A study of the modeling of fluorescent lighting systems for micropropa
gation is presented. A full scale mockup of a micropropagation shelf w
as constructed, and measurements afflux density at various locations u
nder various luminaire mounting heights and configurations were record
ed. Analytical and empirical modeling using a number of calculation te
chniques, including the Integrated Area Fourier Series (IAFS) techniqu
e and empirical regression based; modeling techniques, were employed t
o replicate the measured values. The error of the techniques was analy
zed. Modeling of the flux densities at the vessel lid level using the
analytical IAFS technique results in a Relative Mean Absolute Error (R
MAE) of 5.1% when calculating average flux density on a shelf, and 4.5
% when calculating relative mean deviation, which is a measure of unif
ormity. Use of an empirical regression model based an IAFS values to p
redict flux densities at the plant level results in a RMAE of 9.2%, wi
th a corresponding value for relative mean deviation of 12.1%.