Optimizing year-round production and quality of flowering greenhouse crops through integration of LED technologies

我们的主要目的是测试和开发使用LED（发光二极管）技术全年开花，温室作物生产的成本效益战略。 虽然室内生产在秋冬周期中受到光照限制，但过去十年来，计算机化和LED技术取得了重大进步，不仅可以驱动植物光合作用，还可以引发开花作物的许多关键光形态发生反应。在这项为期两年的研究中，节能和特定波长的LED将在种植者和UoG同时进行测试，展示产量和质量（例如，货架期）。将特别注意在不同季节补充光照，最大限度地提高生根和移植活力，加快开花诱导时间（短日和长日诱导），生殖器官的产量和质量，包括采后质量。 将确定叶片光合作用、输出和呼吸等关键生理参数。重要的是，我们还将确定整株植物的每日光合作用和呼吸气体交换，并测试不同LED阵列对每日生长和水分损失的有效性。我们的数据采集综合方法的一个重要成果是，我们可以更好地了解作物生产周期中的每日用水量，从而最大限度地提高不同季节营养和开花阶段的每日CO2交换和水利用效率。补充照明（LED），结合空中和根区管理，可以使许多开花观赏植物和蔬菜作物的全年生产盈利。 全年更有效地应用LED的预期结果是，即使稍微加快种植周期，也会增加年产量和利润。该项目还广泛适用于加拿大的秧苗和穴盘生产者，因为可以改善根系的一致性，所获得的知识将减少对目前用于调节高度和植物结构的农用化学品的依赖。

Our primary purpose is to test and develop cost effective strategies for using LED (light-emitting-diode) technologies for the year-round the production of flowering, greenhouse crops. Though indoor production is light-limited in fall-winter cycles the last decade has witnessed major improvements in computerization and LED technologies that make it possible to not only drive plant photosynthesis, but also elicit many key photo-morphogenic responses in flowering crops. During this two year study, energy efficient and specific-wavelength LEDs will be tested in parallel, at grower sites and the UoG, demonstrating how yield and quality (e.g., shelf-life) of two model crops (chrysanthemums and lisianthus) can be achieved. Particular attention will be paid to lighting supplementation in different seasons, maximizing rooting and transplant vigor, accelerating the time to flower induction, (short day and long day induction), yield and quality of the reproductive organs including their post-harvest quality. Key physiological parameters such as leaf photosynthesis, export and respiration will be determined. Importantly, we will also determine whole-plant daily photosynthesis and respiratory gas exchanges and test the effectiveness of different LED arrays on daily growth and water losses. An important outcome of our integrated approach to data acquisition will be that we gain a better understanding of daily water use during crop production cycles, thus maximizing daily-CO2-exchanges and water-use-efficiency during vegetative and flowering stages in different seasons. Supplementary lighting (LEDs), integrated with aerial and root-zone management can make year-round production of many flowering ornamental and vegetable crops profitability. An expected outcome of more efficient application of LEDs year-round is that cropping cycles even modestly accelerated will increase annual production and profits. The project also has wider application for seedling and plug producers in Canada since improved root consistency is achievable and the knowledge gained will reduce reliance on agrochemicals currently used to regulate height and plant architecture.