scholarly journals Effect of Supplementary Light Intensity on Quality of Grafted Tomato Seedlings and Expression of Two Photosynthetic Genes and Proteins

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Wei ◽  
Jin Zhao ◽  
Jiangtao Hu ◽  
Byoung Ryong Jeong

Lower quality and longer production periods of grafted seedlings, especially grafted plug seedlings of fruit vegetables, may result from insufficient amounts of light, particularly in rainy seasons and winter. Supplemental artificial lighting may be a feasible solution to such problems. This study was conducted to evaluate light intensity’s influence on the quality of grafted tomato seedlings, ‘Super Sunload’ and ‘Super Dotaerang’ were grafted onto the ‘B-Blocking’ rootstock. To improve their quality, grafted seedlings were moved to a glasshouse and grown for 10 days. The glasshouse had a combination of natural lighting from the sun and supplemental lighting from LEDs (W1R2B2) for 16 h/day. Light intensity of natural lighting was 490 μmol·m−2·s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and that of supplemental lighting was 50, 100, or 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD. The culture environment had 30/25 °C day/night temperatures, 70% ± 5% relative humidity (RH), and a natural photoperiod of 14 h as well. Compared with quality of seedlings in supplemental lighting of 50 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD, that of seedlings in supplement lighting of 100 or 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD improved significantly. With increasing light intensity, diameter, fresh weight, and dry weight, which were used to measure shoot growth, greatly improved. Leaf area, leaf thickness, and root biomass were also greater. However, for quality of seedlings, no significant differences were discovered between supplement lighting of 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD and supplement lighting of 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD. Expressions of PsaA and PsbA (two photosynthetic genes) as well as the corresponding proteins increased significantly in supplement lightning of 100 and 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD, especially in 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD. Overall, considering quality and expressions of two photosynthetic genes and proteins, supplemental light of 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD (W1R2B1) would be the best choice to cultivate grafted tomato seedlings.

Agronomy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Wei ◽  
Jiangtao Hu ◽  
Chen Liu ◽  
Mengzhao Wang ◽  
Jin Zhao ◽  
...  

Supplementary lighting is commonly used in high-quality seedling production. In this study, grafted tomato seedlings were grown for 10 days in a glasshouse with 16-h daily supplementary lighting at 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD (Photosynthetic photon flux density) from either high-pressure sodium (HPS), metal halide (MH), far-red (FR), white LEDs (Light emitting diodes) (W), or mixed LEDs (W1R2B1, where the subscript numbers indicate the ratio of the LED chips) to determine which light sources improve the seedling quality. The control seedlings did not receive any supplementary light. Physiological parameters and the expression of genes related to photosynthesis were analyzed. The results showed that root length, biomass, number of leaves, chlorophyll (SPAD), scion dry weight to height ratio (WHR), and specific leaf weight (SLW) were the greatest for grafted seedlings grown in W1R2B1. The level of root ball formation was the greatest for seedlings grown in W1R2B1, followed by those grown in W, HPS, and MH. Seedlings grown in FR did not fare well, as they were very thin and weak. Moreover, the expression of two photosynthetic genes (PsaA and PsbA) was significantly increased by W1R2B1 and W, which suggests that the plastid or nuclear genes might be regulated. The overall results suggest that W1R2B1 was the most suitable light source to enhance the quality of grafted tomato seedlings. The results of this study could be used as a reference for seedling production in glasshouses, and may provide new insights in the research on lights affecting the development of plants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maral Hosseinzadeh ◽  
Sasan Aliniaeifard ◽  
Aida Shomali ◽  
Fardad Didaran

Abstract Biomass partitioning is one of the pivotal determinants of crop growth management, which is influenced by environmental cues. Light and CO2 are the main drivers of photosynthesis and biomass production in plants. In this study, the effects of CO2 levels: ambient 400 ppm (a[CO2]) and elevated to 1,000 ppm (e[CO2]) and different light intensities (75, 150, 300, 600 μmol·m−2·s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density – PPFD) were studied on the growth, yield, and biomass partitioning in chrysanthemum plants. The plants grown at higher light intensity had a higher dry weight (DW) of both the vegetative and floral organs. e[CO2] diminished the stimulating effect of more intensive light on the DW of vegetative organs, although it positively influenced inflorescence DW. The flowering time in plants grown at e[CO2] and light intensity of 600 μmol·m−2·s−1 occurred earlier than that of plants grown at a[CO2]. An increase in light intensity induced the allocation of biomass to inflorescence and e[CO2] enhanced the increasing effect of light on the partitioning of biomass toward the inflorescence. In both CO2 concentrations, the highest specific leaf area (SLA) was detected under the lowest light intensity, especially in plants grown at e[CO2]. In conclusion, elevated light intensity and CO2 direct the biomass toward inflorescence in chrysanthemum plants.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 537
Author(s):  
Meifang Gao ◽  
Rui He ◽  
Rui Shi ◽  
Yiting Zhang ◽  
Shiwei Song ◽  
...  

To produce high-quality broccoli microgreens, suitable light intensity for growth and phytochemical contents of broccoli microgreens in an artificial light plant factory were studied. Broccoli microgreens were irradiated under different photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD): 30, 50, 70 and 90 μmol·m−2·s−1 with red: green: blue = 1:1:1 light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The broccoli microgreens grown under 50 μmol·m−2·s−1 had the highest fresh weight, dry weight, and moisture content, while the phytochemical contents were the lowest. With increasing light intensity, the chlorophyll content increased, whereas the carotenoid content decreased. The contents of soluble protein, soluble sugar, free amino acid, flavonoid, vitamin C, and glucosinolates except for progoitrin in broccoli microgreens were higher under 70 μmol·m−2·s−1. Overall, 50 μmol·m−2·s−1 was the optimal light intensity for enhancement of growth of broccoli microgreens, while 70 μmol·m−2·s−1 was more feasible for improving the phytochemicals of broccoli microgreens in an artificial light plant factory.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Wei ◽  
Mengzhao Wang ◽  
Byoung Ryong Jeong

Insufficient exposure to light in the winter may result in a longer production periods and lower quality of seedlings in greenhouses for plug growers. Supplementary artificial lighting to plug seedlings may be one solution to this problem. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of the duration of the supplementary light on the growth and development of two watermelon cultivars, ‘Speed’ and ‘Sambok Honey’ grafted onto ‘RS-Dongjanggun’ bottle gourd rootstocks (Lagenaria siceraria Stanld). Seedlings were grown for 10 days in a glasshouse with an average daily natural light intensity of 340 μmol·m−2·s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and daily supplementary lighting of 8, 12 or 16 h from mixed LEDs (W1R2B1, chip ratio of white:red:blue = 1:2:1) at a light intensity of 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD, a group without supplementary light was set as the control (CK). The culture environment in a glasshouse had 25/15 °C day/night temperatures, an 85 ± 5% relative humidity, and a natural photoperiod of 8 h. The results showed that all the growth and development parameters of seedlings grown with supplementary light were significantly greater than those without supplementary light (CK). The 12 and 16 h supplementary light resulted in greater growth and development parameters than the 8 h supplementary light did. The same trend was also found with the indexes that reflect the quality of the seedlings, such as the dry weight ratio of the shoot and root, total biomass, dry weight to height ratio of scions, and specific leaf weight. The 12 h and 16 h light supplements resulted in greater Dickson’s quality indexes compared to the 8 h supplementary light, and the 12 h supplementary light showed the greatest use efficiency of the supplementary light. 16 h of daily supplementary light significantly increased the H2O2 content and the antioxidant enzyme activities in seedlings compared to the other treatments. This indicated that 16 h of supplementary light led to certain stresses in watermelon seedlings. In conclusion, considering the energy consumption, 12 h of supplementary light was the most efficient in improving the quality of the two cultivars of grafted watermelon plug seedlings.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Tengyue Zou ◽  
Chuanhui Huang ◽  
Pengfei Wu ◽  
Long Ge ◽  
Yong Xu

Artificial LED source provides the possibility to regulate the lighting environment in plant factorys that use limited space to plant, aiming at high throughput and good quality. However, different parameters of light intensity, quality, and photoperiod will influence the growth and accumulation of bio-compounds in plants. In order to find the optimal setting of LED light for spinach planting, four group experiments were designed using the orthogonal testing method. According to the experimental results, for growth indexes including fresh weight, dry weight, root length and so on, photoperiod is the most influential factor, light intensity is the second, and light quality is the least. The best light mode (R:B = 4:1, photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) = 100 μmol∙m−2∙s−1 and 13/11 h) among all eight possible combinations in the range was also determined. Furthermore, for quality indexes, including the soluble sugar content, protein content and so on, a new scoring method was introduced to make a comprehensive score for evaluating. Then, the light combination (R:B = 4:1, PPFD = 150 μmol∙m−2∙s−1 and 9/15 h) in the range was found as the optimal scheme for spinach quality under those parameters. As there is trade-off between the optimal light parameters for growth and quality, it is necessary to achieve a balance between yield and quality of the plant during production. If farmers want to harvest spinach with larger leaf area and higher yield, they need to pay attention to the adjustment of the photoperiod and use a lower light intensity and a longer lighting time. If they do not mind the yield of the vegetable but want to improve the taste and nutrition of spinach products, they should pay more attention to the light intensity and use a higher light intensity and a shorter lighting time.


Horticulturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Triston Hooks ◽  
Joseph Masabni ◽  
Ling Sun ◽  
Genhua Niu

Blue light and ultra-violet (UV) light have been shown to influence plant growth, morphology, and quality. In this study, we investigated the effects of pre-harvest supplemental lighting using UV-A and blue (UV-A/Blue) light and red and blue (RB) light on growth and nutritional quality of lettuce grown hydroponically in two greenhouse experiments. The RB spectrum was applied pre-harvest for two days or nights, while the UV-A/Blue spectrum was applied pre-harvest for two or four days or nights. All pre-harvest supplemental lighting treatments had a same duration of 12 h with a photon flux density (PFD) of 171 μmol m−2 s−1. Results of both experiments showed that pre-harvest supplemental lighting using UV A/Blue or RB light can increase the growth and nutritional quality of lettuce grown hydroponically. The enhancement of lettuce growth and nutritional quality by the pre-harvest supplemental lighting was more effective under low daily light integral (DLI) compared to a high DLI and tended to be more effective when applied during the night, regardless of spectrum.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Liu ◽  
Shuo Zhao ◽  
Pengli Li ◽  
Yilu Yin ◽  
Qingliang Niu ◽  
...  

AbstractIn plants, alternative splicing (AS) is markedly induced in response to environmental stresses, but it is unclear why plants generate multiple transcripts under stress conditions. In this study, RNA-seq was performed to identify AS events in cucumber seedlings grown under different light intensities. We identified a novel transcript of the gibberellin (GA)-deactivating enzyme Gibberellin 2-beta-dioxygenase 8 (CsGA2ox8). Compared with canonical CsGA2ox8.1, the CsGA2ox8.2 isoform presented intron retention between the second and third exons. Functional analysis proved that the transcript of CsGA2ox8.1 but not CsGA2ox8.2 played a role in the deactivation of bioactive GAs. Moreover, expression analysis demonstrated that both transcripts were upregulated by increased light intensity, but the expression level of CsGA2ox8.1 increased slowly when the light intensity was >400 µmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density), while the CsGA2ox8.2 transcript levels increased rapidly when the light intensity was >200 µmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD. Our findings provide evidence that plants might finely tune their GA levels by buffering against the normal transcripts of CsGA2ox8 through AS.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Frank P. Henning ◽  
Timothy J. Smalley ◽  
Orville M. Lindstrom ◽  
John M. Ruter

We investigated the influences of fall fertilization and light intensity on photosynthesis and freeze resistance of Rhododendron ×kurume ‘Pink Pearl’, an evergreen azalea cultivar, grown outdoors in containers under nursery conditions. The study included two main-plot fall fertilization treatments: 1) 0.5 liter solution containing 75 mg·liter−1 N applied for 60 days from August 1 through September 29 and 2) 0.5 liter solution containing 125 mg·liter−1 N applied for 120 days from August 1 through November 28, and four subplot light intensity treatments 1) 100% ambient photon flux density (PPFD) from May 1, 2004, through May 1, 2005, 2) shade fabric rated to reduce PPFD by 50% from May 1 through September 30, 2004, followed by 100% PPFD from October 1, 2004, through May 1, 2005, 3) 100% PPFD from May 1 through September 30, 2004, followed by 50% PPFD from October 1, 2004, through May 1, 2005, and 4) 50% PPFD from May 1, 2004, through May 1, 2005. Fertilizer application and shade treatments did not interact in their effects on stem freeze resistance or the timing of anthesis. The high rate of extended fertigation (125 mg·liter−1 N applied August 1 through September 28) reduced freeze resistance of azalea stems and advanced anthesis by 4.9 days compared to plants that received moderate fertigation (75 mg·liter−1 N from August 1 through September 29). The high rate of extended fall fertigation failed to increase leaf or stem dry weight compared to plants that received the moderate rate of fertigation. Plants grown in 50% PPFD from May 1 through September 30 produced 163% more above ground dry weight compared to plants grown in 100% light during the same time period. The addition or removal of shade cloth beginning October 1 failed to enhance azalea stem freeze resistance compared to plants that were only exposed to 100 or 50% PPFD respectively. Shade treatments affected the chlorophyll fluorescence ratio (Fv · Fm−1) of leaves, but leaf fluorescence was unrelated to stem freeze resistance. Shade treatments affected azalea growth and photosynthetic stress, but shade neither interacted with fall fertilization to increase stem freeze resistance, nor had a biologically significant effect on stem freeze resistance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1321-1330
Author(s):  
Jaimin S. Patel ◽  
Leora Radetsky ◽  
Mark S. Rea

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is primarily used for culinary purposes, but it is also used in the fragrance and medicinal industries. In the last few years, global sweet basil production has been significantly impacted by downy mildew caused by Peronospora belbahrii Thines. Nighttime exposure to red light has been shown to inhibit sporulation of P. belbahrii. The objective of this study was to determine if nighttime exposure to red light from light-emitting diodes (λmax = 625 nm) could increase plant growth (plant height and leaf size) and yield (number and weight of leaves) in basil plants. In two sets of greenhouse experiments, red light was applied at a photosynthetic photon flux density of 60 μmol m−2 s−1 during the otherwise dark night for 10 h (from 2000 to 0600). The results demonstrate that exposure to red light at night can increase the number of basil leaves per plant, plant height, leaf size (length and width), and leaf fresh and dry weight compared with plants in darkness at night. The addition of incremental red light at night has the potential to be cost-effective for fresh organic basil production in controlled environments.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippos Bantis ◽  
Athanasios Koukounaras ◽  
Anastasios S. Siomos ◽  
Kalliopi Radoglou ◽  
Christodoulos Dangitsis

Watermelon is cultivated worldwide and is mainly grafted onto interspecific squash rootstocks. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can be implemented as light sources during indoor production of both species and their spectral quality is of great importance. The objective of the present study was to determine the optimal emission of LEDs with wide wavelength for the production of watermelon and interspecific squash seedlings in a growth chamber. Conditions were set at 22/20 °C temperature (day/night), 16 h photoperiod, and 85 ± 5 μmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density. Illumination was provided by fluorescent (FL, T0) lamps or four LEDs (T1, T2, T3, and T4) emitting varying wide spectra. Watermelon seedlings had greater shoot length, stem diameter, cotyledon area, shoot dry weight-to-length (DW/L) ratio, and Dickson’s quality index (DQI) under T1 and T3, while leaf area and shoot dry weight (DW) had higher values under T1. Interspecific squash seedlings had greater stem diameter, and shoot and root DW under T1 and T3, while leaf and cotyledon areas were favored under T1. In both species, T0 showed inferior development. It could be concluded that a light source with high red emission, relatively low blue emission, and a red:far-red ratio of about 3 units seems ideal for the production of high-quality watermelon (scion) and interspecific squash (rootstock) seedlings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document