Researchers argue lighting modifications to boost plant yields

In Washington, in a recent perspective piece in Energy and Environmental Science, researchers led by the Carnegie Institute for Science argue that specially engineered lighting modifications through the use of photoluminescent material could drive a next big leap in the green revolution that started in the 1960s. Most plants’ use sunlight very inefficiently; less than 10 percent of the incident light that hits a plant’s leaves is actually used for photosynthesis. This makes light exposure a good target for engineering solutions to global problems, including hunger and climate change.

In their essay, researchers explored the idea of increasing the light available for photosynthetic activity by embedding a luminescent compound into a material matrix that is suspended over plants or strewn across the ground where they are growing. This could temporally redistribute the available sunlight and counteract temporary shade caused by wind or clouds, allow the light to penetrate deeper into an arboreal canopy, lessen the damage caused to plants by excess light, and perhaps, as the system is further developed, extend the hours to which a plant is exposed to light. The material science approach used, called “phytophotonic” engineering, represents an exciting path in the development of agricultural practices.

The authors think this is a good time to explore this engineering approach. This is due not only to technological developments, but also to recent research that upended scientists’ understanding of the role of green light in driving photosynthesis.