Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (May 2024)
Optimizing photosynthetic photon flux density and light quality for maximizing space use efficacy in edamame at the vegetative growth stage
Abstract
Compared with conventional crop cultivation in greenhouses or fields, plant factories with artificial light (PFAL) have advantages in the highly efficient use of space, energy, and resources available for cultivation. However, few studies on environmental controls for improving the space use efficacy (SUE) of PFAL in the production of edamame, a vegetable soybean, have been reported. Therefore, developing an environmental control method for high productivity with minimal space and energy requirements is of high priority. The aims of this study were to (1) identify the optimal photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and light quality to enhance the SUE of edamame at the vegetative growth stage, and (2) examine the effects of PPFD, light quality, and their interaction on edamame plant growth at the vegetative stage. SUE is defined as the crop biomass produced per unit cubic volume of cultivation during the growth period. We examined three PPFD treatments (300, 500, and 700 μmol m−2 s−1) with three color temperature LED lamps (3,000, 5,000, and 6,500 K), for a total of nine treatments. The results demonstrated that, under the same light quality treatment, higher PPFDs resulted in larger fresh and dry weights of all organs, higher stem length, and lower specific leaf area. Under the same PPFD treatment, a high ratio of blue (400–499 nm) to red (600–699 nm) photon flux density increased the plant height but decreased the projected leaf area. The values of SUE at 700 μmol m−2 s−1 increased by 213, 163, and 92% with 3,000, 5,000, and 6,500 K, respectively compared with those at 300 μmol m−2 s−1. The values of SUE at 700 μmol m−2 s−1 increased by 34 and 23% in 5,000 and 6,500 K treatments, respectively compared with that in the 3,000 K treatment. In conclusion, a combination of 700 μmol m−2 s−1 PPFD and 5,000 K color temperature is the suitable condition to increase the SUE of edamame at the vegetative growth stage in a PFAL.
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