Importance of `Blue' Photon Levels for Lettuce Seedlings Grown under Red-light-emitting Diodes

Abstract

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with high-intensity output are being studied as a photosynthetic light source for plants. High-output LEDs have peak emission at ≈660 nm concentrated in a waveband of ±30 nm. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa `Grand Rapids') seedlings developed extended hypocotyls and elongated cotyledons when grown under these LEDs as a sole source of irradiance. This extension and elongation was prevented when the red LED radiation was supplemented with more than 15 μmol·m-2·s-1 of 400- to 500-nm photons from blue fluorescent lamps. Blue radiation effects were independent of the photon level of the red radiation.