Quantitative evaluation of supplemental LED lighting for Axonopus compressus recovery using ANOVA and growth analysis

Urban turfgrass management, particularly for species like Axonopus compressus (Cow Grass), faces significant challenges due to light limitation in high-density built environments such as semi-enclosed stadia. This study investigates the integration of mechatronic principles and supplemental LED lighting to accelerate the recovery of chlorotic turfgrass, comparing natural sunlight exposure against a supplemental red-blue LED grow light system. A red-blue LED grow light system (5000 ± 1000 lumens) was applied nocturnally for three hours to one of two experimental patches over 15 days, with five marked sampling areas per patch; leaf colour, leaf length, leaf width, root/stem length, stem width, and leaf count were recorded on Days 1, 4, 9, and 15 and compared using ANOVA and the Mann–Whitney U test. The LED-treated patch showed a higher colour-recovery rate (0.352 versus 0.274 units day−1; 28.7% improvement) and a lower vertical-growth rate (1.438 versus 1.915 mm day−1; 24.9% lower) than the control; ANOVA identified a statistically significant between-group difference only for leaf length (p = 0.0395), with the remaining parameters not significant at α = 0.05. Canopy colour and vertical elongation emerge as candidate feedback variables for future closed-loop, energy-aware lighting control, although the present findings should be regarded as preliminary given the small sample size and limited replication.