A water saving approach by using the light effect on tomato plants grown
in a controlled environment
Abstract
The agriculture sector consumes more than two-thirds of world’s limited
freshwater resources. However, only a small part of the water (less than
5%) that is taken up by roots is used for plant growth, while the rest
(above 95%) is lost due to transpiration through the stomatal
apertures. Therefore, reducing the transpiration of agricultural plants
will contribute to the preservation of precious water resources.
However, reducing the transpiration rate artificially is difficult
because most plants react delicately and negatively, resulting in
water-stressed conditions that often cause different physiological
disorders. The present study investigated the transpiration light
response in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) grown under LED lights
and assessed different irradiation techniques’ ability to reduce
transpiration and maintained proper plant growth in a controlled
environment. Tomato plants were grown in three enclosed hydroponic units
under blue (460 nm) and red (630 nm) LEDs inside an air-conditioned
glasshouse. The test plants and multiple replicates were grown five
consecutive times, and the irradiation intensity (photosynthetic photon
flux density (PPFD)), irradiation pattern (simultaneous/alternate
irradiation for red/blue LEDs) and LED combination (number/ratio of
red/blue LEDs) were changed each time. The plants’ physiological
parameters (transpiration, stomatal conductance, stem-diameter, stem
height, and number of leaves) and daily transpiration rates were
recorded periodically and analyzed. The results show that a typical
photoperiod of 12 hours with simultaneous irradiation of red/blue LEDs
produced balanced physiological growth for plants in general. However,
when normalized against water use efficiency (transpiration), an
alternate irradiation pattern (6 hours: blue LED on/off repeatedly for
15-minute intervals + 6 hours: red LED on/off repeatedly for 15-minute
intervals) was the most suitable for tomato cultivation in controlled
environments.