Method for cultivating plant

• US 9,549,507 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Showa Denko KK
• Original Assignee: Showa Denko KK
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Ryouichi, Ara, Hironori
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Monica
• Assistant Examiner(s): Topolski, Magdalena
• Application Number:
  US14/171,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20140215918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• Field of Search: 47/581.LS
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 7/045 with electric lighting
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/14 Measures for saving energy, e.g. in green houses

Abstract

A plant-cultivating method is provided which comprises a step (A) of irradiating a plant with a red light and a step (B) of irradiating a plant with a blue light, and a step (C) of irradiating a plant with a light predominantly comprised of far-red light wherein the step (A), the step (B) and the step (C) are independently and separately carried out for a predetermined period of time. The light irradiated at each of the steps (A), (B) and (C) has at least 60%, based on the total emission intensity of the light, of an emission intensity ratio of red light, blue light or far-red light.

Claims

1. A method of cultivating a plant comprising a step (A) of irradiating a plant with a red light and a step (B) of irradiating a plant with a blue light, wherein the red light irradiation step (A) and the blue light irradiation step (B) are independently and repeatedly carried out for a predetermined period of time, wherein said method of plant-cultivation further comprises a step (C) of irradiating a plant with a light predominantly comprised of a far-red light, separately from the red light irradiation step (A) and the blue light irradiation step (B), and

wherein the irradiation time of the far-red light step is 4 hours or more and the irradiation time of each of the red light step and the blue light step is greater than the irradiation time of the far-red light step.

2. The method of cultivating a plant according to claim 1, wherein the light irradiated at the far-red light irradiation step (C) has at least 60%, based on the total emission intensity of the light, of an emission intensity ratio of far-red light.

3. The method of cultivating a plant according to claim 1, wherein the light irradiated at the red light irradiation step (A) has at least 60%, based on the total emission intensity of said light irradiated at the step (A), of an emission intensity ratio of red light.

4. The method of cultivating a plant according to claim 1, wherein the light irradiated at the blue light irradiation step (B) has at least 60%, based on the total emission intensity of said light irradiated at the step (B), of an emission intensity ratio of blue light.

5. The method of cultivating a plant according to claim 1, wherein the far-red light has a center wavelength in the range of 720 nm to 780 nm, the red light has a center wavelength in the range of 620 nm to 700 nm, and the blue light has a center wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 480 nm.

6. The method of cultivating a plant according to claim 1, wherein the red light is irradiated by using a semiconductor light emitting element having an AlGaInP light emitting layer, the blue light is irradiated by using a semiconductor light emitting element having a GaInN light emitting layer, and the far-red light is irradiated by using a semiconductor light emitting element having an AlGaAs light emitting layer.

7. The method of cultivating a plant according to claim 1, wherein the red light irradiation step (A), the blue light irradiation step (B) and the far-red light irradiation step (C) are alternately and repeatedly carried, and each of the red light irradiation step (A), the blue light irradiation step (B), and the far-red light irradiation step (C) is carried out over a period of at least one hour for each irradiation time.

8. The method of cultivating a plant according to claim 1, wherein the red light irradiation step (A), the blue light irradiation step (B) and the far-red light irradiation step (C) are carried out using an illumination lamp facility having red light emitting elements, blue light emitting elements and far-red light emitting elements, which are capable of being independently operated, and wherein a ratio of the total emission intensity of red light to the total emission intensity of blue light is in the range of 1:

1 to 9;

1, and a ratio of the total emission intensity of blue light to the total emission intensity of far-red light is in the range of 1;

1 to 9;

1.