scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Horizontal and Vertical Decoupled Aquaponic Systems for Basil Production and Effect of Light Supplementation by LED

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1414
Author(s):  
Víctor M. Fernández-Cabanás ◽  
Luis Pérez-Urrestarazu ◽  
Alexes Juárez ◽  
Nathan T. Kaufman ◽  
Jackson A. Gross
Keyword(s):  
Unit Area ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Parameters Optimization ◽  
Joint Production ◽  
Source Distribution ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Electricity Cost ◽  
Supplemental Lighting

Aquaponic facilities allow the joint production of fish and plants in a reduced space. This hydroponic technique, combined with vertical farming, is not well studied. The main objective of this work was to compare basil production between horizontal and vertical decoupled aquaponic systems and assess the utilization of supplemental lighting in a greenhouse environment. Six independent vertical racks were arranged with hydroponic trays at three heights. Three racks were affixed with LED lighting on the lowest levels and three with supplemental lighting on the intermediate level. Immediately adjacent to the vertical systems, two independent horizontal systems containing three trays were constructed to compare basil production. After 35 days of growth post transplanting, the total production per tray and weight, height, number of leaves, and nodes of 20 selected plants per tray were determined. Records of the intensity of illumination photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD)) were recorded at dawn (8:00), noon (12:00), and dusk (18:00) at randomly predetermined positions associated with the 20 selected plants per tray. The total basil production in the experiment was 58.79 kg, with an average production per unit area of 2.43 and 0.94 kg m−2 for vertical and horizontal systems, respectively. Productivity per unit area in the vertical systems was 160% greater than in horizontal systems. A significant effect of lighting, the height of the tray, and plant position inside the tray was found on plant growth parameters. Optimization of light source distribution and tray orientation can enhance the productive performance in vertical aquaponic systems. Electricity cost associated with supplemental lighting per kg of production increment was 21.84 and 12.25 $ kg−1 for the bottom and intermediate levels of the vertical system, respectively, the latter being economically the most profitable.

Development and Implementation of a New Optimal Supplemental Lighting Control Strategy in Greenhouses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahand Mosharafian ◽  
Shirin Afzali ◽  
Javad Mohammadpour Velni ◽  
Marc W. van Iersel
Keyword(s):  
Heuristic Method ◽  
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Electricity Cost ◽  
Electricity Costs ◽  
Supplemental Lighting ◽  
A Site

Abstract The use of supplemental lighting is an effective way for increasing greenhouse productivity. Recently, using light-emitting diodes (LEDs), capable of precise and quick dimmability, has increased in greenhouses. However, electricity cost of lighting can be significant, and hence, it is necessary to find optimal lighting strategies to minimize supplemental lighting costs. In this paper, we model supplemental lighting in the greenhouse equipped with LEDs as a constrained optimization problem, and we aim at minimizing electricity costs of supplemental lighting. We consider not only plant daily light integral (DLI) need during its photoperiod but also sunlight prediction and variable electricity pricing in our model. We use Markov chain to predict sunlight irradiance throughout the day. By taking sunlight prediction information into account, we avoid supplying more light than plants require. Therefore, our lighting strategy provides sufficient light for plant growth while minimizing electricity costs during the day. We propose an algorithm to find optimal supplemental lighting strategy and evaluate its performance through exhaustive simulation studies using a whole year data and compare it to a heuristic method, which aims to supply a fixed photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) to plants at each time-step during the day. We also implement our proposed lighting strategy on Raspberry Pi using Python programming language. Our prediction-based lighting approach shows (on average) about 23% electricity cost reduction compared to a heuristic method throughout the year for a site located at West Virginia.

scholarly journals Effect of Pre-Harvest Supplemental UV-A/Blue and Red/Blue LED Lighting on Lettuce Growth and Nutritional Quality

Horticulturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Triston Hooks ◽  
Joseph Masabni ◽  
Ling Sun ◽  
Genhua Niu
Keyword(s):  
Blue Light ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Ultra Violet ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Daily Light Integral ◽  
Lettuce Growth ◽  
Supplemental Lighting

Blue light and ultra-violet (UV) light have been shown to influence plant growth, morphology, and quality. In this study, we investigated the effects of pre-harvest supplemental lighting using UV-A and blue (UV-A/Blue) light and red and blue (RB) light on growth and nutritional quality of lettuce grown hydroponically in two greenhouse experiments. The RB spectrum was applied pre-harvest for two days or nights, while the UV-A/Blue spectrum was applied pre-harvest for two or four days or nights. All pre-harvest supplemental lighting treatments had a same duration of 12 h with a photon flux density (PFD) of 171 μmol m−2 s−1. Results of both experiments showed that pre-harvest supplemental lighting using UV A/Blue or RB light can increase the growth and nutritional quality of lettuce grown hydroponically. The enhancement of lettuce growth and nutritional quality by the pre-harvest supplemental lighting was more effective under low daily light integral (DLI) compared to a high DLI and tended to be more effective when applied during the night, regardless of spectrum.

scholarly journals Light Quality Affects Water Use of Sweet Basil by Changing Its Stomatal Development

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 303
Author(s):  
Sungeun Lim ◽  
Jongyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Blue Light ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Stomatal Density ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Stomatal Development ◽  
Sweet Basil ◽  
Stomatal Responses

Different light qualities affect plant growth and physiological responses, including stomatal openings. However, most researchers have focused on stomatal responses to red and blue light only, and the direct measurement of evapotranspiration has not been examined. Therefore, we quantified the evapotranspiration of sweet basil under various red (R), green (G), and blue (B) combinations using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and investigated its stomatal responses. Seedlings were subjected to five different spectral treatments for two weeks at a photosynthetic photon flux density of 200 µmol m−2 s−1. The ratios of the RGB light intensities were as follows: R 100% (R100), R:G = 75:25 (R75G25), R:B = 75:25 (R75B25), R:G:B = 60:20:20 (R60G20B20), and R:G:B = 31:42:27 (R31G42B27). During the experiment, the evapotranspiration of the plants was measured using load cells. Although there were no significant differences in growth parameters among the treatments, the photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance were higher in plants grown under blue LEDs (R75B25, R60G20B20, and R31G42B27) than in the R100 treatment. The amount of water used was different among the treatments (663.5, 726.5, 728.7, 778.0, and 782.1 mL for the R100, R75G25, R60G20B20, R75B25, and R31G42B27 treatments, respectively). The stomatal density was correlated with the blue light intensity (p = 0.0024) and with the combined intensity of green and blue light (p = 0.0029); therefore, green light was considered to promote the stomatal development of plants together with blue light. Overall, different light qualities affected the water use of plants by regulating stomatal conductance, including changes in stomatal density.

scholarly journals Effect of Different Ratios of Blue and Red LED Light on Brassicaceae Microgreens under a Controlled Environment

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 801
Author(s):  
Aušra Brazaitytė ◽  
Jurga Miliauskienė ◽  
Viktorija Vaštakaitė-Kairienė ◽  
Rūta Sutulienė ◽  
Kristina Laužikė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Light Emitting Diode ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Mineral Nutrients ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Red Led ◽  
Positive Effect

The consumption of microgreens has increased due to their having higher levels of bioactive compounds and mineral nutrients than mature plants. The lighting conditions during the cultivation of microgreens, if optimally selected, can have a positive effect by further increasing their nutritional value. Thus, our study aimed to determine the changes in mineral nutrients contents of Brassicaceae microgreens depending on different blue–red (B:R) light ratios in light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and to evaluate their growth and nutritional value according to different indexes. Experiments were performed in controlled environment growth chambers at IH LRCAF, 2020. Microgreens of mustard (Brassica juncea ‘Red Lace’) and kale (Brassica napus ‘Red Russian’) were grown hydroponically under different B:R light ratios: 0%B:100%R, 10%B:90%R, 25%B:75%R, 50%B:50%R, 75%B:25%R, and 100%B:0%R. A 220 μmol m−2 s−1 total photon flux density (TPFD), 18 h photoperiod, 21/17 ± 2 °C temperature and 60% ± 5% relative humidity in the growth chamber were maintained during cultivation. We observed that an increasing percentage of blue light in the LED illumination spectrum during growth was associated with reduced elongation in the microgreens of both species and had a positive effect on the accumulation of mostly macro- and micronutrients. However, different B:R light ratios indicate a species-dependent response to changes in growth parameters such as leaf area, fresh and dry mass, and optical leaf indexes such as for chlorophyll, flavonol, anthocyanin, and carotenoid reflectance.

scholarly journals Lighting Direction Affects Leaf Morphology, Stomatal Characteristics, and Physiology of Head Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3157
Author(s):  
Mengzhao Wang ◽  
Hao Wei ◽  
Byoung Ryong Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Epidermal Cell ◽  
Lactuca Sativa ◽  
Cell Elongation ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Plant Morphology ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Leaf Angle ◽  
Lactuca Sativa L

Plants are exposed to numerous biotic and abiotic stresses, and light is one of the most important factors that influences the plant morphology. This study was carried out to examine how the lighting direction affected the plant morphology by investigating the growth parameters, epidermal cell elongation, stomatal properties, and physiological changes. Seedlings of two head lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars, Caesar Green and Polla, were subjected to a 12 h photoperiod with a 300 μmol·m−2·s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) provided by light emitting diodes (LEDs) from three directions: the top, side, and bottom, relative to the plants. Compared with the top and side lighting, the bottom lighting increased the leaf angle and canopy by stimulating the epidermal cell elongation in leaf midrib, reduced the leaf number and root biomass, and induced large stomata with a low density, which is associated with reduced stomatal conductance and carbohydrate contents. However, the proline content and quantum yield exhibited no significant differences with the different lighting directions in both cultivars, which implies that the plants were under normal physiological conditions. In a conclusion, the lighting direction had a profound effect on the morphological characteristics of lettuce, where the plants adapted to the changing lighting environments.

scholarly journals Effect of Colour of Light on Rooting Cuttings and Subsequent Growth of Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum Ramat./Kitam.)

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 671
Author(s):  
Anita Schroeter-Zakrzewska ◽  
Faisal Anggi Pradita
Keyword(s):  
Blue Light ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density ◽  
Flower Head ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Subsequent Growth ◽  
Number Of Leaves ◽  
Leaf Greenness

A closed system for plant production with artificial light is an innovative method of plant cultivation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of light colour on rooting cuttings and subsequent growth of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum Ramat./Kitam.) During the experiments, the following conditions were maintained: photoperiod 16 h or 10 h, temperature 22 °C, relative humidity of 65–70%. LED lamps emitted the following light colours: white, blue, white + blue (50:50), and red + blue (75:25). For all light spectra, the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was 50 μmol m−2 s−1. The effectiveness of exposure to different light colours was measured with parameters: cutting weight (g), cutting length (cm), length of roots, and index of leaf greenness (SPAD). The measurements referred to plant features determining plant quality, i.e., the number of flower buds and flower head, the diameter of the flower head, height of plants, index of leaf greenness (SPAD), the number of leaves, and the fresh and dry weights of aboveground parts of plants. The rooting of cuttings and subsequent growth are integral processes in the cultivation of potted chrysanthemums. Both were differently affected by the colour of light from LED lamps. The exposure to red + blue light resulted in the highest leaf greenness index (SPAD) value and the shortest cuttings with the longest roots. White + blue light significantly influenced most of the growth parameters, except the height of the plants and the number of leaves.

scholarly journals Effect of Supplementary Light Intensity on Quality of Grafted Tomato Seedlings and Expression of Two Photosynthetic Genes and Proteins

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Wei ◽  
Jin Zhao ◽  
Jiangtao Hu ◽  
Byoung Ryong Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Natural Lighting ◽  
Tomato Seedlings ◽  
Photosynthetic Genes ◽  
Supplemental Lighting

Lower quality and longer production periods of grafted seedlings, especially grafted plug seedlings of fruit vegetables, may result from insufficient amounts of light, particularly in rainy seasons and winter. Supplemental artificial lighting may be a feasible solution to such problems. This study was conducted to evaluate light intensity’s influence on the quality of grafted tomato seedlings, ‘Super Sunload’ and ‘Super Dotaerang’ were grafted onto the ‘B-Blocking’ rootstock. To improve their quality, grafted seedlings were moved to a glasshouse and grown for 10 days. The glasshouse had a combination of natural lighting from the sun and supplemental lighting from LEDs (W1R2B2) for 16 h/day. Light intensity of natural lighting was 490 μmol·m−2·s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and that of supplemental lighting was 50, 100, or 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD. The culture environment had 30/25 °C day/night temperatures, 70% ± 5% relative humidity (RH), and a natural photoperiod of 14 h as well. Compared with quality of seedlings in supplemental lighting of 50 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD, that of seedlings in supplement lighting of 100 or 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD improved significantly. With increasing light intensity, diameter, fresh weight, and dry weight, which were used to measure shoot growth, greatly improved. Leaf area, leaf thickness, and root biomass were also greater. However, for quality of seedlings, no significant differences were discovered between supplement lighting of 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD and supplement lighting of 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD. Expressions of PsaA and PsbA (two photosynthetic genes) as well as the corresponding proteins increased significantly in supplement lightning of 100 and 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD, especially in 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD. Overall, considering quality and expressions of two photosynthetic genes and proteins, supplemental light of 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD (W1R2B1) would be the best choice to cultivate grafted tomato seedlings.

scholarly journals Side Lighting Enhances Morphophysiology and Runner Formation by Upregulating Photosynthesis in Strawberry Grown in Controlled Environment

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Jingli Yang ◽  
Jinnan Song ◽  
Byoung-Ryong Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Strawberry Plant ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Growth Environment ◽  
Closed Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Fine Tune

The significant effects of lighting on plants have been extensively investigated, but research has rarely studied the impact of different lighting directions for the strawberry plant. To understand the optimal lighting direction for better growth and development, this study investigated how strawberries respond to variations in the lighting direction to help fine-tune the growth environment for their development. We examined how the lighting direction affects plant morphophysiology by investigating plant growth parameters, leaf anatomy, epidermal cell elongation, stomatal properties, physiological characteristics, and expressions of runner induction-related genes (FaSOC1 and FaTFL1) and gibberellin (GA) biosyntheses-related genes (FaGA20ox2 and FaGA20ox4). In closed-type plant factory units, the rooted cuttings of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) ‘Suhlyang’ were subjected to a 10-h photoperiod with a 350 μmol∙m−2∙s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) provided by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) from three directions relative to the plants: top, side, and bottom. Our results demonstrated that the side lighting profoundly promoted not only morphophysiology, but also runner formation, by upregulating photosynthesis in strawberries. Side lighting can bring commercial benefits, which include reduced economic costs, easier controllability, and harmlessness to plants. This will help provide new insights for the propagation of the most commonly cultivated strawberries in South Korea.

scholarly journals Nutrient Use in Vertical Farming: Optimal Electrical Conductivity of Nutrient Solution for Growth of Lettuce and Basil in Hydroponic Cultivation

Horticulturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 283
Author(s):  
Hadis Hosseini ◽  
Vahid Mozafari ◽  
Hamid Reza Roosta ◽  
Hossein Shirani ◽  
Paulien C. H. van de Vlasakker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Nutrient Solution ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
Vertical Farming ◽  
Hydroponic Cultivation

During the past few decades, vertical farming has attracted a lot of interest as an alternative food production method. Vertical farms use engineered growth environments and hydroponic cultivation techniques for growing plants indoors. One of the important factors in vertical farming for the cultivation of different plants is the amount of nutrients, which can be measured as electrical conductivity (EC). Studying the optimal EC is important for avoiding nutrient loss and deficiency in vertical farms. In this study, we investigated the effect of five EC levels (2, 1.2, 0.9, 0.7, and 0.5 dS m−1) of Hoagland nutrient solution on the growth and development of basil cultivar ‘Emily’ and lettuce cultivar ‘Batavia-Caipira’. During the study, the environmental parameters were kept fixed using an automatic dosing machine. The experiment was done in automatic vertical farms using the hydroponic ebb–flow cultivation technique with a temperature of 20 ± 1 °C, relative humidity of 50–60%, CO2 concentration of 450 ppm, pH = 6, the PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) of 215 ± 5.5 μmol m−2 s−1, and the photoperiod of 16:8 h (day/night). Each treatment was replicated four times. We studied the effects on several growth parameters (including the dry and fresh weight of leaves and roots, number of leaves, and leaf area) as well as the chlorophyll and nitrogen concentration of the leaves. According to the results, the basil and lettuce growth parameters among the five treatments have been significantly higher in the treatment with EC of 1.2 and 0.9 dS m−1. These EC values are lower than the recommended EC value given as the optimum in the previous studies. However, the concentration of chlorophyll and nitrogen show different trends and were higher in full strength of nutrient solution with EC = 2 dS m−1.

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