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The provision of fresh foodstuffs in extreme conditions is almost entirely dependent on the state of artificial lighting technology for indoor farming. The primary technological challenges associated with this approach are twofold: the substantial energy consumption and the paucity of information regarding optimal lighting procedures to maximize crop yields. This underscores the clear advantage of light-emitting diode (LED) technology in this domain, enabling the requisite degree of control over the indoor farming environment.
It is evident that utilizing unoptimised LED arrays instead of solar light constitutes a stress factor for plants. This is due to the fact that they do not encompass the complete spectrum of sunlight and are thus unable to adequately substitute for it. It is evident that plants are capable of perceiving numerous parameters of ambient light signals, including quantity, quality, direction, and duration. However, the influence of the spectral quality of light remains to be fully elucidated. Consequently, the study of the influence of the spectral composition of artificial light on plant growth has become a highly relevant issue. Microgreens, in addition to green algae, are considered to be valuable and highly convenient experimental models for such research due to their compact size and rapid growth rate.
The objective of this study was to compare the effects of light spectral composition and intensity on the growth of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) microgreens and green algae Haematococcus pluvialis, a promising source of astaxanthin. Six combinations of LED light sources were utilised: red light, blue light, white light, blue-red light (50%-50%), white-red light (50%-50%), and white-red-blue light (60%-30%-10%).
It was demonstrated that the spectral composition of the LED arrays exerted a significant influence on plant growth. Specifically, it was found that for sunflower microgreens, maximum wet mass was achieved under pure blue light and a combination of white and red, while the combination of blue and red demonstrated the lowest growth. It is noteworthy that a twofold reduction in light intensity resulted in an increase in plant wet mass for all six spectral combinations. It can be explained by a response to a stress factor, as evidenced by the observation that while leaf size remained constant, stem length increased, leading to an overall increase in wet mass.
In the case of Haematococcus pluvialis, it has been demonstrated that the implementation of white light fosters substantial culture growth, characterised by augmented cell density. However, it does not stimulate an increase in astaxanthin production. Concurrently, the utilization of high-intensity blue light induced the accumulation of secondary carotenoids, notably astaxanthin. However, this stimulation was accompanied by a detrimental effect on culture growth. It is evident that further research is required for ascertain the optimal conditions.
In conclusion, it can be deduced that the composition of artificial lighting generated by LED arrays exerts a substantial influence on the growth of both higher and lower plants. This clearly demonstrates that ensuring safety in extreme conditions requires further development of both specialised LED modules and lighting methods that are optimised for specific agricultural crops.
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