ES7 -- The effect of Photoperiod on Growth of Rapid-Cycling Brassica rapa Cultivated in Classroom Window View

The development of rapid-cycling Brassica rapa (RCBr) is an innovation that has created powerful study systems for both research and educational applications. These small, fast-growing plants have allowed millions of students to observe a complete plant life cycle in diverse experimental settings. Adequate lighting usually archived under continuous bright cool-white fluorescents is a major requirement for the successful cultivation of RCBr. While the effects of photoperiod on the growth and development of Brassica species is widely reported, it is important to study the precise influence of different day-lengths on RCBr cultivated in classrooms environment since this can lead to more useful discoveries that can benefit educators. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of photoperiod on the growth behavior of two RCBr genotypes grown in the classroom window view. The experiment was laid out in a two factor Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two replications to investigate the effects of four day-length of 0, 4, 20, and 24 hours on ‘Tall’ and ‘Astro’ RCBr genotypes. Data on plant height, plant vigor, leaf development, and survival rate after two weeks were recorded. Analysis of the data showed that the survival percentage of RCBr ranged from 0% to 20%, 30% to 42%, and 60% to 80% for 4, 20, and 24 h day-lengths, respectively. Remarkably, none of the Astro RCBr genotypes survived up to 2 weeks under 0 and 4 h day-lengths whereas at longer photoperiods, a 60% survival rate was observed. It is expected that the results from this research will contribute to a better understanding of how day-length affects the growth of RCBr in classroom environments