Journal of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences ISSN:2233-8322(Print) 2508-870X(Online) 농업생명환경연구

When designing interior spaces, the use of indoor foliage plants is considered as an integral part of providing a wonderful ambiance owing to both their aesthetic and functional properties. Being indoors, these plants are subjected to continuous lighting conditions at high temperatures with varying light intensities, which affect their survival, growth, and leaf color quality. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the influence of different light intensity levels (60, 120, and 180 µmol m^-2 s^-1) on the growth and leaf color of commonly used indoor foliage plants (Hoya carnosa f. variegata, Epipremnum aureum f. variegata, Rhapis excelsa, Hedera helix, Chamaedorea elegans, and Spathiphyllum wallisii) under high temperature and continuous lighting conditions. The results demonstrated that the growth parameters of the indoor foliage plants, after 4 weeks of treatment, were relatively better when grown under lower light intensity levels (60 and 120 µmol m^-2 s^-1) compared to when grown under a higher light intensity level (180 µmol m^-2 s^-1). The CIELAB L^* and b^* values of a majority of the indoor foliage plants increased proportionally with the light intensity level, indicating that under a higher light intensity, the leaves tend to express yellow tones. In addition, SPAD units decreased as the light intensity increased. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that indoor foliage plants are sensitive to light stress under high temperature and continuous lighting conditions; therefore, it is recommended to cultivate them under relatively low light conditions (60 and 120 µmol m^-2 s^-1).