Light is the source of energy used by plants for making their food (via photosynthesis), growing, and producing flowers, fruit, and seeds. The primary source of light for all plants is the sun. However, artificial lighting is often needed for providing energy to plants grown on a small scale, like those in hydroponic gardens.

There are various types of artificial hydroponic lighting that is used by small-scale hydroponic cultivators for nurturing their plants. More important of these lighting types include high intensity discharge lamps, high pressure sodium lamps, conversion bulbs, and fluorescent lighting.

High Intensity Discharge Lamps

High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps produce a greater amount of light than standard halogen bulbs. They are of three main kinds: mercury vapor lamps, metal halide (MH) lamps, and high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps. MH and HPS lamps are the preferred kinds of artificial hydroponic lighting because they are spectrum selective.

Spectrum selective means that they emit light in a range of wavelengths that support optimum growth and production of hydroponic plants. When natural sunlight is absent, or very little of it is available, MH lamps are the best source of artificial light for plants. HPS lamps are more useful when used as an adjunct to natural sunlight.

Conversion Bulbs

Conversion bulbs are more specialized sources of hydroponic lighting since the intensity of their output can be adjusted by changing lamps, according to the growth-dependent needs of plants. These bulbs are designed in such a way that they run off one kind of ballast and emit light spectrum of another kind.

Thus, there are high-pressure sodium conversion (HPSC) bulbs that burn in a metal halide ballast, and metal halide conversion (MHC) bulbs that burn in an HPS ballast. The metal halide conversion bulb mostly emits blue light, used in the growing stages of hydroponic plants while the red light emitted by HPS conversion bulbs is useful in the later stages of fruiting and flowering.

Fluorescent Lamps       

Fluorescent lamps are another kind of artificial hydroponic lighting that is particularly useful in the initial stages of growing plants hydroponically, i.e. in the early stages of sprouting seedlings and developing roots. Fluorescent lamps produce a little amount of light and are usually placed close to hydroponic plants.

The main advantages of using florescent lamps include their lower cost, efficiency in energy conservation, and low production (and hence low dissipation) of heat. However, compared with the HID lamps, fluorescent lamps are not a very effective source of artificial hydroponic lighting.

Tags: hydroponic lighting

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