PhD Student, Regan Lab Surveying the Hormonome of Hazelnut Flower Dormancy Hazelnut is an emerging crop in Ontario but elite, European cultivars must adapt to Ontario winters to support local demand. Hazelnut is a winter flowering tree, meaning flowers begin their development in the summer, go dormant over the winter, and bloom in the spring. Brief, early, warm spells are typical of Ontario winters and can signal hazelnut’s male flowers (catkins) to bloom prematurely. Premature bloom makes catkins especially vulnerable to incoming cold weather, damaging pollen and reducing nut yield. To help establish hazelnut as a reliable crop in Ontario, premature catkin bloom must be prevented. Plant hormones are known to regulate flower dormancy and hormones have been manipulated to delay bloom in select crops. This study has surveyed the endogenous levels of canonical plant hormones and their metabolites (the hormonome) of catkins from early, mid, and late-season blooming hazelnut cultivars across a full season of dormancy. This hormonome is the first of its kind within deciduous woody perennials and provides a valuable resource for those studying flower dormancy in fruit crops. Preliminary analysis shows increased ethylene precursor levels in the early blooming cultivar, revealing a potential target pathway for the manipulation of catkin bloom.
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