Effects of Light Intensity and Photoperiod on the Fresh Locking and Quality of Hydroponic Arugula in the Harvesting Period

Abstract

At present, the research on the light environment of arugula mostly stays in its emergence and growth stage and there is a lack of research on the fresh-keeping quality of hydroponic arugula under light treatment during the harvest period. This study takes hydroponic arugula as the research object and explores the influence of light intensity and photoperiod on the fresh-keeping quality of arugula during the harvest period. With light intensity and photoperiod as experimental factors; and fresh weight, water content, chlorophyll, soluble sugar, nitrate, and cellulose content of arugula during harvest as experimental indicators, combined with sensory evaluation methods, a two-factor completely random experiment was completed. The experimental results show that medium and high intensity light treatment effectively enhances the fresh-keeping ability of arugula during the harvest period, which is conducive to reducing the decline in leaf fresh weight and water content caused by aging of arugula and delaying the decline in quality of arugula; 3 h and 6 h photoperiods can significantly delay the decomposition of chlorophyll in hydroponic arugula during harvest, reduce the loss of soluble sugar, inhibit excessive accumulation of nitrate, and slow down the production of leaf cellulose; and LED red-blue composite light irradiation is conducive to maintaining the sensory quality of hydroponic arugula during harvest. Among them, the sensory quality of cabbage leaves under 200 μmol·m−2·s−1 light intensity and 6 h photoperiod treatment is the best. This study provides an important theoretical basis for improving the quality and yield of hydroponic arugula and provides a strong basis for setting intelligent environmental lighting in artificial light-type plant factories.