scholarly journals Light spectrum affects growth and gas exchange of common dandelion and purple coneflower seedlings

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato Castronuovo ◽  
Adriano Sofo ◽  
Stella Lovelli ◽  
Vincenzo Candido ◽  
Antonio Scopa

Artificial light, supplied by fluorescent lamps, has been effectively utilized in controlled- environment chambers for horticulture and floriculture nursery. This experiment aimed at investigating whether light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have the same effectiveness on plant morphology, photosynthetic and physiological responses as FLUORA lamps. Seedlings of common dandelion (<em>Taraxacum</em> <em>officinale</em>) and purple coneflower (<em>Echinacea</em> <em>purpurea</em>), species of high interest for their nutraceutical properties, were grown in controlled-environment chambers for 50 days under LED and FLUORA light sources as sole-source lighting systems, and the effects of artificial light supplies on plant photosynthetic performance and chlorophyll content (SPAD) were evaluated. The results were compared to plants grown under natural sunlight. In both species, total chlorophyll content (SPAD) values decreased for plants under sunlight, and for those grown under FLUORA lighting throughout the experimental period, while the values measured for plants grown under LEDs maintained a relatively constant value. At the end of the experiment, plant dry matter in both species was significantly lower under LEDs and FLUORA lighting, than the plants exposed to solar light. The two species showed different gas exchange dynamics under LEDs and FLUORA lighting, and photosynthetic performance decreasing after 10 days of light treatment compared to plants under sunlight. The results demonstrated that for common dandelion and purple coneflower photosynthetic processes are often modified when the species are cultivated under these artificial lighting and in controlled- environment chambers, because lamps do not able to generate the same spectrum and energy of sunlight.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
Bruna N. Leite ◽  
Karla Gabrielle D. Pinto ◽  
Victor Alexandre H. F. dos Santos ◽  
Marciel J. Ferreira ◽  
Sônia Maria F. Albertino

The unsuitable use of herbicides damages many cultures. In cases of high infestations and presence of aggressive weed species in guarana (Paullinia cupana) culture, glyphosate application is advisable, but its impact on guarana physiology is unknown. Therefore, leaf photosynthetic characteristics were measured with the aim of identifying if the photosynthetic performance of guaranazeiro plants is affected in response to glyphosate application. Three glyphosate doses (0 (control); 324 and 432 g a.i. ha-1) were applied to two guaranazeiro cultivars (BRS-Andir&aacute; and BRS-Mau&eacute;s) selected on the basis of productive performance. An analysis was made of the effects of these doses on characteristics that represent the photosynthetic process: gas exchange, maximum quantum efficiency of PSII, performance index and chlorophyll content. The application of glyphosate did not affect the short-term responses relative chlorophyll content (SPAD index) and light use (chlorophyll a fluorescence). After 168 h, there were changes only in gas exchange variables. The effects of glyphosate doses on gas exchange was different between guaranazeiro cultivars. The photosynthetic performance of the guaranazeiro seems to be tolerant to the effects of short-term of glyphosate application.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato Castronuovo ◽  
Adriano Sofo ◽  
Stella Lovelli ◽  
Vincenzo Candido ◽  
Antonio Scopa

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light (100 ≤ λ ≤ 280 nm) is a ionizing radiation that can damage living organisms. An experiment was conducted on plants of common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber, T. Densleonis Desf.) and purple coneflower [Echinacea purpurea, (L.) Moench] irradiated with UV-C at different exposition times, under controlled conditions and grown in self-produced characterized compost, to assess the effect of different doses UV-C radiation on some physiological parameters. Trials have been carried out using a black chamber equipped with an UV-C lamp in which plants were divided in four groups on the basis of UV-C irradiation period (10, 30, 60, and 120 min). Non-irradiated plants were kept as controls. Plant photosynthetic performance, chlorophyll content (SPAD) and some morphologic traits were recorded before, immediately after irradiations and 20 days weeks later. The effects on photosynthetic performances and chlorophyll contents (SPAD) were evaluated and compared with data obtained in similar experiments where tomato plants were irradiated at different times with UVC light. In both species, SPAD values decreased as the irradiation period became longer. The two species showed different gas exchange dynamics, depending on the UV-C exposure time. Two months after the UV-C irradiation, plant dry weight measured at 120-min UV-C exposure was significantly lower than the control.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-210
Author(s):  
Nursalmeeyah Etae ◽  
Yarodah Wamae ◽  
Weeraya Khummueng ◽  
Tanyarath Utaipan ◽  
Eaknarin Ruangrak

ABSTRACT The artificial light source is one of the most important factors in a controlled environment for vegetable production. It could provide new opportunities to improve growth and increase phytochemicals content in vegetables. Therefore, this study focused on the effects of artificial light sources on growth and phytochemicals in green oak lettuce (Lactuca sativa). The plants were grown under growth chamber with three artificial light sources, namely bar-LED (the 1:1:1 ratio of blue 460 nm : red 630 nm : red 660 nm), bulb-LED (the 2:1:1 ratio of blue 460 nm : red 630 nm : red 660 nm), and fluorescent lamp (FL) (the wavelength range 380-700 nm) for 4 weeks. The quality of bar-LED light was better than either bulb-LED or FL, when assessed by the parameters of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD, 400-700 nm), PPFD-B (blue, 400-500 nm), PPFD-R (red, 600-700 nm), the yield photon flux density (YPFD), and the color of red. However, shoot and root (fresh and dry mass), leaf area, leaf number, and shoot/root ratio did not significantly differ between plants grown under bar-LED and bulb-LED, but they were significantly higher than plants grown under FL. Bulb-LED and bar-LED induced larger dry mass of the plants than FL. The dry mass per mole of artificial lighting was highest in plants grown under bar-LED. On the other hand, the fresh mass per mole of artificial lighting was highest in plants grown under bulb-LED. As regards power consumption, bar-LED provided the lowest consumption with 44.4% energy saving over the FL. Total phenolic content, 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activities were highest in plants grown under bar-LED. FL lighting gave the least contents of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll a + b. However, chlorophyll b and carotenoid contents did not significantly differ among the treatments. Thus, the results suggested that bar-LED has the potential to improve energy saving, and both growth and phytochemicals content of green oak lettuce grown in a controlled environment of vegetable production.


2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Hughes ◽  
William K. Smith

Leaves of many evergreen species turn red when exposed to high sunlight during winter due to production of photoprotective anthocyanin pigments, while leaves of other species, lacking anthocyanin, remain green. Why some evergreen species synthesise anthocyanin pigments while others do not is currently unknown. Furthermore, the relative photosynthetic performance of anthocyanic (red) and acyanic (green) evergreens has yet to be described. Here we present seasonal ecophysiological data for five red and green broadleaf evergreen species. We hypothesise that species which synthesise anthocyanins in winter leaves correspond to those with the most drastic seasonal photosynthetic declines, as reduced energy sinks increase vulnerability to photoinhibition and need for photoprotection. Our results did not support this hypothesis, as gas exchange measurements showed no difference in mean seasonal photosynthetic capacity between red- and green-leafed species. Consistent with anthocyanin’s shading effect, red-leafed species had significantly higher chlorophyll content, lower chlorophyll a/b ratios, and higher maximum light capture efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) than green-leafed species during the winter, but not during the summer (when all leaves were green). We conclude that anthocyanin production during winter is likely not associated with diminished photosynthetic capacity, and may simply represent an alternative photoprotective strategy utilised by some species during winter.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fong-Lee Ng ◽  
Siew-Moi Phang ◽  
Boon Leong Lan ◽  
Vineetha Kalavally ◽  
Cheng-Han Thong ◽  
...  

Abstract The biophotovoltaic cell (BPV) is deemed to be a potent green energy device as it demonstrates the generation of renewable energy from microalgae; however, inadequate electron generation from microalgae is a significant impediment for functional employment of these cells. The photosynthetic process is not only affected by the temperature, CO2 concentration and light intensity but also the spectrum of light. Thus, a detailed understanding of the influences of light spectrum is essential. Accordingly, we developed spectrally optimized light using programmable LED arrays (PLA)s to study the effect on algae growth and bioelectricity generation. Chlorella is a green microalga and contains chlorophyll-a (chl-a), which is the major light harvesting pigment that absorbs light in the blue and red spectrum. In this study, Chlorella is grown under a PLA which can optimally simulate the absorption spectrum of the pigments in Chlorella. This experiment investigated the growth, photosynthetic performance and bioelectricity generation of Chlorella when exposed to an optimally-tuned light spectrum. The algal BPV performed better under PLA with a peak power output of 0.581 mW m−2 for immobilized BPV device on day 8, which is an increase of 188% compared to operation under a conventional white LED light source. The photosynthetic performance, as measured using pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) fluorometry, showed that the optimized spectrum from the PLA gave an increase of 72% in the rETRmax value (190.5 μmol electrons m−2 s−1), compared with the conventional white light source. Highest algal biomass (1100 mg L−1) was achieved in the immobilized system on day eight, which translates to a carbon fixation of 550 mg carbon L−1. When artificial light is used for the BPV system, it should be optimized with the light spectrum and intensity best suited to the absorption capability of the pigments in the cells. Optimum artificial light source with algal BPV device can be integrated into a power management system for low power application (eg. environment sensor for indoor agriculture system).


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1211
Author(s):  
Barbara Frąszczak ◽  
Monika Kula-Maximenko

The spectrum of light significantly influences the growth of plants cultivated in closed systems. Five lettuce cultivars with different leaf colours were grown under white light (W, 170 μmol m−2 s−1) and under white light with the addition of red (W + R) or blue light (W + B) (230 μmol m−2 s−1). The plants were grown until they reached the seedling phase (30 days). Each cultivar reacted differently to the light spectrum applied. The red-leaved cultivar exhibited the strongest plasticity in response to the spectrum. The blue light stimulated the growth of the leaf surface in all the plants. The red light negatively influenced the length of leaves in the cultivars, but it positively affected their number in red and dark-green lettuce. It also increased the relative chlorophyll content and fresh weight gain in the cultivars containing anthocyanins. When the cultivars were grown under white light, they had longer leaves and higher value of the leaf shape index. The light-green cultivars had a greater fresh weight. Both the addition of blue and red light significantly increased the relative chlorophyll content in the dark-green cultivar. The spectrum enhanced with blue light had positive influence on most of the parameters under analysis in butter lettuce cultivars. These cultivars were also characterised by the highest absorbance of blue light.


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