CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE АND PIGMENT CONTENT IN CHRYSANTHEMUM LEAVES

The paper presents data on the content of the main photosynthetic pigments and indicators of chlorophyll fluorescence slow induction in the leaves of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium) breeding material obtained in the Federal Research Centre the Subtropical Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FRC SSC of RAS). An important indicator of plants’ ability to adapt to limiting environmental conditions is the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus, which depends on many factors, including the pigment complex. The purpose of the work is to study the adaptive potential of chrysanthemum breeding material from the genetic collection. The research was carried out on new small-flowered cultivars (‘Shkola biznesa’, ‘Matsesta’, ‘Pobeda’), local cultivars (‘Cameya’, ‘Nocturne’, ‘Symphoniya’), introduced smallflowered cultivar (‘Dante’), elite hybrids P-120-2, P-196-25, R-201-1, S-151-1, Zh116-2. The control was performed by the cultivar ‘Symphoniya’ bred in FRC SSC of RAS, which has been successfully cultivated for more than ten years in the humid subtropics of Russia. During the study, differences in the number of pigments and their ratio were noted; the differences were correlated with the viability index. Thus, during the budding phase, the largest amount of green pigments was detected in the leaves of the hybrid P-120-2 (2.60 mg/g), cultivars ‘Cameya’, ‘Pobeda’, ‘Dante’ (2.34; 2.18 and 2.23 mg/g, respectively), the number of carotenoids is higher in cultivars ‘Cameo’, ‘Pobeda’ and the hybrid R-120-2. The lowest amount of green pigments was recorded in ‘Symphoniya’ (1.44 mg/g), Nocturne (1.49 mg/g), P-196-25 (1.59 mg/g), low carotenoid content was recorded in ‘Symphoniya’ (0.22 mg/g), Nocturne (0.24 mg/g), P-196-25 (0.27 mg/g) and F-116-2 (0.28 mg/g). In the phase of mass flowering: a high content of green pigments was found in the leaves of the hybrid P-120-2 (2.83 mg/g), cultivars ‘Cameya’, ‘Matsesta’, ‘Pobeda’ and ‘Dante’ (2.38; 2.35; 2.23 and 2.28 mg/g). The lowest content of chlorophylls was recorded in the leaves of C-151-1 (1.47 mg/g), ‘Symphoniya’ (1.48 mg/g), ‘Nocturne’ (1.52 mg/g). The largest amount of carotenoids during this period was contained in the leaves of the hybrid P-120-2, cultivars ‘Matsesta’, ‘Cameya’, ‘Pobeda’; fewer carotenoids were in the leaves of ‘Symphoniya’ (0.24 mg/g), ‘Nocturne’ (0.26 mg/g), Zh-116-2 (0.26 mg/g). During the flowering phase, the highest viability index was noted in the cultivars ‘Cameya’ (5.5), ‘Matsesta’ (5.2), ‘Pobeda’ (4.5), ‘Shkola biznesa’ (4.4).