Effect of Ratios of Red and White Light on the Growth and Quality of Pak Choi

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Manuscript ID: agronomy-1915914
Type of manuscript: Article
Title: Effect of Ratios of Red and White Light on the Growth and Quality of Pak hoi
Authors: Xinyang He, Rui He, Yamin Li, Kaizhe Liu, Jiehui Tan, Yongkang Chen, Xiaojuan Liu, Houcheng Liu

Artykuł dotyczy wpływu światła czerwonego i białego na masę pędów i korzeni Pak choi, parametrów fotosyntezy (zawartość chlorofilu i karotenoidów, fluorescencja chlorofilu) oraz składników odżywczych (cukier, białko, witamina C) oraz substancji chemicznych (azotany, polifenole, flawonoidy, DPPH, przeciwutleniacze, glukozynolany). Temat tej pracy jest ciekawy, ale panuje chaos. Należy go uporządkować, aby zwykły czytelnik mógł zrozumieć tę pracę. Światło odgrywa bardzo ważną rolę w rozwoju roślin uprawnych i warzywnych.

Autorzy powinni wskazać we wstępie powód swoich badań, dlaczego taki temat? Co nowego? Do tej pory istnieje wiele badań nad wpływem światła na rośliny. Proponuję uporządkować podrozdziały w Materiale i Metodach poniżej i postępować zgodnie z tą kolejnością w innych sekcjach (Wyniki, Dyskusja), omówić wzrost roślin, parametry fotosyntetyczne, składniki odżywcze itp. jeden po drugim. Dyskusja ma również na celu podkreślenie obszaru nowości w badaniu poruszonym przez autorów. Autorzy mogli napisać dwa zdania podsumowujące. Wnioski są zbyt ogólne, konieczne jest udzielenie odpowiedzi na hipotezę przedstawioną w artykule i podkreślenie potrzeby tych badań. Autorzy pisali wcześniej o zastosowaniu tych informacji do celów hodowli pak choi w fabryce pod sztucznym oświetleniem, do czego jeszcze można by wykorzystać ten wynik badań?

Praca nie może być opublikowana w obecnej formie. Jeśli praca zostanie poprawiona, biorąc pod uwagę komentarze, możliwe będzie opublikowanie jej w Agronomii.  

Tytuł Zagubiony list.

Jest to: 'Pak hoi'

Powinno być: "Pak choi"

Abstrakt

Wiersze 14 i 17 Usuń "rzeczywiste"

Linia 14. Wprowadź spację między szybkością słów a (Y (II)) i usuń nawias Y (II)

Jest to:

... podczas gdy rzeczywista szybkość fotosyntezy (Y (ll)), ...

Powinno to być:

... podczas gdy szybkość fotosyntezy Y (ll), ...

Słowa kluczowe

Jest to:

Słowa kluczowe: czerwone światło; niebieskie światło; zielone światło; pak choi; odżywianie; antyoksydanty

Powinno to być:

Słowa kluczowe: czerwone, niebieskie i zielone światło; pak choi; parametry fotosyntetyczne; składniki odżywcze; antyoksydanty 

Wprowadzenie

Linia 54. Powinien rozwinąć się na Pak Choi. Jaki gatunek i skąd pochodzi? Gdzie ma zastosowanie?

Materiał i metody

Podział sekcji do zmiany. Zmień tytuły podsekcji i kolejność. Moja sugestia jest taka, że:

2.1. Materiały roślinne, warunki wzrostu i zabiegi

2.2. Wzrost roślin

2.3. Parametry fotosyntetyczne

2.3.1. Pomiary fluorescencji chlorofilu

2.3.2. Zawartość chlorofilu (Chl) i karotenoidów

2.4. Składniki odżywcze

2.4.1. Cukier rozpuszczalny Conten

2.4.2. Zawartość rozpuszczalnego białka

2.4.3. Zawartość witaminy C

2.5. Komponety chemiczne

2.5.1. Zawartość azotanów

2.5.2. Zawartość polifenoli

2.5.3. Zawartość flawonoidów

2.5.4. DPPH Szczur wymiatający radykalnie

2.5.5. Redukująca żelazo moc antyoksydacyjna

2.5.6. Oznaczanie zawartości glukozynolanów

2.6. Statistical Analysis

Line 61. There is no opinion. You should start something like this:

It is:

‘The study was conducted in an artificial lighting plant factory at the South China Agricultural University (East longitude 113.36°, north latitude 23.16°). Pak choi (cv. Xiashangwei No.2) seeds were sown in a sponge block (2cm × 2cm × 2cm) containing a half-strength Hoagland nutrient solution. Seeding was grown under PPFD of 250 μmol·m^{- 2}·s-¹ white LEDs, 10/14 h light/ dark, 20 ± 2 °C, and 65%-75% relative humidity. Seedlings with the three true leaves were transplanted to a hydroponic system at 14 days after sowing.’

It should be:

 ‘The research material was Pak Choi seedlings (cv Xiashangwei No. 2). The study was conducted in an artificial lighting plant factory at the South China Agricultural University (East longitude 113.36°, north latitude 23.16°). Pak choi (cv. Xiashangwei No.2) seeds were sown in a sponge block (2cm × 2cm × 2cm) containing a half-strength Hoagland nutrient solution. Seeding was grown under PPFD of 250 μmol·m- 2·s-1 white LEDs, 10/14 h light/ dark, 20 ± 2 °C, and 65%-75% relative humidity. The 14-day-old seedlings with three true leaves were placed in the hydroponic system.’

Mention something about the hydroponic system? What was it used, i.e. what substrate? How many seeds were sown?

Line 85. Provide the name of the balance, manufacturer and country

Line 87. Leaf and tail length measured with a microscope Name, manufacturer and country must be entered here. Add ... using a microscope (name, manufacturer, country) with software ...

Lines 94-95. Bold the word ‘Figure 2. ‘

It is:

Figure 2. Pak choi morphology at 35 days after treatments. CK: only white light, LR: red: white=1:2, 94 MR= red: white=1:1, LR= red: white=2:1. The direction and color of the arrows indicate trends in the 95 intensity of the different light qualities.

It should be:

Figure 2. Pak choi morphology at 35 days after treatments. CK: only white light, LR: red: white=1:2, 94 MR= red: white=1:1, LR= red: white=2:1. The direction and color of the arrows indicate trends in the 95 intensity of the different light qualities.

Line 189. Put spaces after the word TBtools

It is:

TBtools[32]

It should be:

TBtools [32]

Results Must be organized as in the Material and Methods section. First, plant growth parameters, photosythetic parameters, and so on. Under the tables and graphs, explain the designation CK, LR, MR, HR.

Lines 209, 215 It is: (Fig. 3) It should be: (Figure 3)

Explain the notations Fv / Fm, Y (II), Y (NPQ), Y (NO under Figure 3

 Line 224 It is: (Fig. 4) It should be: (Figure 4)

Explain the abbreviation VC under Figure 4

Line 235. Put spaces after the word error

It is:

…error(n=3)…

It should be:

…error (n=3)…

Line 239 It is: (Fig. 5) It should be: (Figure 5)

Line 252 It is:  (Fig. 6) It should be: (Figure 6)

Line 272 It is:  (Fig. 7) It should be: (Figure 7)

Line 280 Put dot

It is:

Figure 7 Cluster heat map analysis of pak choi grown under the different ratios of red and white 280 light treatments. Results are visualized using a false-color scale, with blue indicating a decrease and 281 red indicating an increase in the response parameters.

It should be:

Figure 7. Cluster heat map analysis of pak choi grown under the different ratios of red and white 280 light treatments. Results are visualized using a false-color scale, with blue indicating a decrease and 281 red indicating an increase in the response parameters.

Lines 286, 355, 364, 389 It is: (Fig. 8) It should be: (Figure 8)

Line 313 Put dot

It is:

Figure 8 Principal component analysis of pak choi grown under the different ratios of red and white 313 light treatments.

It should be:

Figure 8. Principal component analysis of pak choi grown under the different ratios of red and white 313 light treatments.

Discussion

The order of the subsections should be kept as in the Material and Methods section, i.e. discuss plant growth, photosynthetic parameters, nutrients, and chemical components.

Conclusions

Too general a conclusion needs to be corrected. It should be clear and give an answer to the research problem posed.

References

Check references in accordance with Agronomy journal requirements. Some mistakes below, please pay attention where to be in bold, italics etc.

Line 460 bold pages 213-222 remove bold 213-222

Line 464 bold pages 262 remove bold 262

Line 467  next to the pages is pp. 251-258 remove 'pp.'

Line 508 next to the pages is pp. 152-178 remove ‘pp.’

Line 521

It is:

BioRxiv 2018, 289660, 289660.

It should be:

BioRxiv 2018, 289660, 289660.  

Comments for author File: Comments.docx

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

This study investigated the effects of different ratios of red and white light on the yield, quality, and photosynthesis of pak choi (Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis var. communis), a crop characterized by a high content of biochemical compound beneficial to human health.  The main findings evidenced that, among the tested light quality regimes, LR (Red light : W light 1 : 2 ) is the most suitable for pak choi growth from a physiological and nutraceutical point of view. 

The scientific concept is attractive, as well as the results. However, improvements are required.

Introduction:

1)Lines 44-49: green light, added to blue and red light, can drives photosynthesis through morphological, physiological and metabolic adjustments in different species. Significant evidence that can enrich the role of green light in the section ‘Introduction’ is reported in https://peerj.com/articles/13677/, DOI: 10.32615/ps.2020.039, focused on the effect of red, blue and green light (alone or in combination) on tomato and spinach plants.

2)Line 34: ‘and’ should be ‘an’

Material and Methods and Results:

3)Lines 71-78, Figure 1 and Table 1: You indicated for the red light a peak at 660 ± 10 nm and for white light a peak at 440 nm. However, the spectral distribution and the light parameters provided in Table 1, point out that the light treatments were composed of red, blue and green lights. Indeed, a peak at 440 nm is included in the blue portion of the spectra. So, why did you use W: R ratios to recognize the light regimes instead of adopting specific ratios among red, green and blue light? Finally, I suggest explaining the meaning of the abbreviation LR, MR, and HR (low, medium and high red?) at the first appearance.

5)Line 196: ‘. And shoot….’ eliminate and Table 2: you should indicate the unit of measure in the brackets (g), the same for leaves area (cm² per plant);  you should replace mg/cm² DW with mg DW/cm².

6)In the caption of Table 2, in ‘error(n=9)’ add a space.

7)Lines 209-210: “The increased ratios of red light treatments all increased Y(ll) and decreased Y(NPQ)”. Actually, Y(ll) significantly increased only in LR and HR compare to CK (based on the letters of the graph).

8)Lines 210-212: The period is long. I suggest to divide it. You may compare LR to CK. After that, you may describe MR and then HR.

9)Lines 214-217: the period is hard to read. I suggest to split the sentences.

10)Lines 226-227: I suggest to rewrite the sentence.

11)Lines 239-242: I suggest to split sentences.

12)Lines 253-262: I suggest to split sentences.

13)Figure 6A: There are very little bars, some of them are invisible. I suggest to report the graph with double axes, at least for GSLs that range between 0.0 – 0.4 µmol/ g DW. In this way it should be possible to appreciate the bars.

14)Paragraph 3.6 Heatmap analysis: what about the clusters? LRs and MRs compose a cluster, while HRs and CKs are included into the other cluster. It is interesting that  the HRs, with higher red, are grouped with the controls. How can you explain this result?

Discussion

15)Sometimes, the discussion appears as a list of comparisons between the main findings of other studies and the results obtained by the authors (i.e. for biomass or pigment content). Since the findings are interesting, I strongly suggest providing more motivations for supporting them. References in the comment 1) may be helpful for deepening the discussion (biomass, photochemistry, pigments, sugar content or antioxidants).

16)Line 317: “Red light affected on phytochromes..” you should remove ‘on’.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

Thank you for addressing the suggestions. I have carefully read the manuscript, and I found it significantly improved. Following, you can find some additional remarks that should be considered.  

Lines 222-223: “Compared to CK, Y(ll) was significantly promoted by 14% while Y(NPQ) notably reduced by 20% in MR treatment.” I cannot entirely agree with the significant increment of Y(II). Comparing CK and MR, the letters on the graph are  “a” and “ab”. Please, check the letters or rewrite the sentence.

Lines 315-316: It may be better to move this period after line 324, as you described each treatment before.

Line 399: please, you should replace Fm/Fv with Fv/Fm

Lines 407-408: you could use  ‘increased Y(NO) was accompanied by a notably decreased Y(NPQ)” or “increase in Y(NO) was accompanied by a notable decrease in Y(NPQ)”

Lines 408 and 410: replace “indicated” with “indicating”

Line 422: “[36,45]. A high…”

Line 423: "affecting"

Line 423: “affecting”

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx