Flowering & Reproductive Development
Flower Microclimate & Disease Risk
Temperature, humidity, leaf wetness, airflow, and tissue density inside flowers can differ from room or weather-station measurements. Disease risk must therefore include the microclimate at the susceptible tissue.
Key concepts
- Dense inflorescences can retain humid air
- Condensation can occur on tissue even when room RH seems acceptable
- Dead floral tissue can become a colonization site
- Airflow at the room scale may not penetrate dense clusters
What to measure or observe
- Inspect flower interiors
- Record overnight temperature/RH
- Check for condensation after cool periods
- Map disease onset by canopy and flower density
Common mistakes
- Inspecting only flower surfaces
- Using daytime room RH as the entire disease-risk assessment
- Blaming density without checking moisture and pathogen evidence
- Compressing flowers with support netting
Visuals this lesson still needs
- Flower microclimate cutaway
- Room-versus-flower RH concept
- Condensation sequence
- Botrytis risk inspection map