GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF BILOXI SOYBEAN GROWN IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT WITH RADIATION FROM DIFFERENT CARBON-ARC SOURCES

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Abstract
The growth and composition of soybean plants produced in controlled environment rooms with a carbon-arc lamp as the principal source of radiation were detd. The arc lamp was used alone with several types of carbons, or was supplemented with a small amt. of incandescent radiation. The carbohydrate content of leaves and stems of soybeans was greatly increased by supplementing the radiation from "Sunshine" carbons with incandescent-filament radiation. Exptl. carbons cored to simulate the spectral distribution of the combined arc and incandescent source failed to produce as much dry wt., protein, or carbohydrate as when the arc was supplemented with incandescent radiation. The merits of carbon-arc as a source of radiant energy for plant growth are discussed and compared with other artificial sources. The conclusion is reached that radiation from a carbon-arc supplemented with that from incandescent-filament lamps is superior to any other type for growing many kinds of plants.