Far-red effect on bolting and flowering of Lettuce

Lettuce goes through a process called bolting to transfer from vegetative growth to generative growth. A rapid elongation of the stem marks this process. After bolting, the lettuce leaves become bitter and lose their commercial value. For this reason, modern varieties of lettuce are selected strongly against bolting, and it may take up to more than 20 weeks to grow from seed to seed, and this long waiting time strongly prolongs the breeding time of new varieties. As vertical farming has boomed in recent years, it is crucial to have cultivars bred specifically for vertical farming. In this experiment, we will study the effect of additional far-red radiation on the flowering time of different lettuce varieties and quantify their effect with a gradient treatment. 

Used skills

• Plant growth measurements
• Greenhouse experiments
• Data analysis
• Data visualization
• General laboratory skills
• Expression analysis (optional)

Interested in doing a BSc or MSc thesis at HPP? Please contact the HPP student coordinator Katharina Hanika.