mode of action of CCC is reducing the stem elongation by interfering with

Corresponding Author: Ehsan E.A. El- Deeb, Ornamental Plants and Landscape Gardening Res. Dept., Hort. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt. E-mail: [email protected] 1717 Middle East J. Agric. Res., 7(4): 1717-1726, 2018 ISSN: 2077-4605 the biosynthetic steps directly, to inhibit the gibberellin biosynthesis pathway, giving a compact appearance of plant and increasing the number of branches (Rademacher, 1991 and Gowda and Jayanthi, 1991). Several studies were done to evaluate the response of various ornamental plants to CCC application, in this regard; Warner and Erwin (2003) studied the effect of plant growth retardants on stem elongation of some Hibiscus species, and they reported that the chlormequat chloride inhibited stem elongation of all species, and using 2000 mg L-1 CCC application significantly reduced stem length of H. coccineus, H. radiates and H. trionum by 87%, 42% and 52%, respectively, compared to untreated plants. Moond and Rakesh (2006) on chrysanthemum, found that the shortest internode and the maximum number of internodes were produced when plants received 10000 ppm CCC, while, treating plants with CCC at 4000 ppm recorded the maximum basal diameter of stems. Aklade et al., (2009) on Chrysanthemum indicum L. cv. “Local White” reported that, the cycocel at 2000 ppm gave the maximum number of branches per plant,whereas leaves and area increased with the application of 500 mg L-1 chlormequat chloride and decreased at higher application rates. Karunananda and Peiris (2010) on pot poinsettia showed that, significantly greater height reduction of shoots and the highest number of shoots per plant were obtained when the plants were exposed to double pinching followed by 1500 ppm cycocel application at 14 days intervals. Bhat et al., (2011) on Erysimum marshallii (Henfr.) stated that, plant height decreased with cycocel application. The fresh and dry mass of roots, leaves and stems were decreased by the spray application of cycocel. Dorajeerao and Mokashi (2012) on Chrysanthemum coronatium L., reported that foliar spray of cycocel at 3000 ppm recorded the maximum number of flowers per plant. Renu and Srivastava (2013) on Poinsettia cv. “Single” indicated that cycocel at 3000 ppm as the best treatment for early initiation of first vegetative bud burst, early flowering and more number of leaves, branches and the maximum duration of flowering. It also reduced the intermodal distance, dimension of lowest leaf and bract dimension as compared to control. Pobudkiewicz (2014) on Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd, ex Klotzsch stated that, the leaf areas, petiole lengths, fresh and dry weights of “Roman and Freedom Red” treated with flurprimidol were substantially smaller as compared to the control, and the bract diameters of both poinsettia cultivars were only slightly affected by growth retardant application. Sukma and Megawati (2016) on poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd), stated that applying cycocel as foliar spray to shoots at 1000,1500, 2000 and 2500 ppm, reduced plant height, leaf size, intermodal length, plant spread and the number of flowering plants. Chopde et al., (2017) on Jasminum sambac L., revealed that, significantly maximum secondary laterals primary shoot, the number of flower buds/ plant, flower yield/ plant, diameter of flower bud and shelf life of flower and significantly earliest first flower bud initiation were obtained from the plants were treated with 750 ppm cycocel, followed by 500 ppm cycocel. Qureshi et al., (2018) studied the effect of graded concentrations of foliar applied cycocel on the growth and flowering of Chrysanthemum morifolium “Flirt”, showed that cycocel-treated plants recorded a significant increases in fresh and dry mass of whole plants, leaves, number and roots. Singh et al. (2018) on chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora Ramat) cv. “Birbal Sahni”, found that CCC at 5000 ppm concentration reduced plant height to the minimum value, while the same concentration gave the maximum values of other growth parameters (the highest number of flowers per plant, flower stalk length, flower size and flowers yield) compared with the other treatments. The aim of this study was to produce high quality of Euphorbia tithymaloides as flowering pot plants by using cycocel at 0, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 ppm either as a foliar spray or a soil application. Material and Methods

This study was carried out during two successive seasons (2014/2015 and 2015/2016) at the experimental nursery of Ornamental Plants and Landscape Garden, Hort. Res. Inst. Giza, Egypt. Uniform terminal cuttings 20-25 cm length and average weight 30 g were planted on 16th September in each season in media containing 1:1:1 v/v/v mixture of peatmoss, vermiculite and sand. Then, it was placed under the lathe-house. On 11th October in each season, uniform rooted cuttings of Euphorbia tithymaloides plants was selected and planted individually in 20 cm diameter plastic pots filled with a mixture of clay: sand at the rate of 3:1 v/v. After three weeks later, the pinching process

1718 Middle East J. Agric. Res., 7(4): 1717-1726, 2018 ISSN: 2077-4605

(single pinch) of the growing points of all the plants was done to accelerate the basal branching. The chemical characteristics of the planting media were shown in Table (A). Chemical analysis was determined according to Black et al., (1982).

Table (A): Physical and chemical analysis of soil before planting. Physical analysis Clay Silt Fine sand Coarse sand Texture 59.7% 20.3% 10.7% 9.3% Clay Chemical analysis (%)

-1 + + ++ ++ - - - - pH EC dSm Na K Ca Mg CO3 HCO3 Cl SO4 8.1 2.1 8.1 0.9 7.0 5.1 0.3 9.4 7.1 4.4

The treatments of CCC started from three weeks after transplanting, the plants were treated with CCC three times at interval of 15 days (1 Nov., 15 Nov. and 1 Dec.) as a foliar sprays or as a soil drench using cycocel at (0, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 ppm) for each application method. Spray applications were done in early morning until the solution run off point, while control plants were sprayed with distilled water only. The plants were fertilized monthly with kristalon fertilizer (19:19:19) at 5g ⁄pot.

Data recorded:

The following data were recorded at the end experiment 6 months: Vegetative parameters: Plant height (cm), leaf length (cm), stem diameter (cm), the number of branches/ plant, the number of leaves/ plant, fresh and dry weight of shoots (g). Bracts parameters: The number of bracts/ plant, fresh and dry weight of bracts (g). Roots parameters: Root length (cm), the number of roots/plant, fresh and dry weights of roots (g).

Chemical composition:

- Chlorophyll a,b and carotenoids (mg/ g fresh weight) in leaves were determined as described by Moran and Porath (1980). - Total carbohydrates (%) dried of shoots was determined according to Herbert et al., (2005). - Percentages of nitrogen, potassium (%) dried of shoots at the end of the experiment were determined according to Walinga et al., (1995). Phosphorus (%) in dried shoots was determined according to A. O. A. C., (2000). The experiment was laid as a completely randomized block design experiment, with 9 treatments, each treatment contained 3 replicates and each replicate contained 5 plants. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using the LSD test at 5% (Mead et al., 1993). Results and Discussion

Vegetative parameters:

Data presented in Tables (1&2) and Fig (1&2) show the effect of cycocel as a foliar spray or a soil application on vegetative growth of Euphorbia tithymaloides plants. All treatments of CCC decreased the plant height and leaf length compared to the control (untreated).The most effective treatment was the addition of cycocel to the soil at a concentration of 2500 ppm. In the first season, using CCC soil application at 2500 ppm reduced the plant height by 64.82% and 39.00% and the leaf length by 52.59% and 9.84%, as compared to the control and a foliar spray at 2500 ppm, respectively. In the second season, applying it decreased the ratio of plant height by 55.15% and 6.12% and leaf length by 51.22% and 9.09%, as compared to the control (untreated) plants and a foliar spray at 2500 ppm treatment, respectively. While, all treatments of cycocel significantly increased stem diameter, the number of branches, the number of leaves, fresh and dry weights of shoots. Addition the cycocel

1719 Middle East J. Agric. Res., 7(4): 1717-1726, 2018 ISSN: 2077-4605 at 2500 ppm to soil gave the best results. These results are in agreement with those by Karlovic et al., (2004) on chrysanthemum, Saffari et al., (2004) on Rosa damascene and Yussef et al., (2013) on Tabernaemontana coronaria plants.

Table 1: Effect of CCC as a foliar spray and a soil application on leaf length and stem diameter of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016). Leaf length (cm) Stem diameter (cm) Treatments 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season Control 11.6 12.3 1.47 1.55 Foliar spray at 1000 ppm 9.8 10.3 1.81 1.80 Foliar spray at 1500 ppm 8.7 9.6 1.83 1.85 Foliar spray at 2000 ppm 8.5 8.1 1.85 1.90 Foliar spray at 2500 ppm 6.1 6.6 1.88 2.04 Soil drench at 1000 ppm 7.0 8.0 1.85 1.85 Soil drench at 1500 ppm 6.8 7.1 1.88 1.93 Soil drench at 2000 ppm 6.6 6.8 1.88 2.06 Soil drench at 2500 ppm 5.5 6.0 1.91 2.11 L.S.D. at 5% 0.4 0.3 0.06 0.05

Table 2: Effect of CCC as a foliar spray and a soil application on the number of branches, fresh and dry weights of shoots of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016). Number of branches Fresh weight of shoots Dry weight of shoots Treatments /plant (g) (g) 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season Control 4.3 5.5 191.4 188.7 20.7 16.6 Foliar spray at 1000 ppm 7.0 8.0 243.5 217.1 25.3 20.8 Foliar spray at 1500 ppm 7.1 8.1 250.2 221.0 28.7 20.2 Foliar spray at 2000 ppm 10.0 9.3 277.1 242.0 33.5 25.8 Foliar spray at 2500 ppm 10.5 9.7 288.6 260.2 31.5 28.8 Soil drench at 1000 ppm 7.7 8.1 266.0 243.1 28.6 26.8 Soil drench at 1500 ppm 10.6 9.4 288.8 261.3 35.7 27.4 Soil drench at 2000 ppm 10.7 10.8 290.0 266.7 39.8 28.7 Soil drench at 2500 ppm 10.8 11.0 300.0 270.0 41.2 33.5 L.S.D. at 5% 0.4 0.4 2.2 1.9 0.6 1.2

Fig. 1: Effect of CCC on the plant height of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016).

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Fig. 2: Effect of CCC on the number of leaves of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016).

Bracts parameters:

Regarding the effect of cycocel as a foliar spray or a soil application on bracts characters of Euphorbia tithymaloides plant, the data in Table (3) and Fig (3) revealed that increasing the concentration of cycocel as a foliar spray and a soil application increased the number of bracts/ plant, fresh and dry weights of bracts. In addition the cycocel to soil drench at 2500 ppm gave the best results. As for the effect of cycocel on the bracts characters, similar results were obtained by Matsoukis and Chronopoulou-Sereli (2005) on Lantana camara Subsp. Camara, Dorajeerao and Mokashi (2012) on Chrysanthemum coronatium L. and Sukma and Megawati (2016) on Euphorbia pulcherrima Will.

Table 3: Effect of CCC as a foliar spray and a soil application on fresh and dry weights of bracts of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016). Fresh weight of bracts/ plant Dry weight of Treatments (g) bracts/ plant (g) 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season Control 11.4 15.4 3.3 4.6 Foliar spray at 1000 ppm 18.8 21.2 5.4 6.1 Foliar spray at 1500 ppm 22.0 29.0 6.6 8.4 Foliar spray at 2000 ppm 29.9 32.0 8.7 9.3 Foliar spray at 2500 ppm 31.3 35.5 9.0 10.3 Soil drench at 1000 ppm 24.4 29.3 7.1 8.5 Soil drench at 1500 ppm 35.0 40.1 10.1 11.6 Soil drench at 2000 ppm 39.3 40.3 11.4 11.7 Soil drench at 2500 ppm 41.7 45.4 12.1 13.1 L.S.D. at 5% 1.0 1. 6 0.5 0.7

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Fig. 3: Effect of CCC on the number of bracts of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016).

Roots parameters:

Data in Table (4) and Fig (4) display the effect of cycocel as a foliar spray and a soil application on rooting of Euphorbia tithymaloides plant. All treatments of cycocel as a foliar spray and a soil application significantly reduced root length, fresh and dry weights of roots, while it significantly increased the number of roots/ plant and the best treatment was soil drench at 2500 ppm with all roots characters. The results agreement trend was obtained by Bhat et al., (2011) on Erysimum marshallii found that the fresh and dry mass of roots were decreased by the spray application of cycocel, also Nazarudin (2012) on Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. reported that, uniconazole increased the root length as compared to the controls. Also, Youssef et al., (2013) using the cycocel on Tabernaemontana coronaria plant, stated that the highest number of roots/ plant as well as their fresh and dry weights were registered by CCC at 2000 ppm sprayed plants.

Table 4: Effect of CCC as a foliar spray and a soil applicationon root length, fresh and dry weights of roots of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄ 2015 and 2015⁄2016). Root length Fresh weight Dry weight Treatments (cm) of roots (g) of roots (g) 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season Control 48.8 51.3 140.0 151.0 28.4 29.7 Foliar spray at 1000 ppm 41.0 45.0 110.3 120.0 22.4 22.0 Foliar spray at 1500 ppm 40.0 42.3 83.0 113.0 16.6 20.7 Foliar spray at 2000 ppm 35.6 38.8 77.2 90.8 15.5 17.0 Foliar spray at 2500 ppm 31.0 33.3 61.4 88.2 12.5 16.1 Soil drench at 1000 ppm 35.5 40.0 64.3 87.3 12.9 16.0 Soil drench at 1500 ppm 30.0 36.0 62.1 80.1 12.4 14.4 Soil drench at 2000 ppm 21.0 25.0 44.0 66.0 8.8 12.1 Soil drench at 2500 ppm 19.8 21.0 40.0 58.8 8.0 11.0 L.S.D. at 5% 1.6 2.2 3.1 2.0 0.4 0.3

1722 Middle East J. Agric. Res., 7(4): 1717-1726, 2018 ISSN: 2077-4605

Fig. 4: Effect of CCC on the number of roots of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄ 2015 and 2015⁄2016).

Chemical composition: Data presented in Tables (5 & 6) and Fig (5) show the effect of cycocel as a foliar spray or a soil application on the chemical composition (chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids, total carbohydrates, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus of Euphorbia tithymaloides plant. All treatments of cycocel as a foliar spray and a soil application significantly increased the contents of chlorophyll a, b, total carbohydrates, phosphorus and potassium compared to untreated plants. Increasing the concentration of cycocel increased the contents of chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids, phosphorus and potassium in the plants. Applying the cycocel at 2500 ppm to soil gave the highest concentration of chlorophyll a, b, phosphorus and potassium in the dried of shoots compared to other treatments. With increasing the concentration of CCC the content of total carbohydrates increased (except the treatment of CCC as a soil application at 2500 ppm, reduced it compared to CCC at 2000 ppm only). On the other hand, using the cycocel at all doses decreased the concentration of nitrogen in the plants. Increasing the concentration of CCC decreased the content of nitrogen in the plant. These results are similar to those by Lodeta et al., (2010) on poinsettias cv. “Christmas Feelings”, Youssef et al., (2013) using the cycocel on Tabernaemontana coronaria plant, they stated that CCC treatments significantly increased leaf N, P, K, total carbohydrates and total chlorophylls contents as compared with untreated plants.

Table 5: Effect of CCC as a foliar spray and a soil application on chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016). Chlorophyll a Chlorophyll b Carotenoids (mg/g F.W.) (mg/g F.W.) (mg/g F.W.) Treatments 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season Control 0.35 0.55 0.21 0.30 0.28 0.42 Foliar spray at 1000 ppm 0.67 0.76 0.44 0.55 0.53 0.64 Foliar spray at 1500 ppm 0.86 0.98 0.63 0.70 0.71 0.83 Foliar spray at 2000 ppm 1.08 1.24 0.76 0.82 0.86 0.99 Foliar spray at 2500 ppm 1.50 1.78 0.95 1.11 1.26 1.43 Soil drench at 1000 ppm 0.81 0.95 0.54 0.63 0.69 0.77 Soil drench at 1500 ppm 1.01 1.14 0.77 0.89 0.88 1.00 Soil drench at 2000 ppm 1.32 1.44 0.86 0.97 1.05 1.18 Soil drench at 2500 ppm 1.58 1.69 0.99 0.1.02 1.15 1.29 L.S.D. at 5% 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.05 0.09 0.08

1723 Middle East J. Agric. Res., 7(4): 1717-1726, 2018 ISSN: 2077-4605

Table 6: Effect of CCC as a foliar spray and a soil application on nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016).

Treatments Nitrogen Potassium Phosphorus (%DW) (%DW) (%DW)

1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season Control 2.89 3.11 1.01 1.22 0.28 0.37 Foliar spray at 1000 ppm 2.54 2.80 1.23 1.42 0.37 0.55 Foliar spray at 1500 ppm 2.31 2.73 1.47 1.53 0.48 0.59 Foliar spray at 2000 ppm 2.11 2.44 1.56 1.67 0.54 0.72 Foliar spray at 2500 ppm 2.00 2.07 1.77 1.85 0.60 0.69 Soil drench at 1000 ppm 2.52 2.77 1.48 1.53 0.48 0.63 Soil drench at 1500 ppm 2.37 2.56 1.50 1.60 0.57 0.77 Soil drench at 2000 ppm 2.16 2.41 1.65 1.78 0.64 0.79 Soil drench at 2500 ppm 2.08 2.32 1.82 1.91 0.75 0.85 L.S.D. at 5% 0.06 0.05 0.08 0.06 0.10 0.05

Fig. 5: Effect of CCC on total carbohydrates of Euphorbia tithymaloides during the two seasons (2014⁄2015 and 2015⁄2016). Recommendations It can be recommended the addition of cycocel at 2500 ppm to soil to produce flowering pot plants and quality of Euphorbia tithymaloides. References

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