Compared to EOD-FR, EOD-R treatment resulted in a significant decrease (50%) in dry matter (DM) of the stem in ‘Christmas Spirit’, and there was an insignificant trend of such a decrease (29%) in ‘Christmas Eve’ (Table 1).
There was no significant difference in DM of leaves and bracts under the different treatments. However, in both cultivars the specific leaf area (SLA) and bract area (SBA) were significantly different between the two EOD treatments.
SLA was 15% and 10% lower and SBA was 18% and 12% lower in ‘Christmas Spirit’ and ‘Christmas Eve’, respectively, under R light compared to FR light (Fig. 4).
Shoot diameter and relative chlorophyll content did not differ in any cultivar under the different light treatments (Table 1).
Furthermore, no difference in time to visible cyathia and bract formation between the EOD-R and EOD-FR light treatments was observed (data not shown).