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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Crop Biology and Sustainability
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1499954
This article is part of the Research Topic Vertical Farming: New Trends, Products, and Production Approaches View all 9 articles

Impact of Light Spectral Combinations on Morphology, Yield, and Quality of Indoor-Grown Cilantro

Provisionally accepted
Nazmin Akter Nazmin Akter 1,2Laura Cammarisano Laura Cammarisano 1GAIL TAYLOR GAIL TAYLOR 1,3Most Tahera Naznin Most Tahera Naznin 4Julian C Verdonk Julian C Verdonk 2Md Shamim Ahamed Md Shamim Ahamed 1*
  • 1 University of California, Davis, Davis, United States
  • 2 Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
  • 3 Imperial College London, London, England, United Kingdom
  • 4 University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Advanced indoor farming systems utilizing artificial lighting to produce high-quality crops are rapidly gaining research interest. Specific light spectra from artificial lights can create optimal conditions for indoor plant cultivation. Cilantro, an herb widely used in the culinary industry for its distinct fresh flavor and high nutritional content, has been the subject of numerous studies examining the effects of different ratios of blue (B, 400-500 nm) and red (R, 600-700 nm) light on its growth. However, the impact of adding far-red (FR, 700-780 nm) light has not been fully explored. This study aimed to determine the optimal light spectral combinations for enhancing the morphology, yield, phytochemical content, and shelf life of indoor-grown cilantro. Three light spectral treatments [R:B:FR = 4:1:0 (R4B1), R:B:FR = 4:0.5:0.5 (R4B0.5FR0.5), and R:B:FR = 3:1:1 (R3B1FR1)] were evaluated at a consistent Photon Flux Density of 160 ± 10 μmol m−2 s−1 using broad-spectrum LED lamps. The growth chamber conditions during light treatments were maintained at an average temperature of 23°C, relative humidity of 49%, and CO2 concentration of 575 ppm, with a 16/8 h (light/dark) photoperiod. Growth, yield, and various quality parameters of cilantro were measured. Results indicated that the R3B1FR1 and R4B0.5FR0.5 treatments increased plant height, leaf area, and yield by 88% and 29%, respectively, compared to the R4B1 treatment. Conversely, R4B1 positively influenced quality parameters and shelf life. The study concluded that R3B1FR1 had a more substantial positive effect on cilantro yield than R4B0.5FR0.5 and R4B1, although the light treatments statistically unaffected quality parameters and shelf-life.

    Keywords: Artificial lighting, light spectrum, Cilantro, Morphological changes, phytochemical content, shelf life

    Received: 23 Sep 2024; Accepted: 12 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Akter, Cammarisano, TAYLOR, Naznin, Verdonk and Ahamed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Md Shamim Ahamed, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.