Different Lighting Strategies for Inducing Red Coloration in Lettuce

Ida Fallstrom Plant and Light Expert from Heliospectra presents on the topic of Inducing Red Coloration in Lettuce from the International Symposium on Light in Horticulture. Learn more about how the different spectrums of light affect aspects of lettuce growth and what treatments can be used to achieve particular results.

Introduction

The anthocyanin content is responsible for the red pigmentation of the red-green lettuce. The concentration of anthocyanins, which gives the different gradients of coloration, depends on the growth environment, such as light quality and quantity. A high anthocyanin content may reduce the absorption of light and lead to a reduction in plant growth.

Lights designed for high crop production may not achieve the desired coloration of red lettuce. Therefore, it is in our interest to compare the overall growth and coloration of LED grow lights with spectrum optimized for plant growth and grow lights optimized for inducing coloration.

Conclusions

• The lettuce grown under a blue heavy spectrum for a long time had the lowest biomass but increased anthocyanin content.
• Of lettuce with induced coloration; High light treatment had higher biomass and higher anthocyanin content than High blue treated.
• These results indicated that there are several ways to induce coloration of lettuce.
• Growers have the choice to adopt the best method that is suitable to their growing environments and growing style.