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Abstract
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Light plays a crucial role in plant growth and development, serving as both the main energy source for photosynthesis and an external signal. The use of artificial light (AL) for production of ornamental plants is growing nowadays. It is employed to enhance yield, prolonging the production season, improving product quality, and serve as photoperiodic light for regulating flowering in day length-sensitive species. Achieving successful plant growth with artificial lighting requires a careful balance of quality, intensity, and photoperiod. The numerous benefits of Light-emitting diodes (LED) technology make it an ideal choice for the ornamental industry, offering unparalleled energy efficiency, durability, compact size, long-lasting lifespan, and minimal heat emission. With the ability to carefully manipulate light quality to impact specific characteristics of plants such as architecture, pigmentation, and flowering, it is no wonder the industry is paying close attention to the potential of controlling the growing environment. By utilizing lighting technology, growers can gain various positive outcomes, such as strategic production (with options for early flowering, continuous production, and consistent yields), enhanced plant structure (improved root growth and size, stem elongation, etc), determination of leaf and flower color, and elevated product quality. When it comes to lowering energy and chemical usage (specifically pesticides and plant growth regulators), LED technology provides the floriculture industry with a solid and eco-friendly alternative. In this review paper the significance of ornamental flower production in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), together with the proper lighting strategies for production of ornamental plants are discussed.
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