HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Antonious, G. F. Articles by Kasperbauer, M. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Antonious, G. F. Articles by Kasperbauer, M. J. Agricola Articles by Antonious, G. F. Articles by Kasperbauer, M. J. Related Collections Crop Ecology

CROP ECOLOGY, MANAGEMENT & QUALITY

Color of Light Reflected to Leaves Modifies Nutrient Content of Carrot Roots

^a Kentucky State Univ., 218 Atwood Research Facility, Dep. of Plant and Soil Science, Frankfort, KY 40601
^b USDA/ARS, Coastal Plains Soil, Water and Plant Research Center, 2611 W. Lucas St., Florence, SC 29501-1242

* Corresponding author (gantonious{at}gwmail.kysu.edu)

Improved yield and nutrient content of food crops are important to both growers and consumers. We hypothesized that color of light reflected from the soil surface to developing leaves of field grown plants could result in modified concentrations of nutrients in edible roots. Carrot (Daucus carota L.) was used as the test plant. The plants were grown in trickle-irrigated field plots that were covered with panels that reflected various combinations of far-red (FR), red (R), and blue light (BL) to the growing leaves. The highest FR to R photon ratio reflected to developing leaves resulted in greatest shoot weight and the lowest root-to-shoot weight ratio. However, an increased quantity of photosynthetic light resulted in greater total weight per plant. Roots from yellow- and white-covered plots had highest concentrations of ß-carotene and ascorbic acid. Those from yellow- and black-covered plots had highest concentration of phenolics. In general, concentrations were higher in cortex than in xylem tissues. We conclude that color of light reflected from the soil surface to developing leaves can influence yield and chemical composition of edible roots. This discovery suggests that color of light reflected to growing shoots may also influence chemical composition of plant species used as phytonutraceuticals.

Abbreviations: BL, blue light • FR, far-red light • PPF, photosynthetic photon flux • R, red light