Intra-canopy LED lighting outperformed top LED lighting in improving tomato yield and expression of the genes responsible for lycopene, phytoene and vitamin C synthesis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 19043 - 16
• Main Authors: Ziaei, Negar, Talebi, Majid, Sayed Tabatabaei, Badraldin Ebrahim, Sabzalian, Mohammad R., Soleimani, Masoud
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 16.08.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/337; 631/449; 631/61/447; Ascorbic acid; Ascorbic Acid - biosynthesis; Ascorbic Acid - metabolism; Canopies; Carotenoids - metabolism; Crop production; Crop yield; Fruit - genetics; Fruit - metabolism; Fruit - radiation effects; Fruits; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Greenhouses; Humanities and Social Sciences; Intra-canopy lighting; LED; Light; Lighting; Lycopene; Lycopene - metabolism; Metabolic genes; multidisciplinary; Nutritive value; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Solanum lycopersicum - genetics; Solanum lycopersicum - growth & development; Solanum lycopersicum - metabolism; Solanum lycopersicum - radiation effects; Tomato; Tomatoes; Top-lighting; Vitamin C; Vitamin C; Metabolic genes; Top-lighting; LED; Intra-canopy lighting; Tomato; Lycopene
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69210-z

Greenhouses located at high latitudes and in cloudy areas often experience a low quality and quantity of light, especially during autumn and winter. This low daily light integral (DLI) reduces production rate, quality, and nutritional value of many crops. This study was conducted on Sakhiya RZ F1 tomato plants to evaluate the impact of LED lights on the growth and nutritional value of tomatoes in a greenhouse with low daily light due to cloudy weather. The treatments included LED growth lights in three modes: top lighting, intra-canopy lighting, and combined top and intra-canopy lighting. The results showed that although the combined top and intra-canopy lighting reached the maximum increase in tomato yield, exposure to intra-canopy LED lighting alone outperformed in tomato fruit yield increase (28.46%) than exposure to top LED lighting alone (12.12%) when compared to no supplemental lighting during the entire production year. Intra-canopy exposure demonstrated the highest increase in tomato lycopene (31.3%), while top and intra-canopy lighting exhibited the highest increase in vitamin C content (123.4%) compared to the control. The LED light treatment also had a very positive effect on the expression of genes responsible for metabolic cycles, including Psy1 , LCY-β , and VTC2 genes, which had collinearity with the increase in tomato fruit production.