During acclimation of unrooted cuttings (URC) under mist irrigation, the moisture status of URC is greatly affected by environmental conditions such as high photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD), both of which can cause rapid dehydration. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of PPFD and VPD on indoor acclimation of Chrysanthemum ‘Olympia White’ URC. Cuttings were stuck in a peat-perlite substrate in propagation trays, placed under sole-source lighting in chambers where ultrasonic fog was used to automatically control relative humidity (RH). Mist irrigation was applied every 20 to 30 min for 3 h. Over 12 h, URC were exposed to 0, 35, 70, 80, 105, 140, or 210 µmol·m–2·s–1 PPFD and 70, 80, 90, or 100% RH setpoints, resulting in air VPD levels ranging from 0.02 to 0.59 kPa. In the chambers, there was a high level of environmental control, and PPFD did not affect air VPD (P = 0.712), which were therefore considered as independent climatic factors. Leaf temperature minus air temperature was considered an indicator of plant energy balance, where a warmer leaf than air temperature is a driver of evapotranspiration. Plant leaf temperature became cooler than the air temperature as air VPD increased (P = 0.024), likely caused by evaporative cooling of leaves. In contrast, increasing PPFD increased leaf temperature relative to air temperature, likely through radiant heating. Leaf VPD was positively correlated with air VPD (adjusted-R2 = 0.88) but was also affected by the interaction of PPFD and air VPD (P < 0.05). Two hours after misting was terminated (5 h total), some plants showed clear wilting especially under low RH. At 5 h, stomatal conductance and evapotranspiration of URC was increased by PPFD and decreased by air VPD (P < 0.01), although there was an interaction between PPFD and air VPD for stomatal conductance (P < 0.005). Further results highlighting responses to RWC, water uptake, and water loss will be presented.
