Changes in the responses to light quality during ontogeny in Chenopodium album

Abstract

Morphological shade-avoidance responses have been hypothesized to be a form of adaptive plasticity to improve competition for light; however, little is known about their intraspecific variability and their effect on reproductive fitness. To compare plant responses either at a common age or at a common phenological stage, two experiments were conducted with early- and late-flowering Chenopodium album plants exposed to different red (660 nm) to far red (730 nm) ratios. In the first experiment, plant height and number of leaves were recorded at several times during the vegetative stage, and at the onset of flowering, each plant was harvested and other growth traits were measured. In the second experiment, three destructive harvests were performed across the whole plant cycle. Plant growth and development markedly differed between early- and late-flowering plants in all of the conditions tested. Light treatments significantly affected stem length, total leaf number, total leaf area, and relative allocation to leaf biomass. In all families, the response of stem elongation to light treatments decreased later in the development, while changes in the other plastic responses were mostly due to variations in plant growth. No significant treatment effect was found on relative biomass allocation to reproductive structures. However, individual seed mass significantly differed between certain groups, indicating that light quality can affect reproductive fitness through changes in traits other than fruit or seed set.Key words: Chenopodium album, fitness, intraspecific variability, phenotypic plasticity, red to far red ratio, shade-avoidance responses.