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Liatris spicata (L.) Willd. was introduced to Chile as a cut flower crop more than a decade ago. It is commonly field-planted in consecutive plantings during spring and summer. The propagation structure is a corm that is reused in subsequent plantings. Other field crops are shaded to reduce the temperature, but in liatris, the effect of shading under our conditions on both cut flowers and corms is unknown. The present study assessed the cut flower quality of L. spicata cultivated in the VII Region (35°33′ S lat, 71°13′ W long), Chile, utilizing nets providing 35, 50, 65 and 80% shade, plus a control treatment without shade. As well, the weight of the corms was recorded one, four and eight weeks after flower harvest. The effect of shade on flower quality was evident at harvest time; the plants that grew at full sun had longer spikes and greater stem diameters. The weight of corms at the third evaluation was greatest in the control treatment, and at the first evaluation these values were lower than in the last evaluation. As the shade negatively affected both flower quality and corm weight, it was concluded that shading nets should not be recommended under this experimental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lilium spp. hybrids are important export products among the Chilean cut flower exports. Field plantations are often shaded to reduce temperature; however, the best shading percentage to attain a good quality cut flower and also a good quality bulb is unknown. This study assessed the cut flower quality of two Lilium spp. hybrid cultivars, cv. Dreamland belonging to the Asiatic group and cv. Alhambra of the Oriental group, cultivated in the VII Region (35°17′ S lat, 71°13′ W long) under shading nets of 35, 50, 65, and 80% shading, and a control treatment without shade. The perimeter and weight of the bulbs were recorded at one, four and eight weeks after flower harvest. In both cultivars the plants grown under 65 and 80% shade were significantly taller, with no differences in both stem diameter and number of florets per stem among all the treatments. Bulb weight in both cultivars was higher in the control and 35% shade treatments. The bulb perimeter of cv. Dreamland was higher in the control and 35% shade treatments, and showed higher values at each subsequent evaluation. In cv. Alhambra, the perimeter of the bulbs of the different treatments was similar in all treatments in the last evaluation performed eight weeks after flower harvest. In double purpose crops, attaining good quality in both cut flowers and bulbs are contradictory; in this case it is proposed the use of 50% shade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]