Effects of continuous lighting with LEDs on the growth and physiological characteristics of Festuca arundinacea prior to the mature turf stage

In order to investigate the effects of continuous lighting with light-emitting diodes on the growth and physiology of turfgrass prior to the mature turf stage, we subjected plants of the Festuca arundinacea variety ‘Crossfire 4’ to normal light (light/dark = 16 h/8 h) as a control and continuous lighting (24 h) as a treatment to assess the effects of the length continuous lighting on the turf quality, growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant capacity of tall fescue turf. The results indicated no significant change in the quality of tall fescue turf within 12 days, whereas after 15 days of continuous lighting, we recorded significant reductions in values of the normalized difference vegetation index and color. Exposure to continuous light also promoted significant increases in the accumulation of above- and belowground biomass in tall fescue after 9 days, although it led to a significant reduction in chlorophyll content, which, after 6 days, was significantly lower than that in plants exposed to normal light. After 9 days of continuous lighting, the peroxidase activity of plants was significantly lower than that in plants exposed to normal light, and malondialdehyde content was significantly higher after 6 days. In summary, a short period of exposure to continuous light could serve as a strategy for accelerating turf growth in the short term, although long periods of continuous lighting can result in a reduction in chlorophyll content and inhibit the synthesis of antioxidant substances in tall fescue, ultimately leading to a suppression of plant growth.