Quote:
Originally Posted by eharriett
Yeah. Uhh....... As the guy who originally started it and GOT HIS ANSWER I've been following the way this thread has gone. I'm cool with the science, BTW.
However, I've got one plant I wanted to keep growing in the winter. My solution was but a MH 400w bulb, hang it over the plant, and have it on during the day. The plant has grown quite nicely. My only complaint is my electric bill has shot up by about $25/month since I started it. Happy with results but not the increased cost. However, I **did** get the results, however costly, that I wanted.  |
Good. Then you shouldn't mind slight topic digressions after achieving satisfactory answers to your questions.
In my experience, sun loving plants can grow better under artificial light at a lower light intensity than under natural light in an unshaded greenhouse. I suspect that is because plants under artificial light do not have to adapt to light fluctuations such as caused by clouds and the changing position of sun in the sky. Also, all else equal, plants grow better under diffuse light that casts no shadows such as provided in a reflective growth chamber. Also, some plants benefit from longer light periods, e.g., lights on 24/7, than found in nature. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_light_integral. (I don't know whether musa benefit from longer light periods.) That is not to say that the plants wouldn't grow faster in diffuse, unfluctuating light of the intensity of direct sunlight. My point is that artificial light of the intensity of direct sunlight is not needed to match or exceed growth under natural light.