Supplementary LED Interlighting Improves Yield and Precocity of Greenhouse Tomatoes in the Mediterranean
Ivan Paucek,
Giuseppina Pennisi,
Alessandro Pistillo,
Elisa Appolloni,
Andrea Crepaldi,
Barbara Calegari,
Francesco Spinelli,
Antonio Cellini,
Xavier Gabarrell,
Francesco Orsini,
Giorgio Gianquinto
Affiliations
Ivan Paucek
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Giuseppina Pennisi
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Alessandro Pistillo
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Elisa Appolloni
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Andrea Crepaldi
Flytech srl, Via dell’Artigianato, 65, 32016 Alpago, Belluno, Italy
Barbara Calegari
I-POM Pellerossa, Via Cantapoiana, 12, 40054 Mezzolara di Budrio, Bologna, Italy
Francesco Spinelli
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Antonio Cellini
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Xavier Gabarrell
Sostenipra Research Group (SGR 01412), Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB) (MDM-2015-0552), Z Building, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Francesco Orsini
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Giorgio Gianquinto
DISTAL–Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
In Northern Europe, the use of light–emitting diodes (LEDs) is widely adopted in protected horticulture, enabling to enhance plant growth by ensuring needed radiative fluxes throughout seasons. Contrarily, the use of artificial lighting in Mediterranean greenhouse still finds limited applications. In this study, the effects of supplemental LED interlighting on vegetative development, fruit growth, yield, and fruit quality of high-wire tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. ‘Siranzo’) during spring and summer season were addressed in a hydroponic greenhouse in Italy. Plants were either grown under natural solar radiation (control), or by adding supplemental LED interlighting. LED treatment featured red (R) and blue (B) light (RB ratio of 3) and a photosynthetic photon flux density of 170 µmol m−2 s−1 for 16 h d−1. Supplemental LED interlighting enhanced yield as a result of increased fruit weight and dimension. While no effects on soluble solids content and fruit color at harvesting were observed, supplemental LED interlighting accelerated ripening by one week in spring and two weeks in summer and this also resulted in increased cumulated productivity (+16%) as compared to control treatment. Overall, supplemental LED interlighting can represent a feasible technology for tomato greenhouse production also in the Mediterranean region.
