Increasing the performance of Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) seedlings by LED light regimes

Dangdi Liang,Liuqing Yang,Xiaoxia Wei,Faxing Chen,Muhammad Moaaz Ali,Weijun Yu,Ralf Oelmüller,Ahmed Fathy Yousef

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-00103-1

Abstract

Due to progress in the industrial development of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), much work has been dedicated to understanding the reaction of plants to these light sources in recent years. In this study, the effect of different LED-based light regimes on growth and performance of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) seedlings was investigated. Combinations of different light irradiances (50, 100, and 200 µmol m−2 s−1), quality (red, green, and blue light-emitting LEDs), and photoperiods (10 h/14 h, 12 h/12 h and 14 h/10 h light/dark cycles) were used to investigate the photosynthetic pigment contents, antioxidants and growth traits of passion fruit seedlings in comparison to the same treatment white fluorescent light. Light irradiance of 100 µmol m−2 s−1 of a 30% red/70% blue LED light combination and 12 h/12 h light/dark cycles showed the best results for plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, internode distance, and fresh/dry shoot/root weights. 14 h/10 h light/dark cycles with the same LED light combination promoted antioxidant enzyme activities and the accumulation of phenols and flavonoids. In contrast, lower light irradiance (50 µmol m−2 s−1) had negative effects on most of the parameters. We conclude that passion fruit seedlings' optimal performance and biomass production requires long and high light irradiances with a high blue light portion.

Highlights

Fruits are widely recognized as a vital part of a healthy diet, and their regular intake may help to prevent a variety of ailments[1,2,3]
The optimal growth characteristics in response to the three factors was A2B2C3, which indicated that the optimal light irradiance is 100 μmol m−2 s−1, from light with a R30:B70 ratio, and a photoperiod of 14 h light and 10 h dark
Artificial light is very important for countries that do not have natural sunlight, especially Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) light, because it consumes less electricity, produces less heat, and has a longer lifetime

Summary

Introduction

Fruits are widely recognized as a vital part of a healthy diet, and their regular intake may help to prevent a variety of ailments[1,2,3]. The spectral properties of irradiances sources must meet the physiological requirements of plants for photosynthesis and photomorphogenic development[8]. Et al.[11] and Tennessen, et al.[12] described the advantage of LED sources for optimal plant growth. Other researches revealed the effect of light irradiance on plant growth and development[23,25,26,27,28,29] and p hotoperiod[23,30]. Little is known about the combined effect of light irradiance, quality, and photoperiod on plants’ growth, development, and physiological response. We exposed the seedlings to light from LEDs emitting different wavelengths with three different light irradiances and for 3 light/dark cycles and propose an optimal regime for plant performance

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion