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BACKGROUND

It has long been known that the “Flashing Light Effect” in Photosynthesis can enhance the light utilization efficiency leading to better productivity. The goal is to apply a photon flux density that is just enough to excite the majority of the light harvesting complexes to attain the maximum rate of growth, while simultaneously minimizing trapped surplus light, which renders losses in the form of heat and fluores cence. The excess absorbed light energy can cause damage to the photosynthetic apparatus from the reactive free oxygen radicals generated, known as photoinhibition. Thus, by using intermittent light, the number of excitations arriving at a closed reaction center decreases when flashes are shortened, permitting more efficient usage of light and less photodamage repair. The major potential boosts in bioproductivity stems from improving flux tolerance rather than from augmenting intrinsic …