Adlite Supplemental Light - Full Guide to Level Up Harvest

Complete Guide to Mars Hydro Adlite Supplemental Lighting

Welcome to the inevitable future of plant growth enhancement and embark on a journey to advanced plant cultivation, with the impending debut of the Mars Hydro Adlite Supplemental LED Grow Lights. Mars Hydro, as one of the first brands to offer supplemental lighting with independent UV, IR, and red light control, has accumulated extensive experience in this field. This innovative design empowers growers to adjust light combinations more scientifically and flexibly, precisely tailoring the spectrum to support healthy plant growth and high-quality yields at each growth stage. Ready to be amazed by its efficiency and efficacy in enhancing plant cultivation? Let’s explore this brand-new under-canopy grow light series! 

Why Mars Hydro Developed Supplemental Lighting

As you already know, plants require all sorts of light spectrum to thrive. During certain plant growth stages, let’s say, the vegetative stage, plants are in favor of a bigger part of the blue spectrum to boost the leaf growth. And that’s probably what full-spectrum grow lights lack. To compensate for the spectrum gap and offer an all-around light spectrum for your plants, Mars Hydro designed and developed the Adlite Supplemental Lights with three commonly required lights, IR, UV, and Deep Red.  By combining regular grow lights with our supplemental lights, here’s what you can benefit from this full lighting system. 

Spectrum Customization and Maximum Light Utilization

Mars Hydro Adlite Supplemental Lights provide the capability for exact spectrum customization, finely tuned to meet the distinct needs of plant photosynthesis at each plant growth stage. By aligning the light spectrum with the precise wavelengths that plants absorb most efficiently, these lights ensure that every photon emitted is used to its fullest potential. 

Precise Lighting for Energy Efficiency

Implementing individual control over supplemental lighting facilitates targeted illumination, channeling energy precisely to where it's most needed throughout the various phases of plant growth. This methodical approach enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of lighting, ensuring plants are exposed to the optimal wavelengths at each stage of their development - ranging from seedling, through vegetative growth, to flowering and fruiting. By finely tuning both the direction and intensity of light, growers can significantly reduce wasted energy, directing resources only to areas and times where light is beneficial.

Better Control over UV and IR Lighting 

UV and IR lighting need separate controls due to their distinct effects on plant health. While small doses of UV enhance disease resistance and phytochemical production, excessive exposure can stress plants. IR light helps regulate sleep-wake cycles and growth transitions but can also cause issues if overused. Mars Hydro’s supplemental lighting solutions allow precise, independent control of UV and IR, enabling growers to tailor light to each growth stage, promoting plant health and optimizing yield without wasting energy.

Enhancing Growth and Yield at Lower Costs

Using red light during the flowering stage is a cost-effective way to boost growth and yield without significantly increasing energy use. Adding 55W of red light to an 800W main light achieves the same intensity as an 855W main light but enhances flowering more effectively. Reducing main light wattage during the vegetative stage also conserves energy since red light is less needed. This targeted use of red light during flowering maximizes yield and efficiency, supporting sustainable, cost-effective indoor cultivation.

An Overview of Mars Hydro Adlite Series Specifications

Mars Hydro Adlite Series comprises the UV30, UV50, IR15, IR30, Red30, and Red55, each meticulously designed to deliver exceptional performance. Let's take a quick dive into the impressive specifications of each member of the Adlite Series:

ModelSpectrum Range (nm)Power Draw (W)Coverage (ft/cm)Size (ft /cm)
Adlite-UV30365-37015W±5% x23'x2' / 90x6023.6x1.3x1.1inch (600*33.2*29.5mm)
Adlite-UV55365-37027W±5% x24'x2' / 120x6035.4x1.3x1.1inch (900*33.2*29.5mm)
Adlite-IR15730-7458W±5% x23'x2' / 90x6023.6x1.3x1.1inch (600*33.2*29.5mm)
Adlite-IR30730-74515W±5% x24'x2' / 120x6035.4x1.3x1.1inch (900*33.2*29.5mm)
Adlite-Red3066015W±5% x23'x2' / 90x6023.6x1.3x1.1inch (600*33.2*29.5mm)
Adlite-Red5566027W±5% x24'x2' / 120x6035.4x1.3x1.1inch (900*33.2*29.5mm)

 

This remarkable lineup blends carefully curated spectrums, smart design, and exceptional performance to create a horticultural experience like no other.

Crops Grown with vs. without Adlite Supplemental Light

With all being said, you must be curious about how these lights actually perform. Well, we’ve done the comparative experiment for you!  In this experiment, we focused on understanding how varying types and combinations of supplemental lighting impact tomato plants. To do this, we divided a single tomato variety into eight groups and subjected each to specific lighting conditions with the FC-6500 LED grow light. Here's a more detailed look at the treatment for each group:

Growing Conditions

Experiment Results After 106 Days

  1. Fruit Color Development:

Observations: From the images, it is evident that red light treatment accelerates fruit development and hastens color change, while UV light alone does not have this effect.

Combination of IR and Deep Red: The combination of infrared (IR) and deep red light significantly accelerates fruit development, promoting earlier ripening and faster color transition. This ensures the fruit reaches a market-preferred, ripe appearance more quickly.

Enhanced Pigmentation: This improved coloration signals the fruit's readiness for harvest and meets market standards for bright and vibrant tomatoes.

Mechanisms: The effect is due to IR's ability to deeply penetrate plant tissues, stimulating growth and maturation, while deep red light enhances pigment changes linked to ripening.

  1. Sugar Content:

Data shows that increasing light intensity encourages sugar accumulation. Supplementing with UV and deep red light increases sugar content, making tomatoes sweeter and more flavorful.

UV Impact: UV light promotes the production of secondary metabolites like flavonoids, which improve flavor.

Deep Red Impact: Deep red light influences photosynthesis and sugar accumulation by boosting the plants' carbohydrate production.

  1. Yield:

Enhanced Fruit Quality and Yield: Our studies reveal that integrating UV and Deep Red lights with standard lighting protocols (like FC-6500) not only increases the quantity of fruits but also enhances their overall quality. The combined use of UV and IR light results in fruits that are not only larger but also have better coloration, which is crucial for market appeal.

Promotion of Flowering in Short-Day Crops: The impact of Infrared (IR) light varies among different crop types. While it has minimal influence on day-neutral crops like tomatoes, it significantly enhances flowering in short-day crops such as strawberries and weed, potentially leading to increased fruit set and higher yields. Although the IR series did not play a major role in this experiment, the Adlite IR series, which emits 730-745 nm IR light, can effectively decrease the amount of phytochrome red (Pfr) to promote flowering in these short-day plants, including strawberries and certain herbs. If you are interested in the role of the IR series, we will consider conducting a separate subsequent experiment.

Consistent and Reliable Results: The use of these lights results in consistent improvements in crop yield and quality when compared to baseline conditions (CK1), where no supplemental light is used. While high-intensity light (CK2) shows a natural increase in yield and quality, the addition of UV and Deep Red light consistently surpasses these benefits, providing superior results in terms of weight and fruit development.

Performance of Adlite Supplemental Lights in Herbaceous Plants

In addition to our own test, how do Adlite supplemental grow lights work in the hands of growers like you? Based on user feedback, Adlite performs exceptionally well in real-world applications, as demonstrated by YouTuber Bill Ward

In his videos, Bill conducted a side-by-side experiment with two herbaceous plants grown in separate grow tents. Both plants were given identical environments, the same feeding regimen, and the use of Mars-Hydro FC-E1500 grow light. The only difference was that one of the grow tents included the Adlite supplemental lights. 

The results were impressive and aligned perfectly with our expectations. The herbaceous plant grown with the Adlite UV30, IR15, and Red30 supplemental lights yielded 238 grams of buds, compared to 191 grams from the plant grown without Adlite. Beyond the increased yield, Bill noted that the plant with supplemental lights had stronger stems and produced higher-quality buds.  Based on Bill’s planting results, Adlite supplemental light not only significantly boosts yields but also provides an outstanding input-output ratio. This makes it a highly valuable investment for both personal growers and commercial operations.

How to Maximize Growth with Mars Hydro Adlite Series 

Since it’s designed to be an add-on light, it's crucial to match your main grow lights with the appropriate Adlite model. As a general rule of thumb, for grow lights under 500W, suitable for small to medium areas, opt for the UV30/IR15/Red30. If your setup includes lights over 500W, ideal for larger spaces, the UV55/IR30/Red55 are recommended for their wider coverage.

Moreover, the Adlite series supports both plastic brackets and hanging ropes for installation, allowing it to work seamlessly with other LED grow lights on the market, making it easy to pair with other brands’ main lights. However, we recommend that if your main grow light is from another brand, measure the length, bar spacing (if any), and dimensions of your growing space before purchasing Adlite to ensure smooth installation and use. To help you quickly get started with our new product, we have summarized some usage tips for your reference:

For a more detailed Adlite supplemental light usage, check our explanation below: 

Application of Mars Hydro Adlite Supplemental UV Light

The Adlite UV series enhances color vibrancy, flavor, and nutritional value in plants by promoting secondary metabolite production, such as flavonoids and anthocyanins. Avoid using UV light during germination, as it can hinder seed sprouting. In the growth phase, activate UV light for 5 minutes every hour to balance benefits and avoid harm. In the early vegetative stage, use UV-A for 1-2 hours daily to enhance pigment and antioxidant production, leading to sturdier seedlings.

During the flowering stage, incorporate 10 minutes of UV light each hour. In early flowering, provide 60-90 minutes of UV light to support flower and bud development. Increase UV exposure to 90-120 minutes in mid-flowering to sustain growth, and boost it to 120 minutes in the last 2-3 weeks to optimize flower and bud maturation.

Application of Mars Hydro Adlite Supplemental IR Light

The Adlite IR series is essential for flowering and fruit-bearing stages. To leverage IR light, provide a total of 30 minutes daily, divided into two 15-minute sessions—one before the main lights turn on and another after they turn off. This timing optimizes absorption and supports stem growth and flowering while respecting natural light cycles.

Application of Mars Hydro Adlite Supplemental Red Light

The Adlite Red series is vital for optimizing flowering and fruit development, extending flowering periods, and resulting in larger fruits. To achieve that, red light should be synchronized with the main light schedule, providing 12 hours of red light daily to support consistent flowering and fruit development throughout the flowering period. Migro also tested our Adlite series and gave his own opinion, check them out to see how to use variable spectrum grow lights to make the most of them:

Conclusion

The synergistic use of Mars Hydro Adlite UV, IR, and Red lights not only promotes healthier plants but also leads to more bountiful harvests. Whether cultivating herbs, vegetables, or ornamental plants, the right combination of these specialized lights can unlock the full potential of your garden. For those passionate about indoor cultivation, planning a long-term growing journey, or aiming for higher plant quality and yield, the Adlite supplemental light is a one-time investment that will help you achieve better results with every grow!