The effect of red light on the germination of a Brazilian Pteridophyte

Abstract

The effects of red light on the germination of spores of Cheilantes concolor Langsd & Fisch were investigated in this study. The spores were spread in the Mohr (1956) nutritional solution after Dyer’s modifications (1979). Three Petri dishes were used for each treatment, three slides per dish were made for each day of treatment, and one hundred spores per slide were counted . Germination of the spores in the dark was not observed. In relation to the photoperiods, the highest germination percentage and index values were obtained with the exposure of the spores to photoperiods of 8h, and the lowest values were obtained with their exposure to photoperiods of 2h. The phytochrome pigment acts in the germination of the spores through low fluency response. The highest germination percentage and index values were obtained with the highest irradiation while the lowest with the lowest irradiation.