𝐂𝐮𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 — 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲

If you're growing in a greenhouse or indoor farm, understanding 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 can directly impact your yield and quality.

Here’s what the study found:

🔵 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 = 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 — for both cucumber and tomato.
...but with one key exception:

🥒 𝐂𝐮𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 under 𝟏𝟎𝟎% 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 had the 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚

🍅 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨 reached its 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝟎% 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 and showed 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟓% 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

⚖️ Overall, 𝐜𝐮𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 was 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 to red/blue light ratio changes than tomato.

💡 These findings point to the potential of testing light spectra to 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞-𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 in controlled environments.

👉 Are you already using 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 to shape your crops?

Source:
Liang et al. (2021). Red/blue light ratios induce morphology and physiology alterations differently in cucumber and tomato.
Scientia Horticulturae, Volume 281, 30 April 2021, 109995

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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