The Importance of UV and Infrared Light for Growing
Many people are familiar with the different colors of the light spectrum that are optimal for growing during the different stages of plant development. In an earlier blog entry, I discussed how white light was optimal for seed and clone development, violet/blue light (400-500nm) was vital for the vegetation stage, and orange/red light (600-700nm) was vital for the flowering stage.
Many of the spectrum wavelength ranges I mention above are visible to the human eye, but plants require wavelengths above and below the visual spectrum of light that includes ultraviolet (<400nm) and far-red/infrared (>700nm).
The Benefits of UV light for Indoor Growing
Sunlight is electromagnetic radiation, which includes the visible light spectrum, infrared and ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet (UV) light has a shorter wavelength of less than 400nm compared to visible light.
The surface of a plant has photoreceptors that can feel the quantity and quality of light they are being exposed to. When the hotoreceptors sense the presence of UV, the plant produces photomorphogenic responses to the presence of UV radiation. These protective responses include increased production of essential oils and resins. Trichomes are a fine coating of resin glands produced as sunscreen to protect plants from UV radiation.
When plants are exposed to UV, the resin and trichome formation increase. Balance is the key to effective UV use. Using too much or incorrect ratios can harm your plants. However, having a perfect balance will give growers some incredible and useful results.
What Is Infrared Light?
Did you know that roughly 49.4% of the light that reaches the surface of the earth is what we call infrared (IR) light, or heat radiation?
You see, visible light actually accounts for less than half of the Sun’s radiation. In addition to the wavelengths of light that people are able to see, the Sun also emits light wavelengths that are too short or too long for humans to see, yet we can still feel them. That's IR light.
Infrared light is part of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, where wavelengths are longer than those of visible light. Typically, IR wavelengths range from 700 nanometers to 1 micrometer. These longer wavelengths are one of the main ways that heat is able to be transferred from one source to another. Longer wavelengths of infrared light produce more heat.
Infrared light is made up of a range of wavelengths:
- Near-infrared — Wavelengths that fall in this range are the shortest in the IR light spectrum. These wavelengths are closest to being visible, and they are used in common objects like your television remote control. Near-infrared lights are not hot.
- Mid-infrared — Wavelengths in this range are warmer than those in the near-infrared range, but are still not considered hot. Using special equipment, scientists and astronomers are able to use mid-infrared light to better observe and study planets and other celestial objects.
- Far-infrared — Wavelengths in this range are hot. This is the type of IR light that is used within grow lights in order to help plants grow and bloom.
In the same way that the Sun is able to emit infrared light that outdoor plants can receive, LED grow lights can also provide IR light for indoor plants. Some growers hesitate to use this light because they believe the heat it provides will harm their plants, but that’s not necessarily true. That’s because grow lights are able to provide the right infrared wavelengths that actually trigger plant growth and aid in photosynthesis.
LEDs are made up of several diodes, some of which are capable of producing IR light. Most LEDs typically only produce visible light like blue and red wavelengths. So in order to emit infrared light, growers need to add infrared emitting diodes.
Here are three best LED grow lights:
- Save 100%-200% on lighting compared to other brands;
- Industry top efficacy and light output - 2.9 μmol/j ;
- Reduce HVAC and electricity costs by 50-60%;
- Make you get 30% higher yield compared the traditional lamps, increase revenue with better quality flower,s and higher yield(maximize crop yield by growing vertical).
- Using high efficient and more reliable Samsung LM301H & Osram Chip horticultural LEDs.
- 3 Channel Dimmers, VEG switch, Bloom switch, UV switch separately controlled, Freely adjust the lamps according to different growing stages; VEG dimmer to control white light 5000K, one Bloom dimmer to control white light +red light ( 3000K+660nm), and UV dimmer to control UV 395nm.
- Plug & Play design, horticultural can be easier!
- Application: All those products are widely used in grow tents, house gardens, pot culture, hydroponics, greenhouse cultivation, etc.
- Tailored spectrum can meet all your various application needs, easy for full growth cycle.
- Perfect heat management, cool to touch.
1. Use Samsung high bin LEDs, ultra high PPFD, replace HPS 600W and 1000W perfectly
2. 660W /760W/ 900W/ multiple wattage optional
3. High lighting effect, 90% led grow light will be absorbed by plant, but to the tradition HPS light and MH light, its effect only 8% - 10%.
4. LED MODEL Meteor Storm is a high performance & affordable top-lighting solution for horticulture. Designed for applications requiring efficient,precise and uniform levels of PPFD.
- ECO Farm Master/Station version foldable LED fixture, with 8 bars, could evenly cover 4’X4’ and 5X5’ area.
- Actual 880W light, provide powerful and quality light to the plant.
- High-efficiency full spectrum light strips: Using Samsung white chips and Osram red chips, could up to 2.8 μmol/J, PPF up to 2184 μmol/s.
- Master version light with built-in LCD color screen, showing the detailed status of the fixture and its group members. Such as dimming percentage, wattage, amps, PPF value, spectrum, timer status.
- Highlight: Built-in a control system on Master, with a step-less dimmer and five-step timer. One Master can control up to 50pcs of Stations. In other words, any changes made in Master will sync across all the connected Stations.
- Spectrum Tunable. There are four types of spectrum built-in this fixture, it provides a suitable spectrum for different stages of medicinal plant growth, such as V1 for VEG stage, F1 for the flowering stage, FS for the last two weeks of flowering.
- UV/IR enhanced bars was easy to install/uninstall from the fixtures. Item was our most creative mechanism design that enables you the most time-saving and convenient way to install the fixture.
- Note: Our lights contain UV IR by default
Ok, that's all for our topic today. If you are also interested in other grow equipments, welcome to visit our website: ecofarm.ca
Our emails address is: business@ecofarm.ca
Contact:
Leave a comment
Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more…
+86 18317927911
© 2024 ECO Farm.
All Rights Reserved.