Effects of LED light on the production of strawberry during cultivation in a plastic greenhouse and in a growth chamber

Abstract

This study was aimed at investigating the production of phytochemicals that determine fruit quality, and evaluating growth characteristics of mature strawberry plants during cultivation under three different wavelengths (blue, red and blue plus red) of LED light. Cultivation was conducted in two separate locations, namely, a growth chamber (GC) illuminated with LED lights as the sole light source and a plastic greenhouse (PG) which was given supplemental LED light in addition to ambient light. It was noted that leaves of plants cultivated in the GC under LED lights displayed elevated levels of chlorophyll compared with those cultivated in the PG. In contrast, plants cultivated in the PG with supplementary LED lights yielded much higher production of fruits than those cultivated in the GC. Moreover, fruits harvested in the PG were demonstrated to contain higher levels of organic acids than those harvested in the GC. When the effects of different LED lights were examined, a remarkably higher production of fruits was achieved in the PG when ambient light was supplemented with either blue LED light or combined blue and red LED light. Furthermore, it was also noted that greater accumulation of organic acids and phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds were observed in the fruits that had been cultivated in the PG when ambient light was supplemented with either red LED light or combined blue and red LED lights. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.