Stimulation Effect of Environment-Friendly HrpNEp Protein on Growth and Cut Flower Characteristics of Oriental Hybrid Lily

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of HrpNEp protein extracted and purified from Erwinia pyrifoliae WT3 on the growth and cut flower quality of oriental hybrid lily. HrpNEp, a kind of environment-friendly protein, stimulated growth of the shoot length and stem diameter, and increased the stem strength, but decreased the curvature of the shoots with flower buds. Calcium and magnesium which are supposed to have some positive effects on the hardness of tissues were absorbed more in HrpNEp-treated shoots than the control. To improve the quality of cut flowers, the lily needed 4 or 2 times treatments with 10 or 40 mgL-1 HrpNEp, respectively, and additional treatment with HrpNEp gave even better quality. There was some antagonism between magnesium and calcium when they were used alternatively with HrpNEp. High quality cut flowers were produced by treatment with 10 mgL-1 HrpNEp and calcium, with a synergistic effect within the limits of antagonism, and also with 40 mgL-1 HrpNEp treatment alone.