Regulation of the photosynthetic capacity of primary bean leaves by the red:far‐red ratio and photosynthetic photon flux density of incident light

The main objective of the present work was to examine the effects of the red:far‐red ratio (R:FR) prevailing during leaf development on the photosynthetic capacity of mature leaves. Plants of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Balin de Albenga were grown from time of emergence in a controlled environment room, 25 ± 3°C, 12‐h photoperiod, with different light treatments:a) high photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) = 800 μmol m −1 s −1 + high R:FR= 1.3;b) low PPFD= 300 μmol m −2 s −1 + high R:FR= 1.3; c) high PPFD=800 μmol m −2 s −1 + low R:FR= 0.7; d) low PPFD= 300 μmol m −2 s −1 + low R:FR=0.7. With an R:FR ratio of 1.3, a decrease in irradiance during leaf growth reduced photosynthesis when measured at moderate to high PPFD; but when measured at low PPFD, leaves expanded under low irradiance actually had photosynthesis rates higher than those of leaves grown in high irradiance. A low R:FR ratio during development reduced the photosynthetic capacity of the leaves. In leaves expanded under R:FR = 0.7 and high irradiance photosynthesis was reduced by 42 to 89%, depending on the PPFD at which measurements were made, whereas for leaves developed at R:FR = 0.7 and low irradiance photosynthesis decreased by 21 to 24%, compared to leaves under R:FR = 1.3 and similar irradiance. The reduced photosynthetic capacity under R:FR = 0.7 and high irradiance. In natural environments, leaves may experience low R:FR conditions temporarily during their development, and this may affect their future photosynthetic capacity in full sunlight.