Lettuce seeds (Lactuca sativavar. acephalacv. Tango) were used with the objective of determining the effect of temperature, light, and their interactions in promoting germination. Under standard op-timal conditions (20 °C, light), the seed presented 100% germination (radicle emergence 5 d after sowing). Different treatments evaluated germination under dark conditions, with or without a red light break (LB, 28.8 mmol·m-2) 48 h after sowing, and with different combination of temperatures pre- (soaking temperature, ST) and post- (germination temperature, GT) the LB. Germination at constant 20 °C without LB was less than 5%, and with LB, it was around 30%. However, germination was close to 100% at GT of 20 °C when LB was applied after a ST of 10 °C, and around 50% under the same conditions, but without LB. When GT was 30 °C and LB was applied, germination was less than 3% with ST = 30 °C, less than 10% with ST = 20 °C, and around 100% when ST = 10 °C. With ST and GT of 10 °C and 30 °C, respectively, and no LB, germination was less than 5%. Germination at 10 °C constant, with and without LB, was around 90% and 0%, respectively. When ST was 40 °C and LB was applied, germination was around 40% at GT= 20 °C, but less that 3% with GT= 30 °C. In summary, a severe inhibition of germination was observed when seeds were germinated in dark, which was partially reversed by either a light treatment or soaking at 10 °C, and fully reversed when both treatments were applied together. Inhibition of lettuce germination at 30 °C was observed when this temperature was applied after a light treatment, but not when applied before. Possible implications of these results for the phytochrome mechanism of action are discussed.
Effects of Light Break on Growth and Flowering of Gerbera.
