Document Type : Full Paper
Authors
1
Ph. D. Candidate,, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
2
Assitant Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
3
Associate Professor, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
4
Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
Abstract
Medicinal plants have long been recognized as valuable sources economically and pharmacologically. The family of Lamiaceae comprises a wide range of plants, which are commercially cultivated for their medical usage. Due to high marketability, producers continually investigate to maximize yield and productivity of these plants. Photoregulation is an effective strategy to improve productivity of plants. In the present work, we have studied the effect of different LED light treatments on morpho-physiological response of three different mint species including mint, peppermint and pennyroyal plants. The light treatments included red LED, blue LED, combined red and blue LEDs, and white emitted from fluorescent or LED lights in different growth chambers. A greenhouse environment was also considered and served as the control. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replicates in two consecutive years. The results indicated a significant difference among the light treatments regarding all morpho-physiological traits. Red and red-blue LED as well as greenhouse led to maximal fresh and dry biomass (yield), whereas white LED caused the least performance. Mean comparisons showed that that peppermint and pennyroyal were superior as compared to mint, for all studied traits. Mean comparison interaction effect of species and environment showed that peppermint and mint had the greatest fresh biomass under greenhouse and red-blue LED. In conclusion, red LED and combined red and blue LED were the best choice for production in three mint species using LEDs in vertical farming systems.
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