Vertical production of ‘Konstancin’ rose cuttings in the growth chamber under led light

The impact of light quality generated by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the adventitious root formation and cuttings’ quality of rose hip ‘Konstancin’ under controlled conditions in multilevel growth chamber without access to natural light and in the greenhouse was evaluated. In the growth chamber, the lighting was provided by a combination of red and blue LED arrays and white LED tubes, while in the greenhouse, red and blue LED lights were used as a supplement to natural light. The number of rooted cuttings under both growth conditions was not affected by the light conditions generated by LEDs. However, light quality showed significant effects on the biomass production and development of adventitious roots, with the most stimulating red light generated by LEDs. In the growth chamber, the root biomass of the cuttings illuminated with white LEDs supplemented with red LEDs was on average 2.2 times higher than of the cuttings illuminated with white LEDs only. A similar reaction was noted under greenhouse conditions. Supplementation of natural light with red LEDs resulted in 1.7 times increase of the fresh biomass of roots. Both in the growth chamber and in the greenhouse, illumination with red LEDs promoted axillary bud outgrowth. LED lamps can be used in the production of high-quality rose cuttings, both in greenhouses as a complement to natural light and in multilevel rooms as a sole-source lighting for plants.