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The Use of Light-Emitting Diodes for Microgreen Production in Controlled Environments

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The Use of Light-Emitting Diodes for Microgreen Production in Controlled Environments The Use of Light-Emitting Diodes for Microgreen Production in Controlled Environments by Chase S. Jones-Baumgardt A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Sciences Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Chase S. Jones-Baumgardt, May, 2019 ABSTRACT The Use of Light-Emitting Diodes for Microgreen Production in Controlled Environments Chase Jones-Baumgardt Advisors: University of Guelph, 2019 Dr. Youbin Zheng Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are currently used as sole-source (SS) and supplemental (SL) lighting for microgreen production in indoor and greenhouse environments, respectively. The objectives of this study were to: 1) investigate the effect of SS LED light intensity (LI) on growth, yield, quality, and phytochemical and nitrate content; 2) quantify the effects of SL LED LI during the winter months on the growth and yield of microgreens. In the indoor environment, as SS LI increased fresh weight (FW), dry weight, total and reduced ascorbate and total anthocyanins increased in all genotypes, whereas total phenolic content was elevated in kale and arugula. Higher SS LI proportionally decreased hypocotyl length (HL) in all genotypes. In the greenhouse, leaf area and FW increased with increasing daily light integrals (DLI) in all genotypes. With the exception of sunflower, the dry weight, robust index, and relative chlorophyll content increased with increasing DLI, whereas specific leaf area decreased. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to sincerely thank my advisor Dr. Youbin Zheng for everything you taught me, as well as, all the support, guidance and life lessons throughout my masters. I am so fortunate to have had you as my advisor and appreciate you giving me the opportunity to develop my skills, broaden my knowledge and expand my experience. I would also like to thank Dr. Gale Bozzo, my advisory committee member, for all the technical support analyzing phytochemicals. I appreciate all the knowledge you shared with me about phytochemicals and always being available to answer questions or concerns. Thank you for taking the time to edit my papers, provide extensive feedback and help to improve my writing skills. Also, thank you to David Llewellyn for all the countless hours you spent helping me with experimental design and hands-on assistance setting up experiments. I am deeply grateful for all the late nights you spent helping me set-up lights. Even though we may have disagreed from time to time, I enjoyed our lengthy discussions. Our scientific debates have taught me to be a better researcher and I appreciate all the lessons you have taught me. I would like to thank Greenbelt Microgreens, for financially supporting this research. Specifically, Ian Adamson and Alice Ferris, for always being welcoming, having materials and space ready for my experiments and answering all my questions. To my labmates in Dr. Zheng’s lab, thank you for providing such a positive learning environment, providing suggestions to my presentations and experimental ideas and listening when I needed to talk through an experimental problem. Thank you to Jasmine Mah, Qinglu Ying, Katie Schiestel, Yun Kong, Mitchell Eicher-Sodo, Brandon Yep, Melissa Moher and Devdutt Kamath. Qinglu Ying, thank you for not only being a iii labmate but also a great friend. Your never-ending help harvesting plants and guidance with statistics for my experiments is very much appreciated. I wouldn’t have been able to get through my masters without your optimism. Bringing me lots of snacks to get through long works days, surprising me with furry steering wheel covers to cheer me up and always lending an ear. From the bottom of my heart thank you to my family, specifically my mom, dad and two sisters for your unwavering support and believing in me to do my masters. Thank you to my partner, Ava, for always making me laugh and keeping me grounded. I will never forget this experience and thank everyone who helped me along the way get to here. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ III LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF ABBREVIATION, SYMBOLS AND NOMENCLATURE .................................................... IX CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 MICROGREENS .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 HISTORY OF MICROGREENS .......................................................................................................... 1 1.3 MICROGREEN PHYTOCHEMICAL CONTENT .............................................................................. 2 1.4 CURRENT PRODUCTION PRACTICES OF MICROGREENS ........................................................ 3 1.5 GENERAL RESPONSE OF PLANTS TO LIGHT INTENSITY ......................................................... 3 1.6 IMPORTANCE OF LIGHTING FOR MICROGREEN GROWTH AND PHYTOCHEMICAL AND NITRATE CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................. 4 1.7 EFFECT OF LIGHT INTENSITY ON MICROGREEN GROWTH .................................................... 5 1.8 EFFECT OF LIGHT INTENSITY ON MICROGREEN PHYTOCHEMICAL AND NITRATE CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................... 6 1.9 THESIS RESEARCH GOAL AND OBJECTIVES .............................................................................. 7 1.10 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................................................... 13 INTENSITY OF SOLE-SOURCE LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES AFFECTS THE GROWTH, YIELD, AND QUALITY OF BRASSICACEAE MICROGREENS ...................................................... 13 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. 13 2.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 14 2.2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................. 18 2.2.1. Growing Media and Seeding ..................................................................................................... 18 2.2.2. Growth Chamber Environment .................................................................................................. 19 2.2.3. Lighting Setup ............................................................................................................................ 19 2.2.4. Growth and Morphology Measurements ................................................................................... 21 2.2.5. Digital Image Analysis of Cotyledons ........................................................................................ 21 2.2.6. Statistical Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 22 2.3 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................... 25 2.4 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................................... 27 2.4.1. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 34 2.5 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................................... 41 INTENSITY OF SOLE-SOURCE LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES AFFECTS PHYTOCHEMICAL CONTENT OF BRASSICACEAE MICROGREENS ............................................................................. 41 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. 41 3.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 42 3.2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................. 46 3.2.1. Growing Condition and Lighting Setup ....................................................................................
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