Abstract
Pot marigold is a valuable medicinal plant with great decorative value. Three combinations of light (white (W)—170 μmol m−2 s−1, white + blue (W+B)—230 μmol m−2 s−1, white + red (W+R)—230 μmol m−2 s−1) were used to analyse the influence of a diversified light spectrum on the morphological traits and flowering of Calendula officinalis L. “Radio”. The effect of foliar treatment of the plants with 6-benzyladenine (BA) at concentrations of 100, 150 and 200 mg dm−3 at all the light spectrum combinations was analysed. BA had negative influence on the earliness of florescence and delayed it even by more than 10 days. W+B light intensified the delay, whereas red light partly reduced it. The BA treatment had the greatest influence on the biometric traits of the plants at the initial period of their development. W+B light significantly inhibited the growth of the plants. A high share of red light in the spectrum positively affected the Fv/Fm value, the relative chlorophyll content and the percentage of dry matter in the plants. When the amount of blue or red light in the spectrum increased, it was possible to obtain specific biometric traits of Calendula without the BA treatment.
Highlights
Calendula officinalis L. is an annual ornamental plant of the Asteraceae family, Calendula genus
The influence of BA was noticeably reduced by illumination with with red light (W+R) light, whereas BA treatment and illumination with with blue light (W+B) light resulted in a synergistic effect
In our studies BA delayed the flowering of plants and the development of subsequent inflorescences. This phenomenon was partly reduced by W+R light and intensified by W+B light
Summary
Calendula officinalis L. (pot marigold, common marigold, garden marigold, English marigold) is an annual ornamental plant of the Asteraceae family, Calendula genus. (pot marigold, common marigold, garden marigold, English marigold) is an annual ornamental plant of the Asteraceae family, Calendula genus. It is indigenous to central, eastern and southern Europe. It has been grown in European gardens and used in popular culture since the 12th century [1]. The cultivars with intense orange flowers prevail in herbal cultivation. C. officinalis flowers are a source of biologically active substances, dominated by flavonoids and terpenoids, used in the pharmaceutical industry and cosmetic. They are currently used as pharmaceutical raw material in official phytotherapy [2,3,4]
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