Effect of carbon dioxide enrichment and light

Abstract

Since they grow nearly exponentially, plants in their juvenile phase can benefit more than mature ones of optimal growing conditions. Transplant production in greenhouses offers the opportunity to optimize growing factors in order to reduce production time and improve transplant quality. Carbon dioxide and light are the two driving forces of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide concentration can be enriched in the greenhouse atmosphere, leading to heavier transplants with thicker leaves and reduced transpiration rates. Supplementary lighting is often considered as more effective than CO2 enrichment for transplant production. It can be used not only to speed up growth and produce higher quality plants, but also to help in production planning. However, residual effects on transplant field yield of CO2 enrichment or supplementary lighting are absent or, at the best, inconsistent.