The Photosynthesis Action Radiation (PAR) Curve of Lettuce plants using Blue Narrow Spectrum LEDs

Controlled environment food production is becoming more important globally because of increases in productivity. Moreover, the environmental factors that directly impact photosynthesis including temperature, humidity, light, CO₂concentration, and nutrient source are controlled through the computer-based, automated control. The electricity expense of lighting systems, however, are still high since light is the driving factor limiting plant growth and yield.  More detailed plant response data is required for the selection of optimal lighting systems to maximum plant production with minimum operation costs. Our research group is investigating the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) curve of lettuce plant using narrow spectrum light emitting diodes (LEDs) under controlled conditions. These experiments are focusing on the plant response across a narrow wavelength range (430–500 nm) at light intensity of 30 μmol·m^-2·s^-1 with a bandwidth of 10 nm. Our results will provide precise information on the impact that specific wavelengths of light have on plant growth and will be used to optimize LED arrays for maximum plant production.