Specific light wavelengths change flavor / scent profile of some crops (article)

from this link (text pasted below):
http://news.ufl.edu/archive/2013/07...vor-scent-volatiles-in-plants-and-fruits.html


It claims something that I have wondered about for some time (maybe this has already been covered on ICMAG) - that you can modify the smell and flavor profile of a plant (or a fruit, specifically) by drastically changing the wavelength of light during a portion of the ripening period, specifically with LED's that can give off very narrow / specific bandwidth. This is something that I have always been curious about with certain hormones / cytokinins / polyphenols / flavonoids, but rather than using "steroids" or PGR's this article points to the possibility of being able to do it simply with light wavelengths.

It is common knowledge that sun-grown and HID-grown cannabis can vary in flavor / smell which is probably due in part to the light source and intensity, but being able to bring out specific compounds that control specific flavors & smells using specific light wavelengths is some new stuff I've never heard of.


Anybody knowledgeable in this area? Is this old news? Will it work with cannabis?



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July 22, 2013. University of Florida

.....The results of a new University of Florida study tell them how specific light wavelengths can manipulate volatile compounds that control aroma and taste in several high-value crops, including petunia, tomato, strawberry and blueberry.
And their findings open the door to more studies into ways light may someday be used to improve the flavor and nutritional content of fruits, vegetables and herbs, even the scent of flowers, said Thomas Colquhoun, an assistant professor in environmental horticulture at UF and lead author of the study that was published online this month by the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology.
The team began with petunia cuttings, exposing them to narrow bandwidth LED light in varying wavelengths. They found that a key floral volatile called 2-phenylethanol increased when the plant was exposed to red and far-red treatments (far-red is a hue so far on the color spectrum that humans can’t detect it, but plants can).
They conducted similar tests on tomato, strawberry and blueberry, finding that flavor volatiles in each of those fruits could be manipulated with light. Blueberry volatiles changed the least, but the changes were still statistically significant, said Kevin Folta, chairman of UF’s horticultural sciences department. Folta and Colquhoun are part of UF’s Institute for Plant Innovation, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
The technology will likely find its way into grocery store produce sections, greenhouses and food companies involved in postharvest handling and shipping, Folta said.
And consumers might someday find the technology used in their homes, as well.
“You might even see it used in your refrigerator — instead of you closing the door and the light goes out, you’ll close the door and the light goes on,” Folta said. “And it’ll all happen in a way that positively influences the flavor profiles of food.”
The team is now working with UF dentistry professor and taste expert Linda Bartoshuk on a National Institutes of Health-funded study that will test whether consumers can taste differences in light-treated fruit.

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all very interesting stuff to me. This could be a new use for LED grow lights with a user-controllable spectrum; narrow-band lighting for short periods during final ripening to modify or improve taste and flavor profiles. thoughts?

I am doing something I normally frown upon. I am going to use anecdotal evidence in support of a theory.
Anecdotal as in it happened, but in haphazard fashion and no control for comparison.

I am in the middle of testing the effects of far red during growing indoors. I did five harvests checking stability in hermie prone sativa and am on the first harvest with reduced dark time.

One item I dismissed was the bud room odor. Using bare minimum chemical nutrients makes the garden not overly smelly.
The last few months the aroma hit strong enough to penetrate the conscience when entering the budroom. This coincides with the use of far red supplements.

I assumed it was my nose being more sensitive, although after 16 years of growing I am kinda used to the smells, and smiled at how fine it was. I always assumed I would get over making assumptions, that worked out as well as could be expected.

Most all of the plant problems are solved with lighting, the nutrient package has not changed in 14 years other than the addition of silicon a year and a half ago.

This extra odor I noticed and the article SpaceJunkOG posted are enough to get me thinking of rebuilding the light test budroom to begin side by sides on far red and stink.
Once is random, twice is coincidence, and three times is a pattern.
A lot depends on how the heart holds up, physical action is limited.

Right now 13 watts of Far Red costs $60 USD and should get cheaper as already there are two brands and more coming. Cheap enough for anyone to get involved if they wish.

In my experience you can smell if the temperature is above a certain level or not.
So for example at 26.3 you can't smell a thing and at 26.4 you can smell the plants clearly.
A very specific temperature, which is different per strain, triggers the emission of terpenes or stops it again.

Just like very exact temperatures trigger certain "gene switches" certain wavelengths do the same almost instantly.
There are huge differences between chemical profiles during the day and at night, for example THC levels are almost twice as high during the day and most terpene levels more than twice as high.
Also THC levels of indoor grown cannabis are always ~25% higher in winter -in the Netherlands- and for terpenes that must be more.

Far red light costs about 1 euro per two incandescents (any wattage) here at the HEMA

Bubbleblower said:

In my experience you can smell if the temperature is above a certain level or not.
So for example at 26.3 you can't smell a thing and at 26.4 you can smell the plants clearly.

Click to expand...

Having far red absorbed by the leaf is going to change the surface temperature, not a lot but definitely a change.
That would explain the aroma during the overlap times. I am hoping some of that will stay with the buds through the curing process.

cool!