Qing Zhou

Maize has a long generation cycle and sensitivity to photoperiod, which limit breeding efficiency. An LED plant factory with suitable light conditions provides a promising approach to overcoming challenges in speed breeding. This study optimized the LED light environment to enhance growth and tassel development in the maize inbred line from the V3 to V9 stages. Six lighting treatments were tested, combining three light intensities (800, 1200, and 1600 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and two photoperiods (10 h d⁻¹ and 12 h d⁻¹). Treatment with a light intensity of 1600 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and a photoperiod of 10 h d⁻¹ resulted in the highest shoot fresh weight (396.9 g per plant), shoot dry weight (42.4 g per plant), leaf area (51.3 dm² per plant), and stomatal length (34.6 μm), as well as improved photosystem performance. Furthermore, this treatment promoted tassel development, with the tassel length at the V9 stage being 45.8% longer than that under the treatment with a light intensity of 800 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and a photoperiod of 10 h d⁻¹. These findings establish an optimized lighting strategy that significantly enhances the growth and tassel development of maize inbred lines from the V3 to V9 stages, providing a suitable light environment for maize speed breeding in plant factory systems.

Conventional wheat breeding in the field is limited to two generations per year and is susceptible to environmental fluctuations. Speed-breeding in a plant factory offers a solution; however, recommendations for lighting strategies remain limited. To identify the optimal daily light integral (DLI) for the seedling stage, we tested three light intensities (300, 500, and 700 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and four photoperiods (10, 14, 18, and 22 h d⁻¹), resulting in DLIs ranging from 10.8 to 55.4 mol m⁻² d⁻¹. Our results indicated that an optimal DLI of 39.6 mol m⁻² d⁻¹ was associated with the highest seedling index (0.26) and root-to-shoot ratio (0.42), as well as enhanced photosystem performance. Beyond this DLI, these parameters and shoot biomass plateaued as the DLI increased. Moreover, treating seedlings with this optimal DLI of 39.6 mol m⁻² d⁻¹ (using 500 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ light intensity and a 22 h d⁻¹ photoperiod) resulted in heading and flowering 5.9 and 7.5 days earlier after transplanting, respectively, than those under the lowest DLI (10.8 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹). This study established a lighting strategy to produce high-quality seedlings and accelerate heading and flowering, thereby offering a valuable physiological framework for advancing speed-breeding systems in wheat.

Conventional micropropagation of cannabis struggles with excessive callus hyperhydration, slow growth, low rooting efficiency, and high contamination risk, all of which greatly restrict its feasibility for large-scale propagation. In contrast, photoautotrophic micropropagation (PAM) has emerged as an efficient and cost-effective propagation strategy that can significantly enhance plantlet growth and improve seedling quality by optimizing the LED lighting environment. This study investigated the effects of four light intensities (50, 100, 150, and 200 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and three photoperiods (16, 20, and 24 h d⁻¹) on the growth and rooting of two medicinal cannabis cultivars (the short-day cultivar ‘Charlotte’ and the day-neutral cultivar ‘Auto Charlotte’). Cluster analysis revealed that plantlets grown under the photoperiod of 20 h d⁻¹ and light intensity of 100–150 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ exhibited optimal growth performance in terms of plant height, root length, leaf number, leaf area, biomass, and root activity. Moreover, increasing the light intensity from 50 to 100–150 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ significantly enhanced net CO₂ exchange rates by 41.5% and 204.9% for Charlotte and Auto Charlotte, respectively, along with corresponding increases in dry matter accumulation of 44.3% and 27.9%. However, the plantlets exhibited photooxidative damage under continuous lighting and light intensity of 200 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹, as evidenced by reduced photosynthetic pigment content and suppressed antioxidant enzyme activity. Therefore, PAM of medicinal cannabis is recommended under the LED lighting environment with light intensity of 100–150 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and photoperiod of 20 h d⁻¹ to achieve optimal growth and rooting. These findings provide essential technical support for the large-scale propagation of vigorous, disease-free female plantlets with well-developed root systems and high genetic uniformity, thereby meeting the stringent quality standards for planting materials in the commercial cultivation of cannabis for medical and pharmaceutical use.

To enhance the transplants' growth and reduce energy use efficiency, Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) transplants (cv. Jingqie 21) were cultivated in a plant factory laboratory under different LED light spectrums. The experimental treatments included white plus blue LED lights (R: B=0.5, WB0.5), white LED lights (R: B=0.9, W0.9), white plus red LED lights (R: B=2.7, WR2.7), white plus red plus UV lights (R: B=3.8, WRUV3.8), and red plus blue plus green LED lights (R: B=5.4, RBG5.4). The transplants were grown for 30 d under a light intensity of 250 μmol/m2·s and a photoperiod of 16 h/d. The morphological indicators and biomass accumulation of eggplant transplants were significantly higher in the W0.9 treatment compared to the other experimental treatments. The photosynthetic quantum yield in the W0.9 treatment exhibited an increase of over 22% compared to that in the WR2.7 treatment. The shoot dry weight of the W0.9 treatment reached (381±41) mg/plant and the leaf area was (113.3±8.9) cm2, indicating a higher health index compared to the other treatments. However, there were no significant differences in the net photosynthetic rate of the leaves among all treatments. The energy yield (EY) of the W0.9 treatment was (37.7±1.8) g/kW·h, which was higher than others. Therefore, considering the high quality of transplants and the maximization of energy use efficiency, the LED light spectrum in the eggplant transplants production was recommended to the white LED light with an R: B ratio of 0.9. Keywords: eggplant transplants, LED light spectrum, growth, energy use efficiency DOI: Citation: Yang H, Wang T, Ji F, Zhou Q, Wang J F. Effects of LED light spectrum on the growth and energy use efficiency of eggplant transplants. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2023; 16(3): 23–29.

Growth, nutritional quality, and energy use efficiency in two lettuce cultivars as influenced by white plus red versus red plus blue LEDs