The Effects Of Artificial Light On Plant Growth?

Artificial light, including LED lights, is a growing concern for plants due to its lower intensity and less red and blue light compared to sunlight. These lights are widely used in indoor growth chambers to cultivate various plants, particularly horticultural crops. The physical properties of light, such as spectral quality, irradiance, intensity, and photoperiod, play a significant role in plant morphogenesis, growth, and metabolism.

This article provides an overview of the effects of artificial lighting on plant growth and photomorphogenesis in vegetable and ornamental crops. It also discusses the relationship between artificial light at night (ALAN) and biological interactions. With the increasing demand for natural products and the growing world population, controlled growing systems using artificial lighting are becoming more prevalent. Light-emitting diode lamps can optimize lighting conditions in artificial growing environments, allowing for precise resource management.

The study found evidence for plant trait-mediated ALAN, where different colors of ALAN indirectly affect insect herbivory by changing plant traits for two plant species. Artificial light can help plants, especially in low-light environments, by providing all the light they would have outdoors. However, artificial lighting can also improve the quality of light plants receive, promoting root growth and plant compactness.

Additionally, adding a small amount of blue light to red light can inhibit plant growth, while blue light generally stimulates growth. T5 HO tubes are available that produce color values, but indoor artificial lighting conditions can stunt plant growth. Therefore, the influx of natural light indoors is crucial for maintaining healthy plant growth.

Why do plants grow better with less light?

Light slows stem elongation through hormones, while darkness does not. Seeds in dark-grown conditions rely on stored chemical energy from their cells, while light-grown seeds only partially rely on stored energy and start harnessing solar energy as their chloroplasts develop. Light-grown seeds have more developed leaves, rigid cell walls, and are less flimsy than dark-grown plants. In the classroom, using a problem with 2-3 central questions can elicit student thinking and lead discussions. Students should notice what is happening, whether their prediction is supported by the video, and why or why not.

How does light affect the growth of a plant?

Light intensity significantly impacts plant growth, stem length, leaf color, and flowering. Plants grown in low light tend to be spindly with light green leaves, while those grown in very bright light have shorter, better branches, and larger, dark green leaves. Plants can be classified according to their light needs, such as high, medium, and low light requirements. The light intensity received by indoor plants depends on the proximity of the light source, with southern exposures having the most intense light.

Eastern and western exposures receive about 60% of the intensity of southern exposures, while northern exposures receive 20%. Other factors like curtains, trees outside the window, weather, season, shade from other buildings, and window cleanliness also affect light intensity. Reflective surfaces inside homes or offices increase light intensity, while dark surfaces decrease it. Day length is also important, with some plants flowering only when days are 11 hours or less, while others are not sensitive to day length at all.

How does artificial light affect biodiversity?

Artificial lights can create a fatal attraction to insects, negatively impacting all species that rely on them for food or pollination. Predators can exploit this attraction, affecting food webs in unexpected ways. To learn more about light pollution’s impact on wildlife and ecosystems, explore the Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) Database, which provides the latest scientific literature on the subject. To protect the natural nighttime environment, join DarkSky’s global network of advocates working to protect the night from light pollution.

By taking the DarkSky 101 training, you will be invited to join DarkSky’s global communication platform, access exclusive advocate resources, and participate in additional monthly advocate training on various aspects of light pollution and dark sky conservation.

How does artificial lighting affect nature?

Light pollution is a significant issue that can harm wildlife and ecosystems by mimicking or confusing natural light signals. This can lead to mistimed activity, disturbed sleep, and poor navigation. An animated video illustrates the harmful consequences of artificial light pollution on wildlife, such as possums and other animals. It emphasizes the importance of adopting best practices to reduce light pollution and promotes the use of natural light signals to ensure the health and well-being of wildlife.

Can crops grow with artificial light?

Artificial lighting, particularly LED technology adapted to the specific needs of agriculture, is being employed in indoor farming to supplant sunlight, offering precise control of light for enhanced plant growth and consistent year-round production. Furthermore, this method reduces the energy expenditure associated with cooling, thereby offering an effective solution for indoor farming.

How does artificial light affect?

Research indicates that humans need to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm, which is regulated by around 10-15 of human genes. However, exposure to artificial light at night can disrupt this rhythm and lead to various medical issues, including depression, insomnia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Melatonin production, a hormone produced during dark hours, is also affected by artificial light, leading to insomnia, poor sleep quality, mood disturbances, and brain function issues.

Difficulties in regulating the circadian rhythm can result in sleep disorders like sleep-work disorder and sleep-phase disorder. Blue light, particularly from LEDs, is most sensitive to photoreceptor cells in the eyes that disrupt melatonin production. Light pollution not only disrupts sleep patterns but also affects brain function, with blue-light exposure accelerating aging processes, damaging retinal cells, causing brain neurodegeneration, and impairing movement. Chronic sleep deprivation, a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, is increased due to disruption of the circadian rhythm.

Research supports that disruption of melatonin production due to artificial light can interfere with the production and control of pathological proteins, such as acetylcholine, which is depleted in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Therefore, it is crucial to minimize exposure to artificial light at night to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm and prevent various medical issues.

How does artificial lighting affect plants?

Light quality is a significant concern when growing plants using artificial light. While sunlight is best for plant growth, artificial lighting can improve the quality of light plants receive. When supplementing natural light, the spectrum (colors produced by the lamp) is important, with red, far-red, and blue wavelengths being most important for plant development. For healthy plants, all three wavelengths should be supplied.

Lack of light can cause indoor plants to become spindly or leggy, develop a lean, fade leaf color, diminished flowering, and poor growth. Brighter light results in more compact, better branched, and normal-sized leaves. Houseplants can fail after a healthy start due to inadequate light, and moving indoor plants back inside after spending the summer outside can cause leaf drop and yellowing. It takes time for plants to adjust to lower light conditions inside homes.

Can plants get too much LED light?

Placement of LED grow lights too close to plants can lead to light burn, wasted energy, and light stress, reducing plant growth and preventing healthy flowering. Overexposure to LED lights can cause discoloration in leaves or stems over time. Plants require sufficient hours of light for optimal health and development, so the intensity of light matters. A distance of at least a foot between lights and plants is recommended. Placing lights closer than this could result in poor results without providing enough benefit to compensate for additional costs.

It is best to err on the side of caution and never place lights directly above plants unless the correct distance has been established. This ensures proper lighting benefits for plants and avoids costly mistakes caused by improper placement.

How does LED light affect plant growth?

LED lighting is a promising solution for indoor plant cultivation, as it results in significantly less energy consumption, especially when used at similar light intensities. The elevated light intensity provided by LEDs leads to increased biomass and yield, mainly due to the elevated photosynthetic activity of plants.

Indoor cultivation methods, such as fluorescent lamps or metal-halide lamps, are often inefficient due to high operation temperatures, low efficiencies of light fluence, and inadequate spectral distributions for optimal growth. Combinations of different types of LEDs can provide high fluence and customized wavelengths for plant cultivation, while also having low energy consumptions, long lifetimes, and stable spectral distributions.

The importance of light intensity and spectral distribution on plant growth and development is evident when comparing plant cultivation under different light environments. Light, particularly blue and red wavelengths, provides energy required for plant growth and development, but through photoreceptors, light regulates several morphogenetic processes, including plant elongation, leaf expansion, stomatal opening, circadian clock, and flowering.

At the biochemical level, light spectra influence both primary and secondary metabolism, affecting nutritional quality, carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism, the production of flavor, color, volatile and aromatic compounds, and plant defense mechanisms. For example, red light decreased nitrate content in lettuce, increased sugar content, and antioxidant capacity in lettuce, while blue light induced anthocyanin accumulation and increased antioxidant capacity in cabbage and tobacco.

Modified light quality can also attenuate injury caused by abiotic stressors, such as freezing temperatures. For example, the application of light with a decreased red/far-red ratio increased frost tolerance in Arabidopsis plants via increased CBF gene expression, while a short far-red treatment increased the expression level of the CBF-regulon and increased frost tolerance in wheat and barley plants.

LEDs provide opportunities to manipulate growth period, plant metabolisms, defense, and the amount and quality of plant products.

Is artificial light at night bad for plants?

Light pollution disrupts pollinators’ circadian rhythms and life patterns, affecting plant reproduction. Studies, including a UK moth study, show that nocturnal pollination is diminished under artificial lights. Trees exposed to artificial lights retain their leaves longer than usual. This ecological chaos is causing plants’ seasonal rhythms and their fragile relationship with pollinators. In 2014, biologists observed nocturnal moths in suburban areas outside Wallingford, UK, despite concerns about potential theft.

Can plants grow with artificial UV light?

Ultraviolet (UV) light, particularly UVB light, has been demonstrated to significantly enhance plant growth, yield, and quality, as well as enhance resistance to pests and diseases. However, it is of the utmost importance to utilize UVB light in a safe and appropriate manner to prevent any potential damage. When used with the appropriate precautions, both UVA and UVB light can be valuable tools for plant growers.