EFFECTS OF LED LIGHT QUALITIES ON GROWTH AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTS OF ATRACTYLODES MACROCEPHALA

In order to examine the effects of different light qualities (white, red, blue, and red light plus blue light) irradiated by LED lamps at 100 µmol•m-2•s-1 light intensity on the growth and photosynthetic pigment content of Atractylodes macrocephala seedlings, a kind of valuable Chinese medicinal plant, a pot cultivation experiment in growth chamber was conducted. Main wavelengths of red LED and blue LED were 619 nm and 458 nm, and light intensity ratio of red light plus blue light treatment was 1:1. The results showed that shoot height of Atractylodes macrocephala under red light was highest, while shortest under red plus blue light. However, root fresh weight and root length of Atractylodes macrocephala under red light treatment were lower compared with white light treatment, and there was no significant difference between the other three light treatments. The data indicated that root to shoot ratio under blue light was the biggest. Light qualities did not affect shoot fresh weight and photosynthetic pigment contents of Atractylodes macrocephala. The results suggested that LED light quality could regulate the growth of Atractylodes macrocephala seedlings, which was not due to the changes of photosynthetic pigment contents.