LED light can accelerate the development of strawberry plants

Research carried out at the “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture (Esalq/USP) evaluated the development of strawberry seedlings (a fruit plant belonging to the Rosaceae Family and characterized by its creeping habit) preserved vitro, under the action of different light spectrums. The project was carried out in the Postgraduate Program in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, authored by Jéssica Casarotto and supervised by Marcel Bellato Sposito, from the Department of Plant Production.

The researcher used light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to analyze the behavior of the seedlings. LEDs are used in various sectors of agriculture, mainly in cultivation vitro, as it provides significant savings in electrical energy and assists in the development of plants.

The study concluded that blue light, used in cultivation invitro, reduces the development of strawberry seedlings and red and mixed light (70% red and 30% blue) accelerate development when compared to white light, normally used in laboratories. “In addition, strawberry seedlings under red and mixed light can remain for up to three months without subcultures, successfully forming seedlings after acclimatization for 21 days,” explains the researcher.

The amount of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids, present in strawberry leaves of the Camarosa cultivar, did not present variations in their levels depending on the light spectrum that the seedlings were subjected to in each conservation time interval.

The research used the cultivation technique vitro, capable of reducing seedling development to a minimum. “This decreases the metabolism of plant tissue and increases its storage period. When reducing metabolism, cultivation conditions such as temperature, light period and light intensity can be changed during the incubation period”, adds the author.

According to Jéssica, in Brazil this technique is already used to propagate plants, however there are still few experiments with the presence of LEDs. Plants respond to light stimuli through photoreceptors, such as phytochromes and cryptochromes. Phytochromes are photoreceptors responsible for the perception of red light and regulate the flowering process. Cryptocos are responsible for the perception of blue light.

The dissertation was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes).