José Luis Castañares^1,2

1 Laboratorio de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Ruta 5 y Avenida Constitución, Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2 Estación Experimental INTA AMBA, Udaondo 1695, Ituzaingó, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Horticulture, 2026, Vol. 16, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/ijh.2026.16.0002
Received: 08 Sep., 2025    Accepted: 25 Nov., 2025    Published: 30 Jan., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Castañares J.S., 2026, Photobiology in hydroponics: effects of artificial light quality on crop growth, metabolism and resilience, International Journal of Horticulture, 16(1): 15-26 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2026.16.0002)

Hydroponic cultivation has emerged as a highly efficient method for producing high-quality crops in controlled environments, where artificial lighting plays a central role in determining plant performance. This study synthesizes current knowledge on how artificial light spectra (particularly blue, red, green, far-red and UV-A/B) affect plant growth, metabolism and stress resilience in soilless cultivation systems. The review highlights an integrated framework of light quality-metabolism-stress resistance and discusses how spectral composition influences both productivity and functional quality. Red and blue wavelengths, widely used due to their photosynthetic roles, are shown to increase yields by approximately 15%-25% compared with monochromatic or broad-spectrum light. Emerging evidence further emphasizes the functional relevance of green, far-red and ultraviolet light in modulating biomass accumulation, secondary metabolite production and abiotic stress responses. The study underscores the importance of tailoring light quality according to species, growth stage and desired agronomic outcomes, integrating dynamic lighting strategies, crop-specific “light recipes” and AI-assisted control. Understanding and leveraging photobiological responses in hydroponics are essential to achieving sustainable, high-performance food production.

Hydroponics; Artificial light spectra; Photobiology; LED-based lighting strategies; Dynamic lighting control