Quantification of the Radiation Effects on the Stability of the Irradiated Plants Development in Light Culture

Abstract

The radiation environment parameters affect not only individual biochemical reactions and physiological processes occurring in the plant, but also make it possible to achieve stable plant development as a whole. (Research purpose) To develop a method, technical means and methodology for the quantitative assessment of the optical radiation effect on plants, the use of which ensures energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of the resulting product by choosing the most optimal light source. (Materials and methods) The authors demonstrated that the stability of plant development can be characterized by fluctuating asymmetry indices, the values of which form uneven optical density on both sides of the leaf. They developed and manufactured an experimental model of a device for measuring leaves' optical density. They studied the cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) of the Safa mix F1 mid-early hybrid. They used plants in a juvenile age state to reduce the duration of the experiment, that means from the appearance of the first to the appearance of the second leaf. (Results and discussion) The authors found that the differences between the parameters of plants grown under light sources № 1 and № 2 are not significant. They took the parameters of plants grown under light sources № 1 and № 3 for comparison. It was determined that these sources have approximately the same flow shares in the blue range (27.4 and 26.2 percent). They found out that the flow shares in the red range are different (34.4 and 49.5 percent), which determined different values of the ratio R:B (1.3 and 1.9). It was noted that the values of the ratio R: FR (4.1 and 16.3) are also different. (Conclusions) The authors proposed a method for assessing the effect of radiation on plants by the stability of their development. It was established that the application of this method to plants grown under conditions of light culture is promising for a comprehensive assessment of the quality of the light medium created by radiation sources; allows to choose the most optimal light sources.