Fighting Plant Diseases with Ultraviolet (UV) Energy
Plant Health / Fighting Plant Diseases with Ultraviolet (UV) Light
UV energy can increase plant health and productivity and improve the health of soil and aquatic systems by reducing the amount of pesticides introduced into the environment
What We Do
LHRC researchers and our collaborators have demonstrated the power of UV energy to combat several types of plant pathogens more effectively than commercial pesticides:
Considerably reduced strawberry powdery mildew
Nearly eliminated angular leaf spot on squash
Significantly reduced cercospora leaf spot on table beets
Harness UV from sunlight to fight plant diseases in greenhouses
Where We Are Going
Educate growers on how to safely and effectively apply UV energy in field applications in place of conventional pesticides.
Advancing the state of the art by developing new UV LED (light emitting diode) systems to be able to apply UV energy more effectively and economically to a wider range of crop types.
Conduct laboratory and field research to further investigate the use of UV energy, including in combination with photocatalytic compounds, to fight additional types of plant pathogens and diseases.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Effectiveness of field applications of UV-C for controlling downy mildew in cucumber (2022)
UV-transmitting plastics reduce powdery mildew in strawberry tunnel production (2022)
Effectiveness of the field application of UV-C for cucumber downy mildew control (2022)
Output reduction over time of germicidal UV-C lamps used for treating agricultural crops (2022)
Use of ultraviolet light to suppress powdery mildew in strawberry fruit production fields (2021)
Nighttime application of UV-C to control cucumber powdery mildew (2020)
The value of red light at night for increasing basil yield (2018)
Videos, Podcasts & More
Articles:
Science Enlightening Agriculture: Helping Growers Improve Crops with UV Light (January 2021)
Research Spotlight: UV-C Treatment of Cucumber Downy Mildew (June 2022)
Podcasts/Videos:
Plant Health Research Update: UV-C Treatment of Summer Squash for Powdery Mildew and Other Diseases (April 2023)
Research Update: Nighttime Application of UV-C to Control Cucumber Downy Mildew (October 2022)
Calibration of UV-C Dragon with Experimental Foliage Agitation (July 2022)
Shining UV Light on Plant Pathogen Management (March 2021)
Fact Sheets:
Interviews/Featured Research:
Field Trials Using UV-C On Summer Squash Begin (September 2022)
UV Light – An Effective Alternative to Pesticides (August 2020)
Build Your Own UV Light 'Dragon' to Fight Crop Diseases (July 2020)
Robots Armed with UV Light Fight Grape Mildew (June 2020)
The Dragon: UV Light for Disease Management (June 2020)
Sowing the Seeds of Sustainable Food and Agriculture (June 2019)
Advanced LED Lighting For Plant Health And Protection In Controlled Environment Agriculture (September 2016)
Limitless (June 2016)
Other: