Are stoloniferous plants able to avoid neighbours in response to low R: FR ratios in reflected light?

An experiment was set up to test whether stoloniferous plants are able to avoid neighbours by means of asymmetric growth in response to low red:far-red (R:FR) ratios in light that is reflected by neighbouring plants. Neighbours were simulated by green mirrors that were placed on the north-side of the plants while spectrally neutral mirrors served as a control. Six stoloniferous species (Trifolium repens L., Hydrocotyle vulgaris L., Lysimachia nummularia L., Glechoma hederacea L., Lysimachia nemorum L. and Lamium galeobdolon L.) were included in the experiment. Measurements were made on branching frequency, timing of branching, stolon growth rate, internode length, growth direction and biomass distribution, Although differences between treatments were found in some of these parameters, they were too small to lead to the avoidance of the simulated neighbours. Only L galeobdolon produced lower biomass in response to the green-mirror treatment compared to the control one.