Evaluation of public acceptability and longevity of forced bloomed poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) pots in indoor decorations

Abstract

Production of attractive marketable poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) pot plants throughout the year can be achieved by forced blooming in the off season, but it is necessary to study their post production conditions and public acceptability prior to marketing. The poinsettia pot plants produced in the off season, when evaluated on its acceptability by the general public through a questionnaire, indicated that 76.6 % of the participants accepted it as a suitable pot plant for indoor decorations in local festivals. In the experiments conducted to evaluate retention of attractiveness of poinsettia under different indoor conditions, mainly at different light levels, it was revealed that leaves, bracts and bract color of these artificially-induced plants remained more than 8 weeks under 1600-4000 lux light level. Almost all leaves and more than 50 % of colorful bracts dropped under the 1-50 lux, and 50-200 lux light levels within the first four weeks while their color reduced to 50 %.