During winter, a greenhouse trial was made in order to study the influence of light quality and quantity in the development of six Amaranthus hybridus populations (five green and one purple biotypes). Comparing plants that received direct insolation in the morning with those that were exposed to direct insolation in the afternoon, an increasing in the life cycle and a reduction in the height of the plants (around 50%), in leaf number (around 25%), in vegetative-K (67 to 90%) and reproductive biomassr (42 to 82) and in total production (51 to 83%) were observed in the first group of plants. However, reduction of the r/K relation reached the maximum of 50%, althougt some populations did not show this reduction but an increasing in this relation. Amaranthus hybridus, as a weed r-strategist plant, showed a high phenotypic plasticity and under stress conditions the plant metabolism seems to be deviated towards reproductive structures in detriment of the vegetative growth.
phenotypic plasticity; Amaranthus hybridus; light stress