Growth and Contents of Anthocyanins and Ascorbic Acid in Lettuce as Affected by Supplemental UV-A LED Irradiation with Different Light Quality and hotoperiod

The growth and contents of anthocyanins and ascorbic acid in lettuce(Lactuca sativa L., ` Jeokchima') as affected by supplemental UV-A LED irradiation under different light quality and photoperiod conditions were analyzed in this study. Five light qualities, namely B (blue LED), R (red LED), BUV (blue LED+UV-A LED), RUV (red LED+UV-A LED) and Control (white fluorescent lamps) with photoperiods of 12/12 hours (day/night), 16/8 hours, or 20/4 hours were provided to investigate the effects of light quality and photoperiod on the growth and accumulation of anthocyanins and ascorbic acid in lettuce leaves. As measured 28 days after transplanting, the number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, shoot fresh weight and dry weight of lettuce were significantly affected by light quality and photoperiod. The number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, shoot fresh weight and dry weight of lettuce grown under R treatment increased with increasing light period. By contrast, leaf development was inhibited, but chlorophyll content increased, under B treatment. Supplemental UV-A irradiation significantly decreased leaf length, leaf width, leaf area and shoot fresh weight. Anthocyanins in lettuce increased significantly with decreasing dark period under B treatment. A synergistic effect of supplemental UV-A LED irradiation on anthocyanins accumulation was found for lettuce leaves grown under R treatment but not B treatment. Ascorbic acid in lettuce was greatly affected by photoperiod. Ascorbic acid content at BUV and RUV treatments increased by 20-30% compared to without UV-A LED irradiation. From these results, it was concluded that growth and contents of anthocyanins and ascorbic acid in lettuce are significantly affected by supplemental UV-A LED irradiation. The results obtained in this study will be informative for efforts to improve the nutritional value of leafy vegetables grown in plant factories.