LED Lighting for Horticulture

There is no single optimal LED spectrum — plant responses to light are species-specific. This article translates more our 20 years experience into LED lighting into practical spectral recommendations for horticulture LED grow lights for lettuce, spinach, kale, basil, pepper, tomato, cucumber, strawberry, and medicinal herbs. Covers red/blue ratios, PPFD targets, far-red guidance by growth stage, and which module architecture fits each crop type.

Light controls 90% of plant growth genes — yet most horticulture lighting decisions are still made with the wrong metrics. This guide covers the photobiology behind LED spectrum design, how to evaluate LED components from Nichia, Cree, Osram and Seoul Semiconductor, optics and thermal engineering, PCB substrate selection, and the TCO framework that determines whether a system pays for itself.