How Does Far-Red Light Affect Tomato Yield?

In this video, Karla Garcia, technical service specialist and consultant at Hort Americas, explores the recent study “Dose-response of tomato fruit yield to far-red fraction in supplementary lighting” by Vincenzi et al., 2025, published in Frontiers in Plant Science. The research investigates how the addition of far-red (FR) light to LED supplementary lighting in greenhouses can enhance tomato production.

The study shows that increasing FR fractions up to about 0.40 can enhance fruit yield by around 16%, primarily by boosting plant biomass and fruit development. However, beyond this level, the benefits plateau or even diminish, and efficiency decreases.

The findings highlight the importance of optimizing light spectra in greenhouse growing systems — balancing red and far-red light for maximum yield without compromising energy and radiation use efficiency. Plus, the added FR had minimal impact on fruit quality and shelf life.

Want to learn how light spectra can maximize your greenhouse productivity? Watch this summary.

Credits:
Vincenzi, E., Moehn, A., Katsadas, E., et al. Dose-response of tomato fruit yield to far-red fraction in supplementary lighting. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2025.

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