Optimal red:blue ratio in led lighting for nutraceutical indoor horticulture

• LED lights may enable indoor cultivation at low energy cost.
• LED light may improve both productivity and nutritional quality.
• Nitrate level in leafy vegetable is reduced by LED application.
• Red:blue ratio of 0.7 is needed for proper plant development.

In recent years, the interest toward the applicability of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lights for indoor cultivation has significantly grown. The present work addressed the physiological and phytochemical plant responses to LED lights in indoor cultivation of leafy and fruit vegetable crops (namely sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L.; and strawberry, Fragaria × Ananassa), with the final aim of improving both productivity and nutritional quality. Artificial light treatments were applied in a multi-sectorial growth chamber equipped with lamps with different light incidence and spectra (with red:blue ratio ranging 0.7–5.5). In all experiments, increased plant biomass, fruit yield and energy use efficiency (EUE) were associated to LED treatments, confirming the superiority of LED compared to the traditional fluorescent lamps. Interestingly, LED lighting enabled to increase antioxidant compounds and reduce nitrates content in basil leaves. A spectral red:blue ratio of 0.7 was necessary for proper plant development and improved nutraceutical properties in both crops.

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