How Can You Grow Healthier Crops With Affordable Lighting Systems?

New research from the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering consortium will revolutionize greenhouse lighting systems.

The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium is a partnership between controlled environment agriculture (CEA) growers, plant physiologists, horticulturists, trade groups, produce buyers, agricultural engineers, lighting manufacturers, government agencies, and others to pioneer and commercialize breakthrough technologies that deliver greenhouse crop and energy solutions. Established in 2017 by Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) at Rensselaer, GLASE unites world-class engineers and horticultural researchers with private and public stakeholders. The consortium goal is to transform the way lighting systems operate in greenhouses and indoor farms dramatically reducing their energy consumption while increasing crop yields and quality. To achieve these objectives GLASE is proposing a multidisciplinary approach to close the gaps between different segments of the CEA industry and to create new innovative solutions.
 
GLASE has secured $5 million for research over the next seven years and is inviting industry members to join the consortium and help advance the future of the controlled environment agriculture industry.
 
Find more about GLASE at www.glase.org.

Announcements

GLASE researchers awarded $2.4 million to explore the viability of indoor agriculture

GLASE Principal Investigators Neil Mattson and Tessa Pocock were recently awarded an “Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems” (INFEWS) $1.92 million grant from a partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The multidisciplinary team formed by researchers from Cornell University and the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications (LESA) will develop a systems modeling approach to compare the economics and environmental effects of CEA versus field vegetable supply chains.

This research project also evaluates novel systems to optimize economic benefits as well as water, energy, and other resource use efficiencies in CEA vegetable production. It fosters industry-research networks and workforce development programs to facilitate the acceptance, adoption, and continued improvement of viable CEA systems in metropolitan areas.
Read more
 

Proposed product information label for horticultural lighting applications

With the recent advances in light-emitting diode (LED) technology, CEA growers have multiple horticultural lighting options to choose from. However, growers are often unable to compare technologies and LED options because of insufficient information about lamp performance metrics.

A team of researchers led by GLASE collaborator Dr. A.J. Both from Rutgers University and including GLASE Scientific Advisory Board members Dr. Bruce Bugbee from Utah State University and Dr. Chieri Kubota from The Ohio State University (formerly from the University of Arizona) has proposed a product information label that facilitates the comparison of horticultural lamps from different manufacturers. A peer-reviewed article discussing the product label was published in the Technology and Product Reports section of HortTechnology in August 2017. HortTechnology 27(4):544-549.
Link for the paper and other research resources here

Events 

Horticultural lighting panel at the IES Consuming Light conference

The Future of Horticulture Lighting in Urban Agriculture - Consuming Light
DATE: January 17, 2018
LOCATION: District Hall - Boston Innovation District,  75 Northern Ave., Boston, MA 02210
TIME: 5:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Horticulture lighting is one of today's fastest growing markets. GLASE researcher Dr. Tessa Pocock will be part of a facilitated panel of researchers, educators and industry experts exploring this evolving specialty and the impact that advanced lighting technologies are having on how we grow, harvest and source a wide variety of crops. Attendees will learn about horticulture lighting metrics and the way growers are using prescribed spectrum, intensity and timing to manipulate plant growth and yield. Register here

Join today

If you have any questions or would like to know more about GLASE, please contact its executive director Erico Mattos at em796@cornell.edu