The effect of increasing the proportion of the far red region in full-spectrum LED irradiation on the growth and development of sugar beet plants (<i>Beta vulgaris</i> L. ssp. <i>vulgaris var. saccharifera</i> Alef.) in closed agrobiotechnological systems

Relevance and methodology. In order to determine the effect of increasing the proportion of far red light (different ratio of red and far red light) in the total spectrum of polychrome irradiation on the growth rates of sugar beet plants of the Smena hybrid, they were grown for 82 days under LED lighting under controlled climate conditions in a Synergotron digital device of the ISR 2.01 model with a twofold increase in the proportion of far red light compared to control.Results. An increase in the proportion of far red light led to an increase in the specific weight of leaves with a smaller area of leaves in the initial period of plant growth, higher values of the quantum yield of photosynthesis, the rate of electron transport, and a decrease in energy losses mainly to heat. The biometric indicators of plants changed depending on the period of ontogeny. In the initial period, the biomass of the aerial part prevailed, in the subsequent period, the biomass of root crops. In the experimental variant, the accumulation of biomass in the aerial parts of plants in the initial period of the experiment turned out to be less than in the control, and only at the end of the experiment was an excess of the total biomass in the experimental variant by 12.2%. There was an increase in the accumulation of root biomass compared to the control by 38.7%. The predominant part of the aboveground biomass of sugar beet was made up of leaf blades, the proportion of petioles was much less and practically did not depend on the composition of the light. At the end of the growing period, the dry matter content in root crops increased by 2.44% compared to the control, sugar content – by 0.65%. The data obtained can be used in the development of technology for artificial lighting of sugar beets when grown in closed agrobiotechnosystems in order to increase the yield and sugar content of root crops.