Reaping a Harvest a Day

This article reviews how agricultural facilities can harvest about two crops per year. The controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facility is a hydroponic project that began operating in July 1999. It uses computer software to control lighting, environmental conditions, nutrient balance, water pH, and other parameters to create optimal lettuce-growing conditions. The agricultural facility’s story began 10 years ago, when a graduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca found that optimizing environmental conditions enabled him to grow seedlings for nurseries in 16 days, rather than the 35 days required by conventional agricultural nurseries. NYSERDA has conducted studies examining the total energy package of conventional agriculture, from producing seed to transporting vegetables to market, and found that northeastern controlled environment facilities will use less energy than shipping produce from the West Coast or South America. Growers also can tout the fact that their produce is grown without herbicides or pesticides, a major marketing advantage to attract consumers seeking organically grown produce.

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(295) Measuring and Reporting Growing Conditions in Controlled Environments

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.40.4.1009b ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 1009B-1009

Author(s):

Marc W. van Iersel

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Working Group ◽

International Committee ◽

Controlled Environment ◽

The North ◽

Controlled Environments ◽

Air Speed ◽

Growing Conditions ◽

Replication Of Experiments

Do you accurately measure and report the growing conditions of your controlled environment experiments? Conditions in controlled environment plant growth rooms and chambers should be reported in detail. This is important to allow replication of experiments on plants, to compare results among facilities, and to avoid artefacts due to uncontrolled variables. The International Committee for Controlled Environment Guidelines, with representatives from the U.K. Controlled Environment Users' Group, the North American Committee on Controlled Environment Technology and Use (NCR-101), and Australasian Controlled Environment Working Group (ACEWG), has developed guidlines to report environmental conditions in controlled environment experiments. These guidelines include measurements of light, temperature, humidity, CO2, air speed, and fertility. A brochure with these guidelines and a sample paragraph on how to include this information in a manuscript will be available.

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The Impact of Different Environmental Conditions during Vegetative Propagation on Growth, Survival, and Biochemical Characteristics in Populus Hybrids in Clonal Field Trial

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12070892 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 892

Author(s):

Valda Gudynaitė-Franckevičienė ◽

Alfas Pliūra

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Phenotypic Plasticity ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Vegetative Propagation ◽

Genotypic Variation ◽

Hybrid Poplar ◽

Field Trials ◽

Biochemical Traits ◽

Suburban Areas ◽

Growing Conditions

To have a cleaner environment, good well-being, and improve the health of citizens it is necessary to expand green urban and suburban areas using productive and adapted material of tree species. The quality of urban greenery, resistance to negative climate change factors and pollution, as well as efficiency of short-rotation forestry in suburban areas, depends primarily on the selection of hybrids and clones, suitable for the local environmental conditions. We postulate that ecogenetic response, phenotypic plasticity, and genotypic variation of hybrid poplars (Populus L.) grown in plantations are affected not only by the peculiarities of hybrids and clones, but also by environmental conditions of their vegetative propagation. The aim of the present study was to estimate growth and biochemical responses, the phenotypic plasticity, genotypic variation of adaptive traits, and genetically regulated adaptability of Populus hybrids in field trials which may be predisposed by the simulated contrasting temperature conditions at their vegetative propagation phase. The research was performed with the 20 cultivars and experimental clones of one intraspecific cross and four different interspecific hybrids of poplars propagated under six contrasting temperature regimes in phytotron. The results suggest that certain environmental conditions during vegetative propagation not only have a short-term effect on tree viability and growth, but also can help to adapt to climate change conditions and grow successfully in the long-term. It was found that tree growth and biochemical traits (the chlorophyll A and B, pigments content and the chlorophyll A/B ratio) of hybrid poplar clones grown in field trials, as well as their traits’ genetic parameters, were affected by the rooting-growing conditions during vegetative propagation phase. Hybrids P. balsamifera × P. trichocarpa, and P. trichocarpa × P. trichocarpa have shown the most substantial changes of biochemical traits across vegetative propagation treatments in field trial. Rooting-growing conditions during vegetative propagation had also an impact on coefficients of genotypic variation and heritability in hybrid poplar clones when grown in field trials.

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Plot size matters: interference from intergenotypic competition in plant phenotyping studies

Functional Plant Biology ◽

10.1071/fp13177 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 107 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Greg J. Rebetzke ◽

Ralph (Tony) A. Fischer ◽

Anthony F. van Herwaarden ◽

Dave G. Bonnett ◽

Karine Chenu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Complex Traits ◽

Plant Phenotyping ◽

Controlled Environment ◽

Canopy Development ◽

Plot Size ◽

Field Assessment ◽

Intergenotypic Competition ◽

Growing Conditions ◽

Competition For Resources ◽

Commercial Field

Genetic and physiological studies often comprise genotypes diverse in vigour, size and flowering time. This can make the phenotyping of complex traits challenging, particularly those associated with canopy development, biomass and yield, as the environment of one genotype can be influenced by a neighbouring genotype. Limited seed and space may encourage field assessment in single, spaced rows or in small, unbordered plots, whereas the convenience of a controlled environment or greenhouse makes pot studies tempting. However, the relevance of such growing conditions to commercial field-grown crops is unclear and often doubtful. Competition for water, light and nutrients necessary for canopy growth will be variable where immediate neighbours are genetically different, particularly under stress conditions, where competition for resources and influence on productivity is greatest. Small hills and rod-rows maximise the potential for intergenotypic competition that is not relevant to a crop’s performance in monocultures. Response to resource availability will typically vary among diverse genotypes to alter genotype ranking and reduce heritability for all growth-related traits, with the possible exception of harvest index. Validation of pot experiments to performance in canopies in the field is essential, whereas the planting of multirow plots and the simple exclusion of plot borders at harvest will increase experimental precision and confidence in genotype performance in target environments.

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Model of disharmonic succession of dystrophic lakes based on aquatic beetle fauna (Coleoptera)

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf17050 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 70 (2) ◽

pp. 195 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. Pakulnicka ◽

A. Zawal

Keyword(s):

Environmental Conditions ◽

Physical Parameters ◽

Humic Lakes ◽

Ecological Value ◽

Water Ph ◽

Rare And Endangered ◽

Successional Stages ◽

The One ◽

Aquatic Beetle

Directional changes in environmental conditions during individual stages of the succession of lakes should determine the character of the aquatic beetle fauna inhabiting them. Can changes in environmental conditions lead to degradation of fauna and to a deterioration of the ecological quality of lakes? We analysed this problem in 40 lakes. The fauna of the lakes proved to be rich and diverse in terms of species. Deterioration of species richness along successional stages was not observed, but distinct changes were noted in faunal composition. The eurytopic component proved stable, whereas changes in specialised components (i.e. lake and river species and tyrphophiles) were of key importance. The formation of beetle communities in the lakes was influenced to a greater extent by environmental factors, namely substrate, macrophyte structure and Sphagnum mat cover, than by the physical parameters of the water (pH, saturation or conductivity). The lakes proved to be of considerable ecological value. Regardless of the stage of succession, they are a habitat for numerous species, including rare and endangered ones. Hence, on the one hand humic lakes play an important role in local biodiversity, whereas on the other hand they may be perceived as refuges for species in environments that could be restored as a result of beneficial measures.

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