Light-Induced Changes in RGB Reflectance Parameters in Wheat and Pea Leaves in the Minute Range

Parameters of reflected light, measured in narrow or broad spectral bands, are widely analyzed for remote and proximal sensing of plant responses to stressors. Specifically, parameters of reflectance in red (R), green (G), and blue (B) spectral bands measured using simple color images can be sensitive to characteristics of plants. The conventional view is that RGB reflectance primarily reveals long-term changes in plants (days, weeks, etc.). In this study, we investigated light-induced changes in RGB reflectance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves. Illumination increased this reflectance for about 10 min in wheat and about 15–20 min in pea; these changes relaxed after light intensity was decreased. The changes in RGB reflectance were strongly related to the effective quantum yield of photosystem II and non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence under high light intensity; these relations were absent under low light intensity. We hypothesized that changes in both RGB reflectance and photosynthetic parameters were related to the light-induced changes in chloroplast localization. A simple mathematical model of optical properties and photosynthesis in leaves was developed; results of the model-based analysis supported the proposed hypothesis. Experimental analysis of the dynamics of light transmittance additionally supported this hypothesis. Our results thus show that RGB imaging can be sensitive to fast changes in plants.