Growth of Leaf Vegetables in Water Culture Following Exposure Light to Roots

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K15015
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Agricultural environmental engineering/Agricultural information engineering
• Research Institution: Meiji University
• Principal Investigator: TAMAKI MASAHIKO 明治大学, 農学部, 専任教授 (20227268)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 根域照射 / LED

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We evaluated the effects of exposing the root zones of maize and monstera plants to red or blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by comparing the growth of roots and shoots after low or high intensity treatments (50 or 100 μmol/m2/s, respectively). Maize plants that exposed to red LEDs showed significantly more growth, as did monstera plants at the higher light intensity. The water potential in the roots decreased significantly after treatment, with a greater effect occurring using the red LEDs, while the levels of glucose and of potassium ions increased following treatment compared to controls. The increased root growth in maize plants and in monstera plants given high intensity red light was associated with an increased distance from the root tip to mature cells and an increase in the lengths of the mature cells. These results indicate that exposing the root zone to light by red LEDs accelerated the growth of roots and shoots of plants.

Free Research Field

栽培環境学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

根域への赤色光照射が根系を発達させ地上部生育も促進することが認められたので、本技術は養液栽培における作物の生産性向上へ寄与する新たな技術として期待できる。