Photomorphogenic and Thermomorphogenic responses influencing growth and flowering in Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. cv. Zembla
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Keywords:
Chrysanthemum, Monochromatic light, Temperature regimes, FloweringAbstract
Light and temperature act as key environmental signals that synergistically influence plant growth and development. Strategically manipulating photothermal regimes offers remarkable potential to optimize plant architecture and flowering. This study was conducted to evaluate the photomorphogenic and thermomorphogenic responses in Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Zembla. Plants were subjected to various monochromatic light treatments (R, B, RB, W, and FL) under 15-hours of long-day photoperiod across five temperature regimes (24/20˚C, 22/20˚C, 20/20˚C, 18/20˚C, and 16/20˚C) at Centre for Protected Cultivation Technology (CPCT), IARI, New Delhi during 2023-24 and 2024-25. The research revealed significantly distinctive responses to the photo- and thermo-phases across different morphophysiological and flowering parameters. Morphological results revealed that red light (R, LD15) at 24/20˚C significantly increased plant height (92.97 cm) and internodal length (2.73 cm). Conversely, blue light (B, LD15) at 24/20˚C optimized foliar growth, attributed by maximum leaf number (35.82), leaf area (379.87 cm²), and total plant dry weight (10.80 g). Physiological metrics, relative growth rate and crop growth rate exhibited significant enhancement under blue light exposure at 24/20˚C (0.046 g g⁻¹ day⁻¹ and 2.030 g m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively). The partitioning coefficient also showed maximum values (32.02) under B, LD15 at 24/20˚C. Regarding flowering responses, blue light accelerated bud induction across all temperature regimes, with plants under B, LD15 achieving anthesis earlier than alternative spectral compositions. Sub-optimal temperature regimes (16/20˚C) accelerated the induction of visible bud formation and flowering, whereas optimal temperature conditions (24/20˚C) under blue light spectral illumination resulted in superior capitulum development characterized by maximum floral diameter (9.97 cm). The synergistic interaction between light spectra and temperature modulating chrysanthemum growth and development, providing valuable insights for optimizing environmentally controlled cultivation practices.
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