Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEA

Leafy vegetables, mainly lettuces, are currently the main crop cultivated in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), including vertical farming and plant factories. There is a rising demand to expand this portfolio with a wider variety of underutilized edible plants containing various bioactive co...

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Main Authors: Akvilė Viršilė, Ieva Gudžinskaitė, Kristina Laužikė, Gediminas Kudirka, Audrius Pukalskas, Giedrė Samuolienė
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Agriculture
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2079
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author Akvilė Viršilė
Ieva Gudžinskaitė
Kristina Laužikė
Gediminas Kudirka
Audrius Pukalskas
Giedrė Samuolienė
author_facet Akvilė Viršilė
Ieva Gudžinskaitė
Kristina Laužikė
Gediminas Kudirka
Audrius Pukalskas
Giedrė Samuolienė
author_sort Akvilė Viršilė
collection DOAJ
description Leafy vegetables, mainly lettuces, are currently the main crop cultivated in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), including vertical farming and plant factories. There is a rising demand to expand this portfolio with a wider variety of underutilized edible plants containing various bioactive compounds and sensory properties seeking to enrich human diets. However, the optimal cultivation conditions for these underutilized plants significantly differ from those optimized for lettuce, basil, and other popular CEA crops. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impacts of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting intensity (photosynthetic photon flux density, PPFD) on green leaf <i>Perilla frutescens</i> cultivated in CEA. Plants were grown under four levels of LED lighting PPFDs from 150 to 300 µmol m<sup>−2</sup>s<sup>−1</sup> for 4 weeks. Plant biomass productivity, soluble sugar contents, antioxidant properties (DPPH, ABTS free radical scavenging activities, FRAP antioxidant power), and total contents of phenolic compounds in leaves were evaluated at harvesting time. Further, harvested plant material was stored in the dark, at +6 °C, and the water content, water loss and transpiration rate, leaf sugar contents, and antioxidant properties were monitored 1, 3, and 5 days after harvesting. The summarized data suggest that higher cultivation lighting PPFD results in better harvest quality preservation during post-harvest storage.
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spelling doaj-art-4ec64094ddbc421c990bdf932cf1c2d42025-08-20T02:26:51ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722024-11-011411207910.3390/agriculture14112079Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEAAkvilė Viršilė0Ieva Gudžinskaitė1Kristina Laužikė2Gediminas Kudirka3Audrius Pukalskas4Giedrė Samuolienė5Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kėdainiai 58344, LithuaniaLithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kėdainiai 58344, LithuaniaLithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kėdainiai 58344, LithuaniaLithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kėdainiai 58344, LithuaniaLithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kėdainiai 58344, LithuaniaLithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kėdainiai 58344, LithuaniaLeafy vegetables, mainly lettuces, are currently the main crop cultivated in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), including vertical farming and plant factories. There is a rising demand to expand this portfolio with a wider variety of underutilized edible plants containing various bioactive compounds and sensory properties seeking to enrich human diets. However, the optimal cultivation conditions for these underutilized plants significantly differ from those optimized for lettuce, basil, and other popular CEA crops. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impacts of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting intensity (photosynthetic photon flux density, PPFD) on green leaf <i>Perilla frutescens</i> cultivated in CEA. Plants were grown under four levels of LED lighting PPFDs from 150 to 300 µmol m<sup>−2</sup>s<sup>−1</sup> for 4 weeks. Plant biomass productivity, soluble sugar contents, antioxidant properties (DPPH, ABTS free radical scavenging activities, FRAP antioxidant power), and total contents of phenolic compounds in leaves were evaluated at harvesting time. Further, harvested plant material was stored in the dark, at +6 °C, and the water content, water loss and transpiration rate, leaf sugar contents, and antioxidant properties were monitored 1, 3, and 5 days after harvesting. The summarized data suggest that higher cultivation lighting PPFD results in better harvest quality preservation during post-harvest storage.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2079photosynthetic photon flux densitywater contentantioxidant propertiessugar contentlight use efficiency
spellingShingle Akvilė Viršilė
Ieva Gudžinskaitė
Kristina Laužikė
Gediminas Kudirka
Audrius Pukalskas
Giedrė Samuolienė
Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEA
Agriculture
photosynthetic photon flux density
water content
antioxidant properties
sugar content
light use efficiency
title Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEA
title_full Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEA
title_fullStr Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEA
title_full_unstemmed Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEA
title_short Light Intensity Effects on Productivity and Post-Harvest Quality in <i>Perilla frutescens</i> Cultivated in CEA
title_sort light intensity effects on productivity and post harvest quality in i perilla frutescens i cultivated in cea
topic photosynthetic photon flux density
water content
antioxidant properties
sugar content
light use efficiency
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2079
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