Supplemental Nutrients Compensate Insufficient Light for Plant Growth In Indoor Vertical Gardening System

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of light intensity and nutrient solution on the growth of indoor plants in the vertical gardening system. The four common indoor plants of Hedera helix, H. canariensis 'Variegata', Epipremnum aureum, and E. aureum 'Lime' were used in this experiment. The experiment was conducted eight weeks under the two different intensity of fluorescent lighting, 40 and 80 PAR, for 12 hours a day in the indoor condition. The nutrient treatment consisted of three levels: no supply (tap water below EC 0.1 as control) and EC 0.5 and EC 1.0 adjusted by Hoagland's solution modified for foliar plants. As results, the plant growth typified by leaf number and leaf area was better in the low light intensity with nutrient supplement of EC 0.5 or EC 1.0 in both of Epipremnum spp. and Hedera spp. than in the high light intensity without any nutrient supply (control). Under the same light intensity of 40 or 80 PAR, Epipremnum showed the largest biomass in EC 0.5 nutrient solution while Hedera did in EC 1.0 nutrient solution. Total nitrogen content was more in low light intensity-EC 0.5 and EC 1.0 than in high light intensity without any nutrient supply (control). In conclusion, the nutrient supplement at the relatively low light intensity was more effective to plant growth than at no nutrient supply (control). These results suggest that supplemental nutrients could be compensate the poor light condition for the growth of indoor foliar plants.