Regulation of the photon spectrum on growth and nutritional attributes of baby-leaf lettuce at harvest and during postharvest storage

Abstract

The photon flux density (PFD) and spectrum regulate the growth, quality attributes, and postharvest physiology of leafy vegetables grown indoors. However, limited information is available on how a photon spectrum enriched with a broad range of different wavebands regulates these factors. To determine this, we grew baby-leaf lettuce ‘Rouxai’ under a PFD of 200 µmol m−2 s−1 provided by warm-white (WW; control) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) supplemented with either 30 µmol m−2 s−1 of ultraviolet-A (+UV30) or 50 µmol m−2 s−1 of blue (+B50), green (+G50), red (+R50), or WW (+WW50) light. We then quantified growth attributes and accumulated secondary metabolites at harvest and during storage in darkness at 5◦C. Additional +G50 light increased shoot fresh and dry weight by 53% and 59% compared to the control. Relative chlorophyll concentration increased under +UV30, +G50, and especially +B50. At harvest, +B50 increased total phenolic content (TPC) by 25% and anthocyanin content (TAC) by 2.0-fold. Additionally, +G50 increased antiradical activity (DPPH) by 29%. After each day of storage, TPC decreased by 2.9 to 7.1% and DPPH by 3.0 to 6.2%, while TAC degradation was less pronounced. Principal component analysis indicated a distinct effect of +G50 on the lettuce at harvest. However, concentrations of metabolites before and during storage were usually greatest under the +B50 and +R50 treatments.