Prediction of frost hardiness in seedlings of Scots pine (Pinussylvestris) using multivariate analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence and luminescence kinetics

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Abstract
Seedlings of Scots pine (Pinussylvestris L.) were artificially frost hardened under controlled conditions. To follow the development of hardiness, the frost killing temperature was determined. Four levels of hardiness were defined during the course of frost hardening. After adaptation of the seedlings to dark conditions at room temperature, fluorescence induction and far red induced luminescence decay kinetics were recorded for seedlings of the four defined levels of hardiness. The induction curve of fluorescence and the decay curve of luminescence were digitized for 110 time intervals, and the values were used in a multivariate partial least squares analysis to evaluate the potential of luminescence and fluorescence as predictive probes for cold hardiness. The results showed that both fluorescence induction and luminescence decay kinetics contain information allowing the prediction of frost hardiness of artificially cold-hardened seedlings of Scots pine.