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Cultivation of Horticultural and Medicinal Plants in the Greenhouse and in Plant Factory Systems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 34792

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Abinaya Manivannan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Vegetable Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju-55365, Korea
Interests: horticulture; plant genomics; secondary metabolites; plant tissue culture; hydroponics; LEDs; molecular markers; medicinal plants; NGS in plant breeding; plant genome sequencing
Prof. Dr. Byoung Ryong Jeong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticulture, Division of Applied Life Science, Graduate School, Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju 52828, Republic of Korea
Interests: floriculture; transplants (micropropagated and plug); silicon in horticulture; plant factory; protected horticulture; hydroponics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Seung-jae Hwang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju-52828, Korea
Interests: protected Horticulture; plant factory; LEDs for hydroponics cultivation; phytochemicals; antioxidants; preformed medium; plug seedling; environmental control in greenhouses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Horticultural plants, majorly classified as vegetables, fruits, flowers and ornamentals, and medicinal plants, have become an integral part of the human diet and are essential components of esthetics. Innovative technologies with enhanced quality and quantity for the cultivation of these plants to feed the growing population is of paramount importance. Hydroponic cultivation approaches are becoming extensive and are considered to be sustainable for the future of horticultural plant production worldwide, especially in areas with environmental extremities such as poor soil quality and water scarcity. Recently, the global interest in the production of horticultural plants in environment-controlled greenhouses, and especially in plant factory systems, is rapidly increasing. These systems enable greater automation and the implementation of tailored environments for the enhancement of the qualitative and quantitative traits of cultivated horticultural plants. Recently, the application of artificial lights, especially light emitting diodes (LEDs), for the enhancement of the nutraceutical potential of vegetables and pharmaceutically valuable metabolites present in medicinal plants grown in a controlled environment are becoming a crucial area of research. Moreover, the interest in urban horticulture demands innovative infrastructures for hydroponic cultivation. Taken together, the use of environment-controlled greenhouses and plant factory systems presents excellent solutions for overcoming existing unfavorable farming conditions.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish high-quality research and review articles addressing recent trends in the production of horticultural plants in hydroponic systems under controlled environmental conditions. Manuscripts relevant to the present topic related to plant propagation, nutrition enhancement, and hydroponic medium can also be submitted for consideration for this Special Issue.

Dr. Abinaya Manivannan
Prof. Dr. Byoung Jeong
Prof. Dr. Seung-jae Hwang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Artificial lighting and LEDs
  • Alleviation of abiotic and biotic stresses in hydroponic environments
  • Enhancement of plant metabolites
  • Growing medium
  • Nutrient solution
  • Photosynthesis
  • Transplant production in controlled environments
  • Root medium properties and plant nutrition
  • Hydroponic cultivation of horticultural crops
  • Urban horticulture
  • Vertical and urban farming.

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 8515 KiB  
Article
Increased Carbon Dioxide by Occupants Promotes Growth of Leafy Vegetables Grown in Indoor Cultivation System
by Kyungdeok Noh and Byoung Ryong Jeong
Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13288; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313288 - 30 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2413
Abstract
The development of various types of plant factories is central to improving agriculture. In one form, it is expanding from the existing commercial plant factories to home cultivation systems or cultivators. The plant cultivation system grafted into the living space for people produces [...] Read more.
The development of various types of plant factories is central to improving agriculture. In one form, it is expanding from the existing commercial plant factories to home cultivation systems or cultivators. The plant cultivation system grafted into the living space for people produces differences in the growth of the plant depending on the lifestyle (cooling and heating, residence time, number of residents, etc.) of the resident. In this study, identical home cultivation systems that automatically adjust environmental conditions (temperature, photoperiod, light, and nutrient solution supply) other than the carbon dioxide level were set in an office and warehouse. The study confirmed how plant growth can differ depending on the amount of carbon dioxide generated by humans occupying the space. In addition, it was confirmed whether the growth of plants can be further promoted depending on the external air exchange speed by a ventilation fan even if the indoor carbon dioxide concentration is the same. Due to the nature of the cultivation system that controls the temperature, the type and speed of the fan were set to minimize heat loss in the cultivator. The airspeed from ventilation fans attached to the indoor cultivation systems of an office and warehouse was adjusted to one of three levels (0.7, 1.0, or 1.3 m·s−1). In this study with two species, Ssamchoo and Romaine, it was confirmed that the office space was significantly advantageous for the growth of Ssamchoo, especially in terms of the fresh weight, root activity, and chlorophyll content. Romaine also had a significantly higher fresh weight when grown in the office. Shoot length, leaf length, and leaf width were longer, and there were more leaves. When comparing the relative yield based on an airspeed of 1.0 m·s−1, the yield increased up to 156.9% more in the office than in the warehouse. The fan airspeed had an important influence on Ssamchoo. The higher the fan airspeed, the greater the yield, root activity, and chlorophyll. However, fan airspeed had no consistent effect on the growth tendencies of Romaine. In conclusion, carbon dioxide produced by humans occupying the space is a significant source of carbon dioxide for plants grown in the home cultivation system, although both the speed of the ventilation fan that can promote growth without heat loss and delayed growth caused by the photorespiration in a carbon dioxide-limited situation require additional experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation of Horticultural and Medicinal Plants in the Greenhouse and in Plant Factory Systems)
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15 pages, 14443 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Temperature and Photoperiod in a Home Cultivation System to Program Normal, Delayed, and Hastened Growth and Development Modes for Leafy Oak-Leaf and Romaine Lettuces
by Kyungdeok Noh and Byoung Ryong Jeong
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10879; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910879 - 30 Sep 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2195
Abstract
As the risk of open-field cultivation increases with climate change, some analysts say that the day when ordinary vegetables will be produced at home is not far away. Moreover, due to the recent coronavirus outbreak, outdoor activities are becoming difficult, leisure activities that [...] Read more.
As the risk of open-field cultivation increases with climate change, some analysts say that the day when ordinary vegetables will be produced at home is not far away. Moreover, due to the recent coronavirus outbreak, outdoor activities are becoming difficult, leisure activities that can be done at home have become more necessary, and the demand for home gardening has increased. This study was conducted to improve the technology for hydroponics at home. We experimented with whether the harvest time can be hastened or delayed by environmentally controlling the growing season, and what conditions are appropriate. Experiments were conducted with leafy vegetables (Lactuca sativa L. ‘Oak-leaf’ and Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia, or romaine) that can easily be grown in a closed plant cultivator in which the external air can circulate, and the temperature/photoperiod can be controlled. Two settings for the temperature (25/18 °C and 20/15 °C; day/night) and three settings for the photoperiod (10, 14, and 18 hours; day/night) were employed. It took a total of four weeks from sowing to harvest, and the appropriate harvest time was predicted from the yield. As a result, although there was a difference depending on the vegetable variety, a temperature setting of 25/18 °C and a photoperiod of 14 hours were the most suitable for hastened growth, and a 20/15 °C temperature and 18 hours of photoperiod were suitable for the delayed growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation of Horticultural and Medicinal Plants in the Greenhouse and in Plant Factory Systems)
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9 pages, 2929 KiB  
Article
Development of Growth Model for Grafted Hot Pepper Seedlings as Affected by Air Temperature and Light Intensity
by Yurina Kwack, Sewoong An and Sung Kyeom Kim
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5895; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115895 - 24 May 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2821
Abstract
The objective of this study was to develop a growth model for grafted hot pepper seedlings as affected by air temperature and light intensity. After grafted union formation, the hot pepper seedlings were cultivated in various environmental factors in terms of four levels, [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to develop a growth model for grafted hot pepper seedlings as affected by air temperature and light intensity. After grafted union formation, the hot pepper seedlings were cultivated in various environmental factors in terms of four levels, mean daily air temperature (17, 22, 27, and 32 °C) and 3 levels of light intensity (150, 350, and 550 μmol·m−2·s−1). The growth traits were measured 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after grafted union formation (DAGU). The plant height was improved, and development of leaves enhanced by higher air temperature. The number of leaves was greatest under the combination of the high temperature and high light intensity, resulting in 39.0/plant at 28 DAGU. The leaf area and dry weight showed 491.9 cm2/plant and 2.68 g/plant, respectively, at 28 DAGU under 32 °C air temperature and 550 μmol·m−2·s−1 light intensity. The changes of dry weight were rapidly increased under the higher air temperature and light intensity as followed by analysis of the growth curve. The beta distribution model was developed, and the relative growth rate (RGR) was simulated by the model, the maximum RGR was predicted at 0.116 g·g·d−1. The RGR showed 0.113, 0.127, and 0.109 g·g·d−1 at 10, 20, and 30 °C air temperature, respectively, and RGR was improved by 12% by increasing the air temperature by 10 °C, without going over 25 °C ADT. Results indicated that the developed growth model might be applied to optimal environmental control for maximized RGR of production of grafted hot pepper seedlings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation of Horticultural and Medicinal Plants in the Greenhouse and in Plant Factory Systems)
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20 pages, 3892 KiB  
Article
The Combined Conditions of Photoperiod, Light Intensity, and Air Temperature Control the Growth and Development of Tomato and Red Pepper Seedlings in a Closed Transplant Production System
by Hyunseung Hwang, Sewoong An, Minh Duy Pham, Meiyan Cui and Changhoo Chun
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9939; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239939 - 27 Nov 2020
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4938
Abstract
Understanding environmental factors is essential to maximizing the biomass production of plants. There have been many studies on the effects of the photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), photoperiod and air temperature as separate factors affecting plants, including under a closed transplant production system (CTPS). [...] Read more.
Understanding environmental factors is essential to maximizing the biomass production of plants. There have been many studies on the effects of the photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), photoperiod and air temperature as separate factors affecting plants, including under a closed transplant production system (CTPS). However, few studies have investigated the combined effects of these factors on plant growth. Germinated tomato and red pepper seedlings were transferred to three different photoperiods with five different photosynthetic photon fluxes (PPFs) at an air temperature of 25/20 °C to investigate plant growth under a different daily light integral (DLI). Three different air temperatures, 23/20, 25/20, and 27/20 °C (photo/dark periods), with five different PPFs were used to examine plant growth under different DIFs (difference between the day and night temperature). Increasing the DLI from 4.32 to 21.60 mol·m−2·d−1, either by increasing the photoperiod or PPF, improved the growth of seedlings in both cultivars. However, when comparing treatments that provided the same DLI, tomato seedlings had s significantly higher growth when grown under longer photoperiods and s lower PPF. Even in higher DLI conditions, reduced growth due to higher PPF indicated that excessive light energy was a limiting factor. At 23 and 25 °C, tomato seedlings showed similar correlation curves between growth and PPF. However, at the higher temperature of 27 °C, while the slope of the curve at low PPFs was similar to that of the curves at lower temperatures, the slope at high PPFs was flatter. On the other hand, red pepper seedlings displayed the same correlation curve between growth and PPF at all tested temperatures, and red pepper plants accumulated more dry weight even at higher temperatures. These results suggested that the combination effect was more useful to observe these overall tendencies, especially in reacting to a second factor. This will provide us with more information and a deeper understanding of plant characteristics and how they will behave under changing environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation of Horticultural and Medicinal Plants in the Greenhouse and in Plant Factory Systems)
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Review

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18 pages, 347 KiB  
Review
Overview of Multiple Applications of Basil Species and Cultivars and the Effects of Production Environmental Parameters on Yields and Secondary Metabolites in Hydroponic Systems
by Teodor Rusu, Reed John Cowden, Paula Ioana Moraru, Mihai Avram Maxim and Bhim Bahadur Ghaley
Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11332; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011332 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5525
Abstract
Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), including other species and cultivars, is an excellent source of nutritional compounds, the accumulation of which can be stimulated by exogenous factors (environmental and nutritional conditions). Although best practices are relatively established for mature basil plants, microgreens production [...] Read more.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), including other species and cultivars, is an excellent source of nutritional compounds, the accumulation of which can be stimulated by exogenous factors (environmental and nutritional conditions). Although best practices are relatively established for mature basil plants, microgreens production requires further research to optimize quality and quantity. The study objectives are (i) to provide an overview of the many uses of basil, (ii) collate and present common hydroponic systems available in the market, (iii) review effects of key production environment parameters on basil yields in hydroponic systems, and (iv) summarize the effects of the growth environments on yield quantity and quality of basil microgreens. The paper analyzes in detail key production parameters of basil microgreens in hydroponic systems, such as temperature, humidity, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrient solutions, and the influence of light (quantity, quality, and photoperiods). The collated literature review has shown that basil, grown hydroponically, can tolerate high variations of environmental parameters: pH 5.1–8.5, temperature 15–24 °C, relative humidity 60–70%, electrical conductivity up to 1.2 mS cm−1, depending on the developmental stage, dissolved oxygen at 4 mg L−1 (optimally 6.5 mg L−1), and light intensity between 200 and 400 μmol m−2 s−1. The study has synthesized an overview of different production parameters to provide guidance on the optimization of environmental conditions to ensure the quantity and quality production of basil microgreens. Improving the quality of basil microgreens can ideally spur continued gastronomic interest in microgreens in general, which will encourage more entrepreneurs to grow basil and other microgreens. Hence, the study findings are a great resource to learn about the effects of different environments on basil microgreen production. This information can inform research for successful production of different species and cultivars of basil microgreens, and establishing testing protocols to improve the quantity and quality of the harvest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation of Horticultural and Medicinal Plants in the Greenhouse and in Plant Factory Systems)
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25 pages, 686 KiB  
Review
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as Agricultural Lighting: Impact and Its Potential on Improving Physiology, Flowering, and Secondary Metabolites of Crops
by Musa Al Murad, Kaukab Razi, Byoung Ryong Jeong, Prakash Muthu Arjuna Samy and Sowbiya Muneer
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1985; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041985 - 12 Feb 2021
Cited by 63 | Viewed by 14514
Abstract
A reduction in crop productivity in cultivable land and challenging environmental factors have directed advancement in indoor cultivation systems, such that the yield parameters are higher in outdoor cultivation systems. In wake of this situation, light emitting diode (LED) lighting has proved to [...] Read more.
A reduction in crop productivity in cultivable land and challenging environmental factors have directed advancement in indoor cultivation systems, such that the yield parameters are higher in outdoor cultivation systems. In wake of this situation, light emitting diode (LED) lighting has proved to be promising in the field of agricultural lighting. Properties such as energy efficiency, long lifetime, photon flux efficacy and flexibility in application make LEDs better suited for future agricultural lighting systems over traditional lighting systems. Different LED spectrums have varied effects on the morphogenesis and photosynthetic responses in plants. LEDs have a profound effect on plant growth and development and also control key physiological processes such as phototropism, the immigration of chloroplasts, day/night period control and the opening/closing of stomata. Moreover, the synthesis of bioactive compounds and antioxidants on exposure to LED spectrum also provides information on the possible regulation of antioxidative defense genes to protect the cells from oxidative damage. Similarly, LEDs are also seen to escalate the nutrient metabolism in plants and flower initiation, thus improving the quality of the crops as well. However, the complete management of the irradiance and wavelength is the key to maximize the economic efficacy of crop production, quality, and the nutrition potential of plants grown in controlled environments. This review aims to summarize the various advancements made in the area of LED technology in agriculture, focusing on key processes such as morphological changes, photosynthetic activity, nutrient metabolism, antioxidant capacity and flowering in plants. Emphasis is also made on the variation in activities of different LED spectra between different plant species. In addition, research gaps and future perspectives are also discussed of this emerging multidisciplinary field of research and its development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation of Horticultural and Medicinal Plants in the Greenhouse and in Plant Factory Systems)
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