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Open access
Research Article
23 February 2017

Effects of blue and red LED lights on soilless cultivated strawberry growth performances and fruit quality

Summary

The use of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for protected cultures is quickly growing during the last years. Recent research have demonstrated that it is possible to use LEDs alone and in combination with other lighting systems to manipulate plant behavior, productivity and crop quality. Nevertheless, our knowledge on the use of single color LEDs to control plant growth and yield is still scarce. In our experiment, the effects of three different lighting systems (LED blue, LED red and fluorescence neon tubes as control) on soilless cultivated strawberry growth and fruit quality were evaluated. Results showed that LED blue light (400-500 nm) induced a higher biomass accumulation, especially at root and crown level. Moreover, LED blue treated plants showed a 25% enhanced fruit set that caused a relevant higher final yield (65 g plant-1) as compared to control and red LED treated plants (45 and 35 g plant-1 respectively). Fruit main quality traits were not modified by treatments, the only differences being in fruit color (blue and red LED treated strawberries showed a less saturated color) and anthocyanin concentration (lower level of pelargonidin-3-glucoside in both blue and red LED treated fruits as compared to the control ones). Based on these results we suggest that the use of blue light can be feasible to enhance yield, while maintaining fruit quality, in protected strawberry cultivation systems.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

82Number 1
Pages: 12 - 20

History

Published online: 23 February 2017
Issue publication date: 23 February 2017
Received: 20 September 2024
Accepted: 20 December 2024

Keywords

  1. anthocyanins
  2. growth chamber
  3. single color light
  4. phenolic compounds
  5. strawberry quality

Language

English

Authors

Affiliations

S. Nadalini
Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bolzano-Bozen, Italy
P. Zucchi
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Technology Transfer Centre, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy
C. Andreotti [email protected]
Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bolzano-Bozen, Italy

Notes

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

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