School of Speed Breeding (SoSB),

In speed breeding, light is more than illumination,

It is a precision tool for accelerating crop innovation.

By combining LED-based strategies with photoperiod control, it is shaping the next generation of high-yielding, resilient crops development. While growth chambers and controlled environments are essential, one of the most transformative tools in accelerating crop development is light spectra, and intensity. Beyond its role in photosynthesis, light acts as a powerful signal that controls plant architecture, flowering, and seed set, a key features of speed breeding.

Light Spectra and Plant Development

Specific light recipes influence plant growth, and these spectra light adjustments are central to the design of speed breeding protocols.

1. UV Light → Boosts secondary metabolites and stress tolerance.
2. Blue Light → Increases vegetative growth, biomass, and metabolite production.
3. Red Light → Promotes strong vegetative growth and faster biomass accumulation.
4. Far-Red (FR) → Alters flowering time by shifting the R:FR ratio.
5. Green Light → Improves canopy-level photosynthesis in dense planting.
6. High Light Intensity → Accelerates growth and improves metabolite content.
7. End of Day Red (EOD-R) → Produces compact plants with reduced height.
8. Night Break Light → Controls flowering cycles and uniformity.

Linking Light Spectra to Speed Breeding Concepts

Speed Breeding highlights how long photoperiods (up to 22 hours of light per day) combined with specific LED spectra can reduce generation times in crops such as wheat, barley, pea, chickpea, and canola. Some key concepts include:

1. Photoperiod Extension

1. Extending light exposure mimics long summer days, triggering early flowering and rapid seed development.
2. In wheat and barley, this can cut generation time by half compared to conventional greenhouse conditions.

1. Red:Blue Ratio (R:B)

1. A balanced R:B spectrum enhances vegetative growth early on, ensuring strong plants capable of producing viable seed.
2. Later, shifting toward higher Red or including Far-Red can accelerate flowering and seed fill.

1. Customizable LED Recipes

1. Unlike traditional lighting, spectra-specific LEDs provide flexibility to fine-tune spectral quality, intensity, and duration to match crop-specific needs.
2. This makes speed breeding more scalable and energy-efficient, as shown by success in several crops.

1. Integration with Single-Seed Descent (SSD)

2. By combining spectral optimization with SSD, breeders can get 4 to 6 generations per year in crops that usually produce only 1–2.

By strategically using spectral light as a breeding tool, we can:

1. Achieve more generations per year.
2. Optimize plant growth and uniformity.
3. Develop crop-specific protocols for rapid advancement.
4. Enhance quality traits (nutrition, metabolites, stress tolerance) alongside speed.

At the School of Speed Breeding (SoSB), we integrate both scientific principles and practical light recipes, offering plant breeders reliable and customized solutions for faster crop growing practises and solutions.

Contact us to know more on LED spectral lights and its role in Speed breeding

Mobile: +91-8130997511

Email: enquiry@iht.edu.in