Light Management In Controlled Environments

Light Management in Controlled Environments

Much has changed and improved in lighting technology over the past 10 years since industry-leading experts on lighting, in collaboration with Greenhouse Grower(r) magazine and Meister Media Worldwide, brought you Lighting Up Profits (Fisher and Runkle, 2004).This updated and substantially expanded book presents the underlying biology of how light influences plant growth and development of specialty crops, especially those grown in greenhouses and controlled-environment growth rooms. Authors Dr. Erik Runkle of Michigan State University and Dr. Roberto Lopez of Michigan State University, along with 19 other leading plant scientists from around the globe, discuss technology options for shade and lighting, including the latest developments in greenhouse and sole-source lighting.

International Lighting in Controlled Environments Workshop

Physiological Growth Responses to Light in Controlled Environment Agriculture

Light is the primary driving force for photosynthesis and thus dictates carbon assimilation, biomass production, and yield in plants. Light also plays an important role in a myriad of physiological and biochemical processes in plants, from eliciting specific gene responses to whole-plant phenomics. The lighting environment is especially important in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) as it supplements or fully replaces natural light to improve growth and quality. Due to the advancements in lighting technologies and the rapid growth of the CEA industry, lighting research has been propelled into the forefront of the plant science field. Unlike organisms in the animal kingdom, plants are sessile. The inability to move has forced plants to evolve mechanisms to deal with the lighting environment they are in. For example, in environments that are rich in far-red light, leaf expansion and stem elongation are promoted in an effort to orient themselves in a more advantageous position to absorb photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). We have yet to fully understand the physiological and biochemical implications of plants under all forms of light, from ultraviolet to far-red. The goal of this Research Topic is to collect studies which further our knowledge of how plants interact with their light environment.