LEDs Make It Resilient: Effects on Plant Growth and Defense.

Light spectral composition influences plant growth and metabolism, and has important consequences for interactions with plant-feeding arthropods and their natural enemies. In greenhouse horticulture, light spectral composition can be precisely manipulated by light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and LEDs are already used to optimize crop production and quality. However, because light quality also modulates plant secondary metabolism and defense, it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms in the context of the growth-defense trade-off. We review the effects of the spectral composition of supplemental light currently used, or potentially used, in greenhouse horticulture on the mechanisms underlying plant growth and defense. This information is important for exploring opportunities to optimize crop performance and pest management, and thus for developing resilient crop-production systems.

Current status and future challenges in implementing and upscaling vertical farming systems.

Vertical farming can produce food in a climate-resilient manner, potentially emitting zero pesticides and fertilizers, and with lower land and water use than conventional agriculture. Vertical farming systems (VFS) can meet daily consumer demands for nutritious fresh products, forming a part of resilient food systems-particularly in and around densely populated areas. VFS currently produce a limited range of crops including fruits, vegetables and herbs, but successful implementation of vertical farming as part of mainstream agriculture will require improvements in profitability, energy efficiency, public policy and consumer acceptance. Here we discuss VFS as multi-layer indoor crop cultivation systems, exploring state-of-the-art vertical farming and future challenges in the fields of plant growth, product quality, automation, robotics, system control and environmental sustainability and how research and development, socio-economic and policy-related institutions must work together to ensure successful upscaling of VFS to future food systems.

Distribution of xylem hydraulic resistance in fruiting truss of tomato influenced by water stress.

In this study xylem hydraulic resistances of peduncles (truss stalk), pedicels (fruit stalk) and the future abscission zone (AZ) halfway along the pedicel of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) plants were directly measured at different stages of fruit development, in plants grown under two levels of water availability in the root environment. The xylem hydraulic connection between shoot and fruits has previously been investigated, but contradictory conclusions were drawn about the presence of a flow resistance barrier in the pedicel. These conclusions were all based on indirect functional measurements and anatomical observations of water-conducting tissue in the pedicel. In the present study, by far the largest resistances were measured in the AZ where most individual vessels ended. Plants grown at low water availability in the root environment had xylem with higher hydraulic resistances in the peduncle and pedicel segments on both sides of the AZ, while the largest increase in hydraulic resistance was measured in the AZ. During fruit development hydraulic resistances in peduncle and pedicel segments decreased on both sides of the AZ, but tended to increase in the AZ. The overall xylem hydraulic resistance between the shoot and fruit tended to increase with fruit development because of the dominating role of the hydraulic resistance in the AZ. It is discussed whether the xylem hydraulic resistance in the AZ of tomato pedicels in response to water stress and during fruit development contributes to the hydraulic isolation of fruits from diurnal cycles of water stress in the shoot.

Induction of air embolism in xylem conduits of pre-defined diameter.

A new method is presented that enables the induction of embolisms in a fraction of all xylem vessels, based on diameter, at one cut end of a stem segment. The method is based on the different capillary characteristic of xylem vessels of different cross-sectional size. To verify the method, air embolisms were induced in cut xylem vessels of chrysanthemum (Dendranthemaxgrandiflorum Tzvelev cv. Cassa) stem segments at different xylem tensions and compared with the distribution of gas-filled vessels as visualized by cryo-scanning electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM). At -6 kPa xylem pressure, air-entrance was only induced in large diameter vessels (>30 microm), while at -24 kPa embolisms were induced in almost all xylem vessels (>10 microm). Although the principle of the embolization method worked well, smaller diameter vessels were observed to be embolized than was expected according to the calculations. The role of cross-sectional shape and contact angle between xylem sap and vessel wall at the menisci are discussed. After correction for the observed (diameter independent) deviation from circularity of the cross-sectional vessel shape the contact angle was calculated to be approximately 55 degrees. Hydraulic resistance (Rh) measurements before and after embolization showed that the effect of embolizing only large diameter cut xylem vessels had only a small influence on overall Rh of a stem segment. Embolizing all cut xylem vessels at one cut end almost trebled overall Rh. The difference was discussed in the light of the networking capacity of the xylem system.

Xylem hydraulic conductivity related to conduit dimensions along chrysanthemum stems.

The stem xylem conduit dimensions and hydraulic conductivity of chrysanthemum plants (Dendranthema x grandiflorum Tzvelev cv. Cassa) were analysed and quantified. Simple exponential relations describe conduit length distribution, height dependency of conduit length distribution, and height dependency of stem hydraulic conductivity. These mathematical descriptions can be used to model the xylem water transport system. Within a chrysanthemum stem of 1.0 m, the conduit half-length (the length within which 50% of the conduits have their end) was 0.029 m at soil surface and decreased by half at a height of 0.6 m. With each 0.34 m increase in height up the stem, the hydraulic conductivity decreased by 50%. The resistance calculated from conduit lumen characteristics was 70% of the measured resistance. The remaining unexplained part of the hydraulic resistance is at least partly caused by inter-conduit connections.

Fluid ionic composition influences hydraulic conductance of xylem conduits.

The direct effect of fluid composition on xylem hydraulic conductance is investigated in excised stem segments of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema x grandiflorum Tzvelev cv. Cassa) plants. Dynamic changes in hydraulic conductance are accurately measured at 30 s intervals before and after modifications of the composition of the standard fluid (deionized water). It is investigated whether osmotic properties of the flowing solution influence overall hydraulic conductance by affecting the hydraulic conductance of vessel-to-vessel pit membranes, as has previously been suggested. Various iso-osmotic salt solutions (20 mOsm kg-1) of different composition raised the hydraulic conductance of 20 cm long stem segments approximately 5-8% compared to deionized water. In contrast, carbohydrate solutions with similar osmotic strength and pH did not cause any change in hydraulic conductance. KCl solutions that greatly differed in osmotic strength all increased hydraulic conductance, but the response was not correlated with the osmotic strength of the solution. Increasing the number of vessels that were open from one cut end to the other by shortening the stem segments greatly increased the hydraulic conductance response. Changing from deionized water to a salt solution caused an immediate increase in hydraulic conductance, while a shift back to deionized water resulted in a slow decline. This decline lasted longer when the salt solution contained divalent cations compared to monovalent cations. It is concluded that the presence of cations and not the osmotic strength in the flowing solution influenced the hydraulic conductance. The phenomenon is not caused by the vessel-to-vessel pit membranes, which in fact suppressed the effect, due to their large contribution to the overall resistance to water flow.