• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.260-268
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of light quality using either monochromatic or combined LEDs on the growth and antioxidant accumulation of Agastache rugosa cultivated under hydroponics for 4 weeks. This experiment was performed in a controlled-environment room at $22{\pm}1^{\circ}C$ and $18{\pm}1^{\circ}C$ (day and night temperatures, respectively) and 50-70% relative humidity, with a provided photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of $180{\pm}5{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ and irradiated with either monochromatic (W10 and R10) or mixed LEDs (W2B1G1, R3B1, R2B1G1, and W2B1G1) with a differing ratio of each LED's PPFD and fluorescent lighting (FL: control) with a 16/8 h photoperiod. Fresh and dry weights were highest for plants grown under the W2B1G1 treatment. A. rugosa grown with R10 had the greatest plant height but the lowest SPAD among all treatments. The concentration of rosmarinic acid in plants grown under W2B1G1 was significantly higher than that of plants grown under other treatments. Tilianin content was significantly higher in R3B1 than in the other treatments. However, whole-plant rosmarinic acid and tilianin content was the highest under the W2B1G1 condition. To cultivate A. rugosa in a plant factory, mixed-LED light conditions with W2B1G1 is considered to be more advantageous for the growth and antioxidant accumulation of A. rugosa. It is though that the total whole-plant antioxidant content is more crucial for commercial use; the present study demonstrates the potential to achieve higher content of functional materials in plants through the selection of light quality.