Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 March 2009
Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) plants were grown in growth chambers at Gif, France, and at Gainesville in Florida, demonstrating that the species is a long-day plant and greatly influenced by light quality during the photosynthetic period. Flowering occurred in all instances when the middle of the dark period was interrupted with red or red + far-red light. With nightly interruptions of farred light, flowering occurred only when a sufficient quantity of far-red was present during the photosynthetic period. Plants grown under short days with nightly interruptions of red, far-red or red + far-red light had less starch accumulation and greater leaf growth and dry weight than plants grown without nightly light interruptions, whatever the light quality during the photosynthetic period. The treatments did not affect the partitioning of assimilates and flowering in the same way.