Many flowers require specific seasonal day lengths to initiate flowering.
By manipulating genes that control this process, NovaFlora can produce plants that will flower over a broader seasonal range and can extend the period over which consumers can enjoy their gardens and house-plants. For growers the precise control of day-length for year round flower production is a time consuming procedure. It involves covering plants with blackout material for several weeks. This represents a considerable cost for the grower in terms of labor, temperature control and resulting crop losses, if the procedure is not carefully followed. NovaFlora owns the commercial rights to a gene involved in flower formation.