December 2021 - 15

DUETS
microgreens and baby leaf greens, I was
afforded the opportunity to diversify beyond
the leafy green space for my Ph.D. I ultimately
landed on CEA strawberries due to the relatively
little information that existed pertaining to their
cultivation in the U.S. agricultural sector.
It is quite humorous as I quickly found myself
cursing my decision to diversify for exactly
those reasons. In those early days, I was just
trying to figure out how to effectively grow the
crop let alone the consideration of
accumulating meaningful data. It took
some time, but I eventually managed
to gain a handle on the logistical
challenges of the crop and my
research really took off from there.
Peter: It sounds like you
experienced a progression I use
regarding learning how to grow a new
crop. My advice to fellow growers is
to embrace a three-year or three-crop
cycle learning curve. Year/cycle one
is flying by the seat of one's pants,
taking someone else's schedule and
recommendations and jumping in.
Year/cycle two is where one takes
ownership of the crop, tweaking
schedules and production practices
in order to advance knowledge and
confidence. Attention to detail is key
and this second cycle often results in
optimal results.
Finally, assuming year two was successful, I
believe it's critical to repeat the success in the
third year/cycle to avoid complacency. Too many
growers and researchers learn this lesson the
hard way; as soon as we get overconfident about
mastering a crop a great big backward step
suddenly erases hard earned progress.
My point is that what you experienced is
common. In both the academic and private
sectors, learning how to grow new crops is
challenging and requires commitment and
discipline. Sometimes a graduate student faces
a double challenge by not only conducting
research for the first time but also growing a
crop for the first time. If the crop isn't grown
properly how might that affect the results and
outcome of the experiment? Please continue
about your research.
Jonathan: The overarching goal
of the project was identifying
efficient means of energy
use for producing
strawberries in
the face of increasing demand for local and
year-round availability in regions where
production is historically seasonal. This is
important because, in conjunction, these
two traits of interest can often conflict with
environmental sustainability, which is critical as
we look to the future.
The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems
Engineering (GLASE) grant that my work
is a part of focuses on just that. Over the
In both the
academic and private
sectors, learning how
to grow new crops is
challenging and
requires commitment
and discipline.
past four years, I have identified commonly
available genetics that are better suited to CEA
production systems and quantified the effects
of various supplemental lighting systems'
interaction with seasonality. I also developed
light and CO2
crop growth models for improved
light use efficiency and measured the effects
of supplemental far-red light on yields and
carbohydrate partitioning.
One of the fundamental differences between
my M.S. and Ph.D. work has been the need for
interdisciplinary collaboration, especially with
those in the engineering and computer science
fields. This has given me an appreciation for the
time and collaboration that is essential to the
seamless application of projects where multiple
parties are involved. These past four years have
been an eye-opening and rewarding experience
that I am excited to take into the next chapter of
my career.
Peter: Learning about interdisciplinary
collaboration will be invaluable. All of us benefit
from this; as stated above, it's going to take a
village for us to address global food production.
Let's stretch the collaboration concept; at this
point in your career, how do you view
the commercial grower sector?
Have you been able to meet
growers? Are you more tuned to greenhouse,
indoor CEA, or traditional field production
systems?
Jonathan: I would start by saying that I
largely consider the CEA strawberry industry
to be in its early growth phase, not only from
a global perspective, but especially in the U.S.
The way I see it is that there is more potential
in this sector than I can shake a stick at. That
being said, I also see a fair degree of
risk in the overzealous expansion into
the industry.
I have had the great pleasure of
traveling across the globe to further
understand the potential of agricultural
markets and strawberries in particular.
The average U.S. consumer's
perception of the value of fruit crops is
uniquely different from many countries
where CEA strawberry production is a
more mature industry. Although it is
quite clear to many that U.S. consumer
satisfaction in strawberry quality has
been on the decline, it is my opinion
that the willingness to pay lags behind.
While the psychology of this behavior is
outside of my expertise, I believe that it
plays a vital role in the future potential
of the industry.
For now, this leaves field producers as king but
in time, I believe that a shift is inevitable.
While I have a strong appreciation for the
indoor vertical space, there are far too many
advantages afforded by a quality greenhouse
structure to believe that growing systems
reliant on energy intensive sole source lighting
will be the segment leader with respect to
production scale.
That being said, there are a number of
implications where indoor vertical space is
particularly unique, so its competitiveness
should not be discounted. CEA technology
combined with the right crop could be
unstoppable. I have a few theories about what
the right crop is, but that's a discussion for
another time.
Peter: Our philosophies align again, Jonathan,
in that we don't view the agricultural landscape
as a zero-sum game where one system wins
and commands all of the production space. We
both feel that market factors and economics
will support flexibility in future production.
Another way of describing this is that a one size
(production strategy) fits all approach won't be
enough to feed the planet. Thank you for your
insight, and best of luck in whichever direction
your next position takes you.
GREENHOUSE PRODUCT NEWS 15
December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2021
