PHOTOSYNTHETIC FEATURES OF THREE GERBERA CULTIVARS IN LOW LIGHT

In Nordic winter conditions with a shortage of natural light, it is very important to grow species and cultivars suited for low light and artificial lighting. The present study was conducted to determine if leaf net CO₂-exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, oxygen evolution, chlorophyll a and b content, or leaf morphology would be useful in assessing gerbera (cv. ‘Lamborghini,’ ‘Lynx’ and ‘Terra Regina’) growth in low light. Biomass accumulation as well as flower yield was lowest in ‘Lynx.’ Susceptibility to photoinhibition and recovery thereafter showed small defect in ‘Lynx.’ The number of stomata per unit area was lowest in ‘Lynx.’ ‘Lynx’ also had higher total chlorophyll content than the other two cultivars. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences between the cultivars in chlorophyll a quenching or in leaf CO₂-exchange. Chlorophyll a fluorescence, or some part of it, seems to be a possible tool to screen plants suitable for low light.

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