🥬 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 & 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐚𝐫-𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

A 2025 Agronomy study found that supplementing with 𝐟𝐚𝐫-𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 (~50 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹) in the 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟑 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 boosted 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.

📌 Study details:
• 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐞 grown in a deep water flow system under LEDs (190 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹; 89% red, 11% blue), ± far-red light
• Quality measured at harvest and after 𝟏𝟑 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 under EMAP (3% O₂, balance N₂) at 7 °C in darkness
• Respiration rate, sugars, pigments, and vitamin C were all assessed

📈 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐚𝐫-𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭:
• +𝟏𝟕% 𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭
• +𝟓𝟕% 𝐠𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐞, +𝟔𝟒% 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐞
• 𝐍𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 in fresh weight, pigments, vitamin C, or sucrose
• 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 during storage
• Slower carbohydrate depletion = 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
• 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞, reduced bitterness

✅ 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Try far-red supplementation in your indoor system’s final growth phase. A small adjustment, but potentially big payoff.

⚠️ Your results may not be identical—but this is a 𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

📚 Source: Van de Velde et al. (2025). Preharvest Far-Red Light Affects Respiration Rate and Carbohydrate Status in Lettuce Grown in a Vertical Farm and Stored Under Modified Atmosphere Conditions. Agronomy 2025, 15(8), 1957


The image is AI-generated and intended solely as a visual representation of the study.

Dr. Michele Grieco turned his plant biology expertise into Plant Monitor - affordable monitoring apps bringing research-grade measurements to small greenhouses and vertical farms.

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