Effect of LEDs on the growth and physiological responses of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Abstract

Sweet basil Ocimum basilicum L. belongs to the mint family and grows wild in tropical and subtropical climates. Basil is an important culinary and essential oil crop grown and used throughout the world. In areas with insufficient natural light for optimal plant growth and productivity, high pressure sodium light sources are widely used. However, these lamps are considered energy-intensive, and they also generate a large amount of thermal radiation. Therefore, there is great interest in replacing sodium lamps with new, more efficient light sources in the form of light emitting diodes (LEDs). In this work, the influence of two light sources (white LED light and red-blue together with white LED light) on the growth, development and physiological parameters of two varieties of sweet basil was studied - green basil of the “Anisoviy aromat” variety and red basil of the “Opal” variety. Illumination with red-blue light in combination with white LED light had a clear advantage in almost all growth and development parameters measured for both varieties of basil. Plants of green basil cultivar “Anisoviy aromat” and red basil cultivar “Opal” at both stages of crop accounting were taller, had larger mass and larger leaves. with white light in red basil plants allowed to surpass the control plants by about one and a half times. At the same time, white LEDs initiated a more effective photoprotective mechanism during long-term cultivation of green basil plants.