Is growing plants in artificial light possible?

  

Plants can grow in artificial light, but the power of artificial light is not as strong as sunlight, and its red and blue light is weaker than that of sunlight. LED lights, which are especially used in indoor grow rooms, reduce the difference between artificial light and sunlight, and can help plants grow better.

Plants have an extraordinary power - the process of photosynthesis - that allows them to make their food from starch. All you need is carbon dioxide and some water. To support these processes, the plant needs some energy that it gets from sunlight.

Unfortunately, the sun does not shine completely throughout the year all over the planet, when at the poles in countries such as Iceland and Finland in the north, or in Antarctica in the south, the presence of the sun decreases to only 8 hours per day.

Besides seasonal changes, cities pose a problem for houseplants, as tall buildings and skyscrapers can block dwellings from sunlight. So, we have to turn on the lights!

 

What do plants need to grow?

In fact, it is incorrect to say that plants need the sun for photosynthesis. Incidentally, the term photosynthesis has its Greek origin parallels “photo” to light, and “synthesis” to building. In other words, plants really need light for photosynthesis, not sunlight in particular.

And let's be precise, let's say it needs photons.

Photons are the particles that make up light, and each photon has a specific portion of energy, and it is called the energy of a photon. When a photon collides with an object, such as a plant, it lends its energy to that body upon colliding with it.

Is growing plants in artificial light possible - Can plants grow in artificial light - The difference in plant growth between artificial light and sunlight

Sunlight is a free source of photons that were found with the launch of life. Life evolved to use this abundant source of energy in order to survive; And plants are part of these organisms that evolved from early photosynthesis algae.

Billions of years later, after the first forms of photosynthesis evolved, humans entered that scene and discovered how to make our own light. So the fire was first, then we invented the incandescent lamps.

Physics does not distinguish whether light is the result of thermal fusion of light or a chemical substance; Every light is made up of photons. Thus artificial light enables plants to grow!

 

Sunlight compared to artificial light

It is said that there are some reservations about lighting a flashlight on the plant in order for it to grow healthy and strong.

Although artificial light will help, there are some differences between sunlight and the light produced by an artificial lamp.

 Wavelength of light: We learned that white light consists of all colors of light, however, with white light, there are clear differences in the wavelength composition between natural and artificial. Artificial light does not contain blue and red light like the sun does. Photons of different light wavelengths also differ in the amounts of energy in them. For example, green plants absorb energy mostly from the red and blue light wavelengths, while these plants reflect most of the yellow and green light lengths (so we see plants as green).

 Light intensity: Sunlight is more intense than any artificial light, as high sun intensity is best suited for plants. The higher intensity also means that the plant will encounter more photons, thus activating the completion of photosynthesis.

The absorption spectrum of the chlorophyll molecule, which allows plants to harness the sun's energy. The histograms of two different chlorophyll molecules with slightly different chemical compositions. Absorption is highest in the visible from the spectrum of the red and blue regions. (Image Source: Danielle Polizzi / Wikimedia Commons)

Artificial light that helps plants grow indoors

Exactly what is said in what we see here is that “necessity is the mother of invention,” nowadays, artificial light is specially designed to help plants grow as if they were enjoying sunlight.

Among the types of artificial light, LEDs (acronym: light emitting diodes) are the best. It is more efficient in emitting light in two particles of the red and blue spectrum, and has a higher intensity than fluorescent lamps. Most importantly, it is also energy efficient.

Growing plants in artificial light using grow rooms (Photo Credit: Andrei Anna / Shutterstock)

This is an important consideration for research and crop production. With the pressures of climate change and an increase in population on agriculture, indoor plant growth is becoming increasingly important to sustainable food production.

The effect of artificial light on plants

In terms of photosynthesis, artificial light may fill the needs of plants, but plants also use light signals to monitor their functions and growth. Plants, like animals, have a timed internal biological clock according to the sun's movement throughout the day. This biological clock is responsible for the sun cycle that follows the sun throughout the day, in addition to the responsibility for timing the blooming of flowers and determining the length of plant growth.

Research on lettuce has shown that when grown in red LED light, its stem grew more than it did in white light. Leg growth is a light-dependent process, and researchers have also found that adding some blue light prevents the leg from growing more.

Besides growth, the molecules that plants need for photosynthesis are affected by artificial light. Chlorophyll is the main molecule that plants use to capture the energy of photons, and their accumulation in the cell depends on light. Research has found that chlorophyll accumulates slowly under white and red LEDs, unlike blue LEDs, as chlorophyll production is not affected by it.

 

Apart from the latter, molecules from the plant not involved in photosynthesis are also affected. The plant produces these molecules to perform various other functions, such as antioxidants or hormones. These molecules are called secondary plant metabolites, and they are often important components of animal nutrition.

Research on the medicinal plant Orthosiphon stamineus has shown that when the plant is exposed to artificial light with a high degree of radiation (a measure of the amount of energy it emits), the important secondary metabolites are reduced. This indicates that radiation may be an important factor that should be taken into consideration.