Blue Wavelengths from LED Lighting Increase Nutritionally Important Metabolites in Specialty Crops

Abstract

Light is one of the most important environmental stimuli impacting plant growth and development. Plants have evolved specialized pigment-protein complexes, commonly referred to as photoreceptors, to capture light energy to drive photosynthetic processes, as well as to respond to changes in light quality and quantity. Blue light can act as a powerful environmental signal regulating phototropisms, suppression of stem elongation, chloroplast movements, stomatal regulation, and cell membrane transport activity. An emerging application of light-emitting diode (LED) technology is for horticultural plant production in controlled environments. Work by our research group is measuring important plant responses to different wavelengths of light from LEDs. We have demonstrated positive impacts of blue wavelengths on primary and secondary metabolism in microgreen and baby leafy green brassica crops. Results show significant increases in shoot tissue pigments, glucosinolates, and essential mineral elements following exposure to higher percentages of blue wavelengths from LED lighting. The perception of energy-rich blue light by specialized plant photoreceptors appears to trigger a cascade of metabolic responses, which is supported by current research showing stimulation of primary and secondary metabolite biosynthesis following exposure to blue wavelengths. Management of the light environment may be a viable means to improve concentrations of nutritionally important primary and secondary metabolites in specialty vegetable crops.