Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and Lettuce

Light and nutrients are among the most important factors for sustained plant production in agriculture. As one of the goals of the European Green Deal strategy is to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse growers focus on high-value crop cultivation with less-energy-demanding growing systems. This st...

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Main Authors: Rūta Sutulienė, Kristina Laužikė, Tomas Pukas, Giedrė Samuolienė
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-06-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/13/1709
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author Rūta Sutulienė
Kristina Laužikė
Tomas Pukas
Giedrė Samuolienė
author_facet Rūta Sutulienė
Kristina Laužikė
Tomas Pukas
Giedrė Samuolienė
author_sort Rūta Sutulienė
collection DOAJ
description Light and nutrients are among the most important factors for sustained plant production in agriculture. As one of the goals of the European Green Deal strategy is to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse growers focus on high-value crop cultivation with less-energy-demanding growing systems. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of fertilization at different light intensities on the growth of lettuce and basil and the activity of the antioxidant system. Sweet basil (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i>, ‘Opal’) and lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>, ‘Nikolaj’) were grown in a greenhouse supplementing natural light (~80 µmol m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>) with lighting at two photon flux densities (150 and 250 µmol m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>), 16 h photoperiod, and 20/16 °C day/night temperature in May (Lithuania, 55°60′ N, 23°48′ E). In each light regime treatment, half of the plants were grown without additional fertilization; the other half were fertilized twice a week with a complex fertilizer (NPK 3-1-3). The results showed that the antioxidant activity of basil was most affected by 150 µmol m<sup>−</sup><sup>2</sup> s<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> PPFD lighting and the absence of fertilization. Altered antioxidant activity in lettuce in the presence of 250 µmol m<sup>−</sup><sup>2</sup> s<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> PPFD additional light intensity and fertilization resulted in higher morphological parameters.
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spelling doaj.art-884411da9af14fa7b06ad2aea2174b5e2023-11-30T22:19:27ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-06-011113170910.3390/plants11131709Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and LettuceRūta Sutulienė0Kristina Laužikė1Tomas Pukas2Giedrė Samuolienė3Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, Kaunas Str. 30, LT-54333 Babtai, LithuaniaLithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, Kaunas Str. 30, LT-54333 Babtai, LithuaniaElektros Taupymo Sprendimai, Liepu Str. 15, LT-53290 Kaunas, LithuaniaLithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, Kaunas Str. 30, LT-54333 Babtai, LithuaniaLight and nutrients are among the most important factors for sustained plant production in agriculture. As one of the goals of the European Green Deal strategy is to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse growers focus on high-value crop cultivation with less-energy-demanding growing systems. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of fertilization at different light intensities on the growth of lettuce and basil and the activity of the antioxidant system. Sweet basil (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i>, ‘Opal’) and lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>, ‘Nikolaj’) were grown in a greenhouse supplementing natural light (~80 µmol m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>) with lighting at two photon flux densities (150 and 250 µmol m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>), 16 h photoperiod, and 20/16 °C day/night temperature in May (Lithuania, 55°60′ N, 23°48′ E). In each light regime treatment, half of the plants were grown without additional fertilization; the other half were fertilized twice a week with a complex fertilizer (NPK 3-1-3). The results showed that the antioxidant activity of basil was most affected by 150 µmol m<sup>−</sup><sup>2</sup> s<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> PPFD lighting and the absence of fertilization. Altered antioxidant activity in lettuce in the presence of 250 µmol m<sup>−</sup><sup>2</sup> s<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> PPFD additional light intensity and fertilization resulted in higher morphological parameters.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/13/1709LEDfertilizationantioxidantsphenolsbiomass
spellingShingle Rūta Sutulienė
Kristina Laužikė
Tomas Pukas
Giedrė Samuolienė
Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and Lettuce
Plants
LED
fertilization
antioxidants
phenols
biomass
title Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and Lettuce
title_full Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and Lettuce
title_fullStr Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and Lettuce
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and Lettuce
title_short Effect of Light Intensity on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Sweet Basil and Lettuce
title_sort effect of light intensity on the growth and antioxidant activity of sweet basil and lettuce
topic LED
fertilization
antioxidants
phenols
biomass
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/13/1709
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