During the storage period, growing buds are large recipients of water. Water redistribution in bulbs
and its transfer to the buds plays an important role in the complete development of the flowers and is
temperature-dependent. Indeed, in tulips, formed flower buds are aborted after storage in the wrong
temperature conditions (17 °C). The water content in these flower buds is almost half of that in normal
flowers of bulbs stored at optimal temperature (5 °C), thus suggesting that at least one of the possible
reasons for bud abortion may be its insufficient water supply [9].
It has been reported that during storage, low temperature induces water transfer from lateral scales
to central ones and also enhances the subsequent transfer of water from the basal plate and scales to the
developing bud [7–9]. Water transport to the bud seems to be inhibited in some ways when the storage
temperature is too high; however, the mechanism of this inhibition is still unclear.
Moreover, low temperature storage leads to a selective expression of the aquaporin γTIP gene in
stalks after planting [22]. Since aquaporins facilitate water transport during cell enlargement and
contribute greatly to cell growth [23,24], the absence of γTIP gene expression might also play a role in
water deficiency in buds and the inhibition of stalk growth in plants stored at ambient temperature.