Understanding crop responses to the light spectrum is critical for optimal indoor production. Far-red light is of particular interest, because it can accelerate growth through both physiological and morphological mechanisms. However, the optimal amount of supplemental far-red light for indoor lettuce production is yet to be quantified. Lettuce 'Cherokee', 'Green SaladBowl', and 'Little Gem' were grown under 204 µmol·m-2·s-1 warm-white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with supplemental far-red ranging from 5.3 to 75.9 µmol·m-2·s-1. Supplemental far-red light increased canopy light interception 5 days after the start of far-red light treatment (DAT) for 'Green SaladBowl' and 'Little Gem' and 7 DAT for 'Cherokee'. The increase in light interception was no longer evident after 12 and 16 DAT for 'Green SaladBowl' and 'Little Gem', respectively. We did not find evidence that supplemental far-red light increased leaf-level photosynthesis. At the final harvest, shoot dry weights of 'Cherokee' and 'Little Gem' increased by 39.4% and 19.0%, respectively, while 'Green SaladBowl' was not affected. In conclusion, adding far-red light in indoor production increased light interception during early growth and likely increased whole plant photosynthesis thus growth, but those effects were cultivar-specific; the increase in dry weight was linear up to 75.9 µmol·m-2·s-1 far-red light.
Keywords: Lactuca sativa L.; far-red photons; leaf elongation; light interception; photosynthesis; shade acclimation; vegetable production.