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WATER STRESS
INDUCES FLOWERING
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When a plant
is subjected to adverse conditions like water stress,
its response is to reproduce or bear flowers and fruits.
This means that in case the plant is subjected to
anything that will threaten its life, it will produce
fruits to replenish its species.
Fruit trees
that respond favorably to water stress are lanzones,
rambutan, pummelo and other citrus varieties.
Procedure in Water Stressing the
Plant
1. Be sure
that the plants are well nourished before subjecting to
water stress. 2-3 months before water stressing, apply
complete fertilizer with trace elements. A tree with no
food reserve will not flower and instead produce shoots.
2. During
the rainy seasons, cover the whole root zone with
plastic so that the rainwater will not go to the roots.
Construct a drainage canal around the tree or plant in a
mound so that the rainwater will be diverted and the
root zone will deprived of soil moisture. When soil
moisture is lost through evapotranspiration, and when
the wilting point is reached, the tree will now suffer
from water stress.
3. a. When
to remove the plastic cover and water the plant. After
several weeks and when there is no more soil moisture
around the root hairs the plant will show wilting of the
leaves. Observe the wilting for a few days but do not
let the green leaves turn yellow. Remove the plastic
cover and water the plants up to saturation point.
b. During the dry season, when plants show wilting of
leaves, flooding or generous watering will induce the
tree to flower.
4. Maintain
the soil moisture of the root zone by watering it
regularly.
5. After 2-3
weeks, flushes and flower will come out.
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