How to utilize far-red photons effectively: substitution or supplementation with photosynthetically active radiation? A case study of greenhouse lettuce

作者：Zhengnan Yan, Xin Li, Zhixin Li, Jinxiu Song, Haijie Dou, Yanjie Yang, Geng Zhang · 发表于：BMC Plant Biology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12870-025-06205-6 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Light effects on plants、Greenhouse Technology and Climate Control、Plant Molecular Biology Research

The addition of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400-700 nm) with a specific quantity of far-red photons (FR, 700-750 nm) has been demonstrated to positively influence biomass accumulation and nutritional quality in greenhouse lettuce. However, current relevant studies seldom consider comprehensive and systematic comparisons of the efficacy of different approaches: substitution versus supplementation. The present work aimed to compare the two aforementioned strategies, evaluate how they impact plant growth, development and metabolic processes, and analyse the light use efficiency. In this study, loose-leaf lettuce (cv. 'Dasusheng') grown in a glass Venlo-type greenhouse was exposed to six supplementary light treatments, including white-red (WR) light-emitting diodes (LEDs), FR LEDs, and WR plus FR LEDs [WR130 + FR30 (the number was the photon flux density provided by WR or FR LEDs, respectively), WR130 + FR50, WR100 + FR30, and WR80 + FR50]. Lettuce that was grown only under natural light (NL) conditions was considered the control. According to the results of the present study, supplementary light increased biomass accumulation, and the contents of ascorbic acid, total soluble sugar, and starch relative to the control. Lettuce plants treated with WR130 + FR50 treatment presented the highest shoot and root fresh/dry weights, the highest total chlorophyll content, and the best nutritional quality, whereas the lettuce weight did not differ between the WR130 + FR30 and W...