Minimizing Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination in indoor farming: effects of cultivar type and ultra-violet light quality.

Background: Bacterial contamination of produce is a concern in indoor farming due to close plant spacing, recycling irrigation, warm temperatures, and high relative humidity during production. Cultivars that inherently resist contamination and photo-sanitization using ultraviolet (UV) radiation during the production phase can reduce bacterial contamination. However, there is limited information to support their use in indoor farming.

Connecting the dots: Path model to identify key phenotypic traits for screening plants with tolerance to nitrogen deficiency.

Varieties that tolerate low nitrogen (N) application rates can reduce fertilizer costs, minimize nitrate leaching and runoff losses, and lower overall CO2 emissions associated with fertilizer manufacturing. The goal of our research is to show the usefulness of path models to identify key phenotypic traits for screening plants with a tolerance to low N application rates. We grew tolerant and sensitive cultivars of poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) using a water-soluble fertilizer (15-5-15 Cal Mag) in both optimal (electrical conductivity of 2.

Fixed vs. variable light quality in vertical farming: Impacts on vegetative growth and nutritional quality of lettuce.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is commonly produced in vertical farms. The levels of nutritionally important phytochemicals such as beta-carotene (precursor to vitamin A) are generally low in lettuce. In this study, we investigated the benefits of variable lighting strategy (i.

Growth and photosynthetic responses of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. cv. Tokyo Bekana) to continuously elevated carbon dioxide in a simulated Space Station "Veggie" crop-production environment.

Among candidate leafy vegetable species initially considered for astronauts to pick and eat from the Veggie plant-growth unit on the International Space Station (ISS), Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. cv. Tokyo Bekana) ranked high in ground-based screening studies.

Leveraging high-throughput hyperspectral imaging technology to detect cadmium stress in two leafy green crops and accelerate soil remediation efforts.

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal that can accumulate in soils and negatively impact crop as well as human health. Amendments like biochar have potential to address these challenges by reducing Cd bioavailability in soil, though reliance on post-harvest wet chemical methods to quantify Cd uptake have slowed efforts to identify the most effective amendments. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a novel technology that could overcome this limitation by quantifying symptoms of Cd stress while plants are still growing.

Blue and Far-Red Light Affect Area and Number of Individual Leaves to Influence Vegetative Growth and Pigment Synthesis in Lettuce.

Published work indicates that high percentage of blue light can enhance pigment levels but decreases growth, while addition of far-red light to growth light can increase quantum efficiency and photosynthesis in leafy greens. Combining high-energy blue light with low-energy far-red light may increase both vegetative growth and pigment levels. However, the effect of high-energy blue and low-energy far-red light on the vegetative growth and pigments synthesis is unclear.

Recycling Nutrient Solution Can Reduce Growth Due to Nutrient Deficiencies in Hydroponic Production.

It is common in hydroponics to supply nutrients to crops by maintaining electrical conductivity (EC) of the recycling solution at a target level. Levels of individual nutrients in the solution are generally not assessed as their regular measurement and adjustment can be both expensive and technically challenging. However, the approach of growing crops at a target EC can potentially result in nutrient imbalances in the solution and reduced growth.

Physiological responses related to increased grain yield under drought in the first biotechnology-derived drought-tolerant maize.

Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) is highly susceptible to drought stress.

The physiological basis for genetic variation in water use efficiency and carbon isotope composition in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Ecologists and physiologists have documented extensive variation in water use efficiency (WUE) in Arabidopsis thaliana, as well as association of WUE with climatic variation. Here, we demonstrate correlations of whole-plant transpiration efficiency and carbon isotope composition (δ(13)C) among life history classes of A. thaliana.

Genetics of drought adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana II. QTL analysis of a new mapping population, KAS-1 x TSU-1.

Despite compelling evidence that adaptation to local climate is common in plant populations, little is known about the evolutionary genetics of traits that contribute to climatic adaptation. A screen of natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana revealed Tsu-1 and Kas-1 to be opposite extremes for water-use efficiency and climate at collection sites for these accessions differs greatly. To provide a tool to understand the genetic basis of this putative adaptation, Kas-1 and Tsu-1 were reciprocally crossed to create a new mapping population.