Use of LEDs for shelf life extension of leafy greens

加拿大食品杂货店每年浪费超过70亿加元的新鲜农产品，主要是因为商店更喜欢展示/销售看起来对顾客有吸引力的农产品。这不仅造成了与粮食浪费有关的负面社会和环境影响，而且也使加拿大零售商失去了收入来源，并使纳税人付出了大量费用来处理生物质。我们实验室最近的一项研究表明，用正确的强度和波长的LED灯照射蔬菜，而不是目前杂货店里的荧光灯，可以延长蔬菜的保质期。暴露在正确的LED可以防止萎蔫叶菜通过调节植物呼吸，从而保存叶'脆' LED灯制造商，U技术公司已确定水果和蔬菜的采后储存作为一个潜在的细分市场，他们可以捕捉。然而，虽然U Technology Corporation目前生产用于家庭和商业部门的轮廓照明的LED，但他们的灯并不适合蔬菜储存。此外，尽管已经研究了LED波长对生物量保存的影响，但很少有研究探讨光照强度对水果和蔬菜的影响。因此，U Technology Corporation和麦吉尔大学之间启动了这项合作研究项目，以测试不同强度下不同LED波长的LED，以研究LED在菠菜，羽衣甘蓝和罗勒采后储存中的多功能性。主要申请人Lefsrud博士在增强和控制植物生长环境方面有一个既定的研究计划，在该领域发表了26篇论文。他是植物生产方面的专家，拥有不同的照明系统（LED和其他辅助照明），营养输送系统和受控环境的加热。Kam Hammad先生是U Technology Corporation的首席执行官，在进行照明审计和LED制造方面拥有超过10年的经验。

More than $7 billion of fresh produce is wasted in Canadian grocery stores every year, primarily because stores prefer to showcase/sell produce that looks appealing to their customers. This not only creates a negative social and environmental connotation associated with food wastage, but it also represents a lost revenue stream for Canadian retailers and is a cost to taxpayers who pay large sums to dispose of the biomass. A recent study in our laboratory has shown that the shelf-life of vegetables can be increased by illuminating them with the correct intensity and wavelength of LED lights, instead of the fluorescent lamps that are currently found in grocery stores. Exposure to the correct LEDs can prevent wilting in leafy vegetables by regulating plant respiration thereby conserving leaf 'crunchiness'.The LED light manufacturer, U Technology Corporation has identified postharvest storage of fruits andvegetables as a potential market segment that they can capture. However, while U Technology Corporation currently manufactures LEDs for profile lighting in the domestic and commercial sectors but their lights are not geared towards vegetable storage. Moreover, although the effects of LED wavelengths on biomass preservation have been researched, few studies have been done to look into the impact of light intensity on fruits and vegetables. As a result, this collaborative research project was initiated between U Technology Corporation and McGill University to test different LED wavelengths at different intensities to study the versatility of LEDs in postharvest storage of spinach, kale and basil. The principal applicant, Dr. Lefsrud, has an established research program in the enhancement and control of plant growth environments with 26 publications in the area. He is an expert in plant production with different lighting systems (LED and other supplemental lighting), nutrient delivery systems and heating of controlled environments. Mr. Kam Hammad is the Chief Executive Officer of U Technology Corporation with over 10 years of experience in conducting lighting audits and LED fabrication.