"Lime, green and purple LEDs produce high red lettuce yields"

Leafy greens are desirable crops for daily eating due to their nutritive value. A new study shows that red lettuce Rouxai grown under specific LED spectra can have significantly higher yields as well as greater concentrations of anthocyanins and carotenoids.

The LUXEON SunPlus Lime + Purple LEDs performed best in terms of yield (fresh weight) and antioxidant levels. The spectrum of this light source includes output in the far red range (700-800 nm) that can boost lettuce yields. The Valoya PC LEDs produced greens of comparable yield but statistically lower levels of antioxidants, indicating that the spectral photon distribution of phosphor down conversion can have different effects on crop quality. In summary, these data suggest that growth and nutrition are optimized using PC LEDs with strong royal blue, green, deep red and far red components found in the combination of LUXEON SunPlus Lime + Purple LEDs.

The spectra that performed best for both yield (fresh weight) and nutrient concentrations were the LUXEON SunPlus Series Lime + Purple and Purple + Green LEDs. To effectively grow Rouxai red lettuce and similar crops in indoor environments, the use of Lime + Purple and Purple + Green LEDs from Lumileds demonstrated significant advantages.

Access the full study at Lumileds