Determining Light Conditions for Improved Carrot Seed Germination in a Closed-type Plant Factory

Germination is the first stage of the plant life cycle and affects the overall growth of the plant.The higher the germination rate, the higher the overall growth potential of the crops.This study aimed to determine the light conditions for carrot germination stages.To determine the light conditions suitable for germination, five different light conditions (R:G:B = 10:0:0, 8:0:2, 7:0:3, 6:1:3, and 0:0:10) and a dark condition were set.Germination characteristics were investigated using indices such as percent of germination (PG), germination energy (GE), mean germination time (MGT), germination rate (GR), and mean daily germination (MDG).The R:G:B = 0:0:10 treatment showed a rapid increase in the PG, exceeding 80% on the Day 5 and maintaining over 90% germination after Day 10.The R:G:B = 6:1:3 treatment showed the lowest PG in the early stages of germination, reaching 41% on the Day 5 and finally recording a germination rate of about 60%.Similarly, the R:G:B = 0:0:10 treatment showed the most favorable results in all indices: GE, MGT, GR and MDG.On the other hand, the R:G:B = 6:1:3 treatment showed the lowest performance in these indices.Therefore, it was concluded that the R:G:B = 0:0:10 treatment is suitable for germination of carrot cultivation in closed-type plant factory.