Photon Distribution of Sole-Source Lighting Affects the Mineral Nutrient Content of Microgreens

Viktorija Vaštakaitė-Kairienė, Aušra Brazaitytė, Jurga Miliauskienė, Rūta Sutulienė, Kristina Laužikė, Akvilė Viršilė, Giedrė Samuolienė and Erik S. Runkle
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Viktorija Vaštakaitė-Kairienė: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Aušra Brazaitytė: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Jurga Miliauskienė: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Rūta Sutulienė: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Kristina Laužikė: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Akvilė Viršilė: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Giedrė Samuolienė: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Erik S. Runkle: Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: In the study, we cultivated basil, beet, and mustard microgreens under different lighting treatments from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and evaluated the contents of mineral nutrients. Microgreens grew under blue 447, red 638 and 665, far-red 731 nm LEDs, or the same spectrum but with partial substitution of 638 nm red with green 520 (BRG), yellow 595 (BRY), or orange 622 nm (BRO) LEDs (16 h photoperiod; total photon flux density of 300 μmol m −2 s −1 ). BRG, BRY, or BRO lighting had distinct effects on mineral contents among the microgreen species. BRG increased the content of mineral nutrients, especially in mustard and beet. In all microgreens, Ca and P were associated with BRG; in beet and mustard, Zn and Mg were associated with BRG; in basil, Zn was associated with BRY and Mg with BRO treatments. A broader photon spectrum increased Fe (up to 2.9–fold), K:Ca, P:Mg, and P:Zn in basil, and Fe:Zn in microgreens. We conclude that the partial replacement of red with green light was the most effective at enhancing the mineral nutrient content of microgreens, although responses varied among the crops studied.

Keywords: basil; beet; controlled environment; ICP-OES; lighting spectrum; macro-nutrients; micro-nutrients; mustard (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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