LEDs of different colors are used to study spectral effects on plant growth and physiology.

The Horticultural Physiology Lab has received a $60,000 grant from the Georgia Research Alliance to continue our collaboration with Dr. Mark Haidekker’s photonics lab in UGA’s College of Engineering, and PhytoSynthetix. This long-standing collaboration is focused on the development of energy-efficient, cost-effective methods for supplemental lighting in controlled environment agriculture. We focus on integrating plant physiology and engineering to develop lighting approaches to specifically apply supplemental light when it can be used most efficiently. Given that the energy costs to provide supplemental lighting can be as much as 30% of the total production costs, reduced energy use can have a big impact on the greenhouse industry.

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