Harnessing LED Technology for Consistent and Nutritious Production of Large-fruited Tomatoes

Abstract

Tomatoes have traditionally been cultivated in greenhouses, where the combination of natural light and semicontrolled environmental conditions supports high yields and fruit quality. In contrast, the cultivation of large-fruited tomato varieties in fully enclosed, light-emitting diode (LED)–based plant factories remains limited, mainly due to technical and physiological challenges. This study demonstrates the successful cultivation of the large-fruited tomato cultivar CF Momotaro Fight in an LED-based plant factory, marking a significant advancement in controlled-environment agriculture. Then, we compared environmental conditions, growth parameters, photosynthetic performance, and fruit characteristics between plant factory and greenhouse systems. Tomatoes grown in the plant factory exhibited enhanced vegetative growth, including increased plant height, stem diameter, and soil–plant analysis development values, likely due to the stable light and temperature conditions. However, photosynthetic efficiency was lower, as indicated by reduced maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), effective quantum yield of PSII [Y(II)], electron transport rate (ETR), and fraction of open PSII reaction centers (qL) values. Fruits produced in the plant factory were smaller, had lower Brix values, but exhibited higher ascorbic acid content, suggesting altered resource allocation under uniform environmental conditions. In contrast, tomatoes cultivated in greenhouses, where plants are exposed to high and fluctuating light conditions, exhibited higher photosynthetic efficiency and superior fruit quality, including increased fruit weight, larger size, and higher Brix values. These findings highlight the complementary advantages of each system. While plant factories provide precise environmental control and stable year-round production, greenhouses leverage abundant natural sunlight to enhance fruit quality and yield. This study offers new insights into tomato cultivation under contrasting controlled environments and contributes to the development of sustainable, high-value horticultural production systems.