Controlled Environments for Production of Value-added Food Crops and Transplants

Controlled environment technologies including greenhouses and vertical farms focus on optimizing environmental conditions to maximize plant growth and development rate as well as product quality. Product quality is a critical factor due to the increasingly competitive nature of the market. Our research at the University of Arizona showed that application of moderate salt stress to tomato plants grown hydroponically could enhance soluble solids and lycopene concentrations in fruit. The experimental year-round tomato production could identify key environmental factors affecting soluble solids and lycopene. We also showed that LED-based lighting technologies could be used to enhance concentrations of health-promoting phytochemicals for food crops and also to improve plant morphology and environmental stress tolerance for seedlings/transplants. I will also discuss how controlled environment agriculture can contribute to enhancing the sustainability of conventional open-field crop production through value-added transplant production.