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BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

InnoLED: Effect of red, blue and white light on the growth, edible quality and yield of lettuce produced in urban hydroponic system

Alternative title: InnoLED: Rødt, hvitt og blått LED-lys i urban salatproduksjon

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Urban agriculture (UA) has developed rapidly worldwide in recent years. The advantages of producing food in the city (urban area) with low greenhouse gas emissions, recycling of food waste, efficient resource use and genuine community involvement have become widely known and well received by the public. NIBIO - Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research has contributed to the UA research and innovation through the EU-China H2020 SiEuGreen project (www.sieugreen.eu; https://www.nibio.no/en/projects/sieugreen-sino-european-innovative-green-and-smart-cities?locationfilter=true) and this InnoLED project. Since the project started in 2019, InnoLED consortium partners i.e. NIBIO and Urban Gartneren AS have worked together to achieve our project goals and the experiences are very valuable for our future collaboration. The main achievements are (1) we performed and fulfilled LED light experiments with red, white, blue and green for lettuce production using Urban Gartneren AS?s hydroponic vegetable production facility in Molde. Different light combinations and different intermittent light exposure: continuous light (24h), intermittent Light/Dark cycle (1, 2), e.g. 16/8h; 8/4h were supplied to the trials. (2) biomass/yield of lettuces produced under the different light treatments compared with controls were evaluated. (3) In order to provide consumers sufficient information about the nutritional value and taste of lettuces produced under various LED light conditions, NIBIO partner and Urban Gartneren AS conducted biochemical analyses to document the vitamins and other nutritional value as well as the sensory test performed by the professional sensory testing groups in Norway. These data and results are of importance scientifically and commercially for the future large-scale production of lettuce using LED light. A scientific article was published in Remote Sensing in 2020 (Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 3258; doi:10.3390/rs12193258) and another manuscript is in progress (manuscript working title: Effect of red, blue and white light on the growth, edible quality and yield of lettuce produced in urban hydroponic system) and shall be submitted in the Spring 2021 (some delay due to the covid-19 pandemic). The InnoLED project results were also disseminated through oral presentations at meetings, seminars and InnoLED stakeholder workshop. Moreover, through the InnoLED project, the public and private partnership (collaboration) between NIBIO and Urban Gartneren AS in Molde was strengthened. Together, we applied for a Research Council of Norway?s innovation project. Unfortunately, our proposal did not receive funding and we will try again when a suitable call is announced in the future. In summary, InnoLED project consortium has fulfilled the tasks, produced results, generated impact through our publications and talks as well as spinned-off new proposals.

During the project period, the InnoLED project consortium has focused on the project impact. Together, we have organized a stakeholder workshop in 2019 with private companies i.e. BioBag, a company producing compostable and biodegradable bags. Moreover, we have produced peer-reviewed scientific and popular science publications. A joint proposal was submitted to RCN in 2019 but was unfortunately rejected. However, the collaboration between Urban Gartner AS and NIBIO has been strengthened and continues beyond the project period. We have results from different LED light treatments with sensory test outcomes, nutritional values and yields of lettuce produced under different LED light treatments. A manuscript is in progress and we will disseminate our findings nationally through a workshop, as well as publish results on our project website. The successful collaboration established between Urban Gartner AS and NIBIO will be followed up and further strengthened in the future.

Urban agriculture is about food production with minimum transport and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, resource efficiency and social commitment. Urban food production, especially the production of vegetables in the urban areas, is an important part of the «Smart City» concept and of great potential for sustainable food production in the future when arable land is limited globally. The EU-China H2020 SiEuGreen project has opened door for private and public collaboration. NIBIO is one of the key partner of EU-China H2020 Flagship Project “SiEuGreen” with 6 Chinese partners and 12 European partners and NIBIO leads WP2 and WP4 while NMBU is the project coordinator. Because of the SiEuGreen project, NIBIO has been contacted by the industrial partners such as Urban Gartner AS in Molde which is a SME. Urban Gartner AS would like to collaborate with NIBIO to carry out LED light studies to generate valuable information for their future lettuce and herb production. Urban Gartner AS needs research and knowledge on understanding the effect of various LED light on lettuce growth, taste and yield. To collaborate with NIBIO by disseminating the knowledge achieved from SiEuGreen and InnoLED projects to benefit the Urban Gartner AS, one of the Norwegian SMEs. Moreover, this public (NIBIO) and private (Urban Gartner AS) partnership/collaboration will promote the urban agriculture development in Norway. With this “forsterkningsmidler” support, NIBIO can build up collaboration with Urban Gartner AS, disseminate SiEuGreen knowledge and investigate the effect of various LED light on lettuce growth and quality in urban hydroponic vegetable production system.

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BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram