FAR-RED SENSIBILITY VARIES WITH CHRYSANTH EMUM CULTIVAR

Covering four chrysanthemum cultivars with far-red transmitting (trans mission 720-780 nm 30-35%) textile material caused different flowering and elongation responses: Although number of leaves until terminal in florescence was not affected, in two cultivars days to visible buds an d first open flower increased significantly ('Dark Gaby', 'Babette'). With 'Babette' additionally time between stage of visible bud until an thesis was increased by FR. Elongation of internodes was affected inde pendently from growth type: 'Babette' with short internodes and 15 lea ves per shoot as well as 'Meike' with long internodes and only 10 leav es per shoot showed a much more higher rate of elongation under FR tha n 'Goldfinger' with short internodes and 15 leaves per shoot or 'Dark Gaby' with long internodes and 10 leaves per shoot. Therefore, suscept ibility to FR seems not to be correlated with the growth type. For bre eding compact plants (true dwarf types), therefore, FR stress should b e used to select genotypes with low FR-susceptibility.