Japanese Chemical engineering firm Showa Denko K.K. has cooperated with Masayoshi Shigyo, a professor at Yamaguchi University’s Faculty of Agriculture, to develop new LED lighting technology to spur plant growth in factory controlled conditions, by changing the blue-red ratio through each stage of a plant's development.

The technology shortens the growth period of leaf lettuce, for example, to two weeks from three weeks using conventional methods.

With growing corporate interest in the vegetable factory business, Showa Denko said the new technique offers significant business opportunities. It has already sold the rights to use the technology in at least 10 cases.

“In the future, we hope to expand the sales channel worldwide, including the Middle East, which tends to have difficulty growing vegetables due to the strong sunlight,” said Hiroshi Suzuki, a Showa Denko official.