Red to Far-red Ratio During Seed Development Affects Lettuce Seed Germinability and Longevity

Abstract

Thermoinhibition and photosensitivity are two characteristics of lettuce seed that frequently affect its stand. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that lettuce seed germinability and longevity are affected by the red to far-red light ratio (R:FR) under which seeds maturate. ‘Tango’ lettuce seeds were produced in growth chambers under one of two treatments: 1) red-rich light (R treatment) and 2) far-red-rich light (FR treatment). For both treatments, the percentage of normal seedlings germinated at 20 °C–light was ≈100%. When germinated under the light, seeds from the R treatment exhibited a higher germination percentage and a faster germination (under a broader range of temperatures) than seeds from the FR treatment. When germinated in the dark, seeds from the R treatment germinated 100% between 12 and 23 °C and over 50% at 30 °C, whereas seeds from the FR treatment germinated less than 35% between 12 and 23 °C and less than 5% at 30 °C. Seeds from the R treatment had lower abscisic acid (ABA) content and were better able to germinate when exposed to external ABA concentrations than seeds from the FR treatment. Seed longevity as assessed by the accelerated aging test was higher in seeds from the FR treatment, indicating that red-rich light was detrimental to longevity. In another experiment, lettuce seeds that developed under similar conditions were harvested at approximately the moment of maximum dry weight accumulation and desiccated in dark, far-red, red, or fluorescent + incandescent light. Seeds desiccated under red light exhibited higher dark germination than the other treatments; however, no differences were observed in thermoinhibition or longevity. These results suggest that lettuce seed produced in an environment with a high R:FR light ratio will exhibit reduced thermoinhibition and photosensitivity as compared with production in a lower R:FR light environment.