Pigment Complex of Plant Sprouts from Different Ecological and Geographical Locations

The pigment complex and its effect on the survival of seedlings of the daughter generation of common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) and common wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris L.) were studied, the parent forms of which grew in different ecological and geographical conditions (the cities of Kaliningrad, Belgorod, Ulan-Ude, Yakutsk, Magadan, and Srednekolymsk). The results are discussed based on the working hypothesis that seedling survival is largely determined by the pigment complex formed by maternal plants grown in different ecological and geographical conditions. It was found that the content of chlorophyll a (Ch A) in plant seedlings varied widely. The maximum chlorophyll b (Ch B) content was found in seedlings of T. vulgare from the Ulan-Ude and Yakutsk ecotypes. The results confirm that one of the most important conditions determining the carotenoid (Car) pool in plants is the duration of solar insolation during the growing season. The ratio of the sum of chlorophylls to the sum of carotenoids (Ch/Car) showed a high positive correlation with the duration of solar insolation at the seed collection sites in July. It has been shown that total July insolation (> 200 hours) on T. vulgare mother plants has a beneficial effect on photosynthesis and seedling survival. The survival rate of A. vulgaris seedlings is most likely determined not by the Ch/Car ratio, but by other evolutionarily formed factors of the habitat of the parent plants. Thus, the adaptive changes of wild plants to light conditions lead to changes in the content and ratio of pigments. Seedlings whose seeds were formed under conditions of prolonged solar insolation (Yakutsk, Ulan-Ude) contain the highest amount of chlorophylls and carotenoids, which affects their survival.

Artemisia vulgaris L., Tanacetum vulgare L., seedling survival, carotenoids, solar insolation, chlorophyll A, chlorophyll B