EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF END OF PRODUCTION REGIMENS TO IMPROVE LEAFY GREEN NUTRITIONAL CONTENT, APPEARANCE, AND POST-HARVEST LONGEVITY

The overall goal of this project is to identify and evaluate the economic feasibility of EOP regimens to improve the yield, nutritional content, appearance, and post-harvest longevity of leafy greens grown in controlled environments.To meet our overall goal, we propose investigating three main EOP strategies: (1) lighting, (2) nutrient solution temperature, and (3) nutrient solution composition. Our overall goal is to identify strategies to improve the yield, nutritional content, appearance, and post-harvest longevity of leafy greens grown in controlled environments by investigating different aspects of the production system and (4) to improve economic feasibility. To meet this goal and to (5) aid in producer implementation, we propose five Specific Aims:Specific Aim 1: Identify EOP lighting strategies to improve leafy greens yield, appearance, nutritional content, and post-harvest longevity. Our working hypothesis is that increasing the light intensity at the EOP will increase crop quality, but the effect will depend on the light intensity, duration, species, and cultivar.Specific Aim 2: Determine the extent EOP nutrient solution temperature changes can be leveraged to improve leafy greens yield, appearance, nutritional content, and post-harvest longevity. We postulate that leafy greens finished under reduced nutrient solution temperatures for a short duration will contain higher phytonutrient concentrations compared to crops subjected to warmer nutrient solutions.Specific Aim 3: Determine if nutrient changes at the EOP are effective in improving leafy greens yield, appearance, nutritional content, and post-harvest longevity. Our working hypothesis is that removing or increasing the concentration of nutrients that play specific roles in plant quality at the EOP will improve crop quality at harvest.Specific Aim 4: Evaluate the economic feasibility of the EOP regimes investigated in Aims 1 to 3. We hypothesize the economic feasibility of EOP regimes would vary depending on changes in costs, potential changes in revenue associated with changes in yield, crop quality, and the potential price premiums associated with changes in crop quality.Specific Aim 5: Provide a comprehensive training platform and resource center encompassing the basic, intermediate, and advanced knowledge of hydroponic CEA leafy greens production. Our hypothesis is that while some producers will be readily able to apply the effective strategies determined in Aims 1, 2, 3, and 4, others may need more basic and intermediate training.