We all know that the existence of grow lights is to replace natural light and promote the photosynthesis of plants. Therefore, the spectrum of a plant light determines whether the plant light can create value. Many customers may know the importance of spectra, but not very well understand how to evaluate the characteristics of a spectrum. In fact, in order to evaluate the spectrum of a lamp, we must first know what is the effective radiation of photosynthesis. Today we will take you to understand the basic principle of effective radiation of photosynthesis.

When we measure a plant light, we usually need to measure these three aspects: PPF, PPFD, DLI. Photosynthetic Photon Flow or "PPF", which measures the total amount of light produced by a light source per second. Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density or "PPFD" is a measure of the light that actually reaches the plant. DLI measures the total amount of light that is sent to the plant each day. DLI is similar to the total amount of rain, while PPFD is similar to the rate of rainfall. The most important indicator of DLI is to determine the overall growth rate of plants and algae. Once you know the preferred DLI for your plants or algae, you can easily set up a lighting system to provide the desired amount of light.

At the same time, we also need to know PAR. PAR defines the type of light required to support photosynthesis in plant life. Its full name is Photosynthetic Active Radiation. The growth rate of organisms is directly affected by light irradiation. Ultraviolet light with wavelengths of 300-400nm and far-red light with wavelengths of 700-800nm will affect the biochemical reactions and appearance of organisms. Especially in the light of 400~700nm, which is closely related to the photosynthesis of plants and algae, the light of this spectrum is called photosynthetic effective light.

Why is light in the range of 400-700nm effective light? Let's analyze the reasons in detail. There are three main types of light rays 9 that have a greater impact. Ultraviolet, visible and infrared. Next, we will analyze these three types of light in detail.

The radiant light in the first band is ultraviolet light with a lot of energy, but part of the ultraviolet light is absorbed by the ozone layer. Therefore, we are more concerned about the part of UV-b (wavelength 280-320nm) and UV-a (wavelength 320-380nm) that are closely related to agricultural film. These two wavelengths of ultraviolet rays have different effects, such as coloring the flowers of plants.

The radiation light in the second band is visible light (wavelength 400-700nm), which is equivalent to blue light, green light, yellow light and red light, and is the most important visible light part used by plants for photosynthesis. Blue and red light are the most important parts of the PAR spectral band, because riboflavin in plants can effectively absorb this part of the light9 while green light is not easily absorbed.

The radiation in the third band is infrared, which can be further divided into near infrared and far infrared. Near-infrared (wavelength 780-3,000nm) light is basically useless to plants, it only generates heat. Far-infrared rays (wavelength 3000-50,000nm) do not come directly from sunlight. It is a kind of radiation produced by molecules with thermal energy, which is easily lost at night. The most sensitive region to the spectrum is 400~700nm. This region of the spectrum is often referred to as the photosynthetically effective energy region. About 45% of sunlight's energy is in this part of the spectrum. Therefore, if an artificial light source is used to supplement the amount of light, the spectral distribution of the light source should also be close to this range.

Some researchers believe that the most photosynthetic capacity occurs in the orange-red light part. However, this does not mean that plants should be cultivated under such monochromatic light sources. Plants should receive a variety of balanced light sources for their morphological development and leaf color.

All in all, we should consider the above aspects when choosing a spectrum. We took this into consideration when developing the grow lights, so our grow lights have high PPFD and full spectrum to meet the different needs of plants at all stages of growth. And, our spectrum can be customized according to customer's requirements, everything is customer-oriented.