Lighting Units and Measurements in Plant Cultivation

The correct use of light units and measurement in plant cultivation is fundamental in research and commercial applications. Currently, no consensus has been found so far between scientific and commercial communities. In this work a definition and presentation of the basic concepts of light interaction with plants is covered, as well as, the current metric systems for lighting measurements in plant cultivation. A presentation of the two main technologies used in light sensors and light measurement devices in use today, is done. This work also refers to the current guidelines for measuring and reporting lighting measurements in plant cultivation, for research and commercial applications. The final part of this work reports and discusses the results of a practical experiment of lighting measurements in plant cultivation. It emphasizes the error that can result when using the wrong metric system and when the user is performing light averaging measurements with few measuring points