The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been widely applied in the controlled environment agriculture, which are characterized by relatively narrow-band spectra and energetical efficiency. Most recently, the spectrum of Sunlike LEDs has been engineered and it closely resembles solar spectrum in the range...

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Main Authors: Jie ZOU, Cheng-bo ZHOU, Hong XU, Rui-feng CHENG, Qi-chang YANG, Tao LI
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2020-08-01
Series:Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311920632099
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author Jie ZOU
Cheng-bo ZHOU
Hong XU
Rui-feng CHENG
Qi-chang YANG
Tao LI
author_facet Jie ZOU
Cheng-bo ZHOU
Hong XU
Rui-feng CHENG
Qi-chang YANG
Tao LI
author_sort Jie ZOU
collection DOAJ
description Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been widely applied in the controlled environment agriculture, which are characterized by relatively narrow-band spectra and energetical efficiency. Most recently, the spectrum of Sunlike LEDs has been engineered and it closely resembles solar spectrum in the range of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm). To investigate how plant growth responses to the spectrum of Sunlike LEDs, cucumber and lettuce plants were cultivated and their responses were compared with the conventional white LEDs as well as composite of red and blue LEDs (RB, R/B ratio was 9:1). We observed that although Sunlike LEDs resulted in a longer stem in cucumber, dry weight and leaf area were similar as those under RB LEDs, and significantly higher than those under white LEDs. Moreover, cucumber leaves grown under Sunlike and white LEDs showed higher photosynthetic capacity than those grown under RB LEDs. For lettuce, plants grown under Sunlike LEDs showed larger leaf area and higher dry weight than the other two treatments. However, the leaf photosynthetic capacity of lettuce grown under Sunlike LEDs was the lowest. In this context, the spectrum induced plant functions are species-dependent. Furthermore, the three types of LEDs show distinct light spectra and they are different in many aspects. Therefore, it is difficult to attribute the different plant responses to certain specific light spectra. We conclude that plants grown under Sunlike LEDs exhibit larger leaf area, which may be due to some specific spectrum distributions (such as more far-red radiation), and consequently are favorable for light interception and therefore result in greater production.
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spelling doaj-art-70b276d7933a443faefbcef374af99a12025-08-20T03:56:13ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Journal of Integrative Agriculture2095-31192020-08-011982027203410.1016/S2095-3119(20)63209-9The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environmentJie ZOU0Cheng-bo ZHOU1Hong XU2Rui-feng CHENG3Qi-chang YANG4Tao LI5Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R.ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R.ChinaSonneteck Technology Co., Ltd., Xiamen 361000, P.R.ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R.ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R.ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R.China; Correspondence LI Tao, Tel: +86-10-82105983Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been widely applied in the controlled environment agriculture, which are characterized by relatively narrow-band spectra and energetical efficiency. Most recently, the spectrum of Sunlike LEDs has been engineered and it closely resembles solar spectrum in the range of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm). To investigate how plant growth responses to the spectrum of Sunlike LEDs, cucumber and lettuce plants were cultivated and their responses were compared with the conventional white LEDs as well as composite of red and blue LEDs (RB, R/B ratio was 9:1). We observed that although Sunlike LEDs resulted in a longer stem in cucumber, dry weight and leaf area were similar as those under RB LEDs, and significantly higher than those under white LEDs. Moreover, cucumber leaves grown under Sunlike and white LEDs showed higher photosynthetic capacity than those grown under RB LEDs. For lettuce, plants grown under Sunlike LEDs showed larger leaf area and higher dry weight than the other two treatments. However, the leaf photosynthetic capacity of lettuce grown under Sunlike LEDs was the lowest. In this context, the spectrum induced plant functions are species-dependent. Furthermore, the three types of LEDs show distinct light spectra and they are different in many aspects. Therefore, it is difficult to attribute the different plant responses to certain specific light spectra. We conclude that plants grown under Sunlike LEDs exhibit larger leaf area, which may be due to some specific spectrum distributions (such as more far-red radiation), and consequently are favorable for light interception and therefore result in greater production.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311920632099cucumberleaf photosynthesislettuceplant morphologySunlike LEDs
spellingShingle Jie ZOU
Cheng-bo ZHOU
Hong XU
Rui-feng CHENG
Qi-chang YANG
Tao LI
The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment
Journal of Integrative Agriculture
cucumber
leaf photosynthesis
lettuce
plant morphology
Sunlike LEDs
title The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment
title_full The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment
title_fullStr The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment
title_full_unstemmed The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment
title_short The effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment
title_sort effect of artificial solar spectrum on growth of cucumber and lettuce under controlled environment
topic cucumber
leaf photosynthesis
lettuce
plant morphology
Sunlike LEDs
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311920632099
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