The influences of light conditions on the quality maintenance of potted Phalaenopsis orchids during simulated transport condition

Abstract

This study evaluated the feasibility of introducing LED light to alleviate stress caused by prolonged darkness during simulated transport for potted Phalaenopsis orchids. Using complete darkness as a control, plants were exposed to blue and/or red LED light for 7, 14, 21, 28, or 35 days. Morphological assessments suggest that a combination of red and blue light outperformed monochromatic illumination for flower preservation. Follow-up experiments further revealed that red-blue light combination at 8:2 ratio showed the highest efficacy in maintaining photosynthetic performance, mitigating ROS and malondialdehyde accumulation, delaying lipid peroxidation, and improving petal water retention. Transcriptomic analysis further provided molecular insights into the beneficial role of blue/red light illumination in quality maintenance of potted Phalaenopsis orchids. Collectively, these findings suggest that the blue/red LED light supplementation may serve as a promising approach to mitigate dark-induced stress under controlled laboratory and static simulated conditions, though further validation under practical transportation environments is required.