ABSTRACT
In various species, for instance, the development of the flowers and inflorescences is promoted by a high nitrogen (N) supply. In contrast, the results showing that a high N supply promotes flowering were with plants grown in favorable light conditions and apparently without carbohydrate deficiency. Thus when light is not limiting, the higher the N supply, the better the development of the inflorescence. Workers of the 1920s and 1930s found that the carbohydrate/nitrogen (C/N) ratio is also correlated with sex expression. Correlations of carbohydrate content and final sex expression in Mercurialis perennis and Lychnis dioica revealed that vegetative plants with a higher sugar content eventually differentiate into male plants. The rate of floral development in barley is also a function of mineral nutrition. The importance of the mineral nutrition and photosynthesis and of their interactions for flower and inflorescence development is hardly deniable.
