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A study was conducted to observe changes in mineral element concentrations within different sections of leafy stem cuttings of Hibiscus acetosella ‘Panama Red’ (PP20121) during a 21-day propagation period under standard industry propagation conditions. Concentrations of 13 mineral elements were analyzed in leaves, lower stems (below substrate), upper stems (above substrate), and roots at 3-day intervals. Before root emergence (day 0–6), P, K, Zn, Ca, and Mg concentrations decreased in the shoots (including upper stems and leaves), whereas Zn, Ca, and B concentrations decreased in the lower stems. Sulfur increase occurred in lower stems before root emergence. After rooting (day 9–21), N, P, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Ni concentrations decreased in the roots; K, S, B, and Mg concentrations increased. In the lower stems, N, P, K, S, and Zn concentrations decreased, whereas B increased. Potassium concentration decreased in the leaves; P, K, S, and Zn decreased in the upper stems. Calcium and Mg increased in leaves. This study indicates specific nutrients are important in adventitious rooting, and that it is important to analyze rooting as a function of fine-scale temporal measurements and fine-scale sectional measurements.

Photosynthetic lighting is one of the main costs of running controlled environment agriculture facilities. To optimize photosynthetic lighting, it is important to understand how plants use the provided light. When photosynthetic pigments absorb photons, the energy from those photons is used to drive the light reactions of photosynthesis, thermally dissipated, or re-emitted by chlorophyll as fluorescence. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements can be used to determine the quantum yield of photosystem II (Φ_PSII) and nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), which is indicative of the amount of absorbed light energy that is dissipated as heat. Our objective was to develop and test a biofeedback system that allows for the control of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) based on the physiological performance of the plants. To do so, we used a chlorophyll fluorometer to measure Φ_PSII, and used these data and PPFD to calculate the electron transport rate (ETR) through PSII. A datalogger then adjusted the duty cycle of the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on the ratio of the measured ETR to a predefined target ETR (ETR_T). The biofeedback system was able to maintain ETRs of 70 or 100 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ over 16-hour periods in experiments conducted with lettuce (Lactuca sativa). With an ETR_T of 70 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, Φ_PSII was stable throughout the 16 hour and no appreciable changes in PPFD were needed. At an ETR_T of 100 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, Φ_PSII gradually decreased from 0.612 to 0.582. To maintain ETR at 100 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, PPFD had to be increased from 389 to 409 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, resulting in a gradual decrease of Φ_PSII and an increase in NPQ. The ability of the biofeedback system to achieve a range of different ETRs within a single day was tested using lettuce, sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas), and pothos (Epipremnum aureum). As the ETR_T was gradually increased, the PPFD required to achieve that ETR also increased, whereas Φ_PSII decreased. Surprisingly, a subsequent decrease in ETR_T, and in the PPFD required to achieve that ETR, resulted in only a small increase in Φ_PSII. This indicates that Φ_PSII was reduced because of photoinhibition. Our results show that the biofeedback system is able to maintain a wide range of ETRs, while it also is capable of distinguishing between NPQ and photoinhibition as causes for decreases in Φ_PSII.