Driven by the future 2018

DRIVEN BY THE FUTURE…

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA Controlled Environment Agriculture Center

“Enabling science is the heart of the matter…”

Secure & Sustainable Food Production We’ve got you covered…

A warming climate, over-farmed land with degraded soil, and the mass exodus of human populations toward the metropolitan mega-cities are all reasons to be alarmed. The question is raised, “How will grow enough food to feed 9.5 billion people by 2050?”

Amidst the sirens, we’re here to instill hope and spread the good word that is Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA).

Greenhouses are the most common implantations of CEA. In its simplest form, greenhouses extend a growers’ crop production seasons, but in more high-tech implementations of CEA we can defy the forces of nature and make year round crop production a reality.

Hydroponics is at the heart of what we do at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center. It is a technology for growing plants in nutrient solutions (water containing fertilizers) without the use of soil. Hydroponics in combination with greenhouses is highly productive, conservative of water and land, and gives growers ultimate control over their climate. While hydroponics and CEA are not synonymous, CEA usually accompanies hydroponics.

The potential for this technology now and in the future is inextricable, and the University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center is at the cutting edge of scientific research, engineering design advancements, and training the farmers of tomorrow.

We are driven by the future.

Teaching & Education Greenhouse Sustaining agricultural practices are vital for the future and people with diverse skill sets are needed to meet these emerging challenges in food, energy and water. In addition to advanced classes CEAC provides introductory courses to all students regardless of major.

The Teaching Greenhouse and cropping systems are the primary outreach location for visitors and tours to CEAC. Students, faculty and staff maintain the Education & Teaching Greenhouse and its 800 plants. For their Laboratory requirements, students maintain the crops and are graded on the growth and production quality achieved.

Within its polycarbonate-covered walls and through its rows walk future farmers, plant scientists, biosystems engineers and business developers. On any given day you will find ripe red tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers lining the rows of the greenhouse, regardless of the season and temperature outside.

Education immediately meets application‌ Each year, our introductory greenhouse hydroponic class (PLS 217, Fall) and the advanced crop production class (PLS 397B, Spring) fill every available seat.

The greenhouse offers a commercial approach with hands-on experience. Advancing science and research, each student participates in experiments relevant for the greenhouse hydroponic industry. In the past, research has included plant variety tests, comparisons of aggregate growing materials, and grafting trials.

Having the Teaching Greenhouse available for our educational program offers students real-world experience in commercial style hydroponic crop production.

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Vertical Farming The concept of the “vertical farm,� popularized by Dr. Dickson Despommier of Columbia University, constitutes a promising solution to help meet the demand for food in a highly urbanized global population that will grow to 9.5 billion by 2050. The only sustainable way to grow food going forward is with less land, less water, less carbon emission and greater yield. Growing food in this way will help meet such demands only if it is economical.

UAg Farm

UA-CEAC and industry collaborators have come together to launch a new multi-tier vertical farm based research, education, and outreach facility (UAgFarm). The UAgFarm facility was developed for engineering and science based research to address challenges and help advancing technology and crop production applications with indoor growing under artificial lighting, to provide experiential educational opportunities for students, and to educate and inform growers and public on indoor growing systems.

The Vertical Green Box The Vertical Green Box solution, as are all projects within the CEAC mission, is designed to transform food production as economically sustainable.

With vertical farming requiring significant capital and energy consumption, a standardized and modular design is a critical first step for skyscraper vertical farms feasibility.

Alternative Energy for Off-grid Crop Production Innovative technology goes beyond increasing yields. CEAC offers viable responses by researching systems and strategies to recycle resources and integrate alternative energy for CEA food production systems.

Communities all over the world are interested in growing safe, local and fresh food. The challenge is to succeed where energy resources are strained and limited.

Resource conserving CEA systems alleviate food and energy problems. Solar powered off-grid greenhouse systems have production capabilities without connecting to the grid.

At CEAC, applications are targeted using emerging technologies such as agrivoltaics, photovoltaic integrated semi-transparent systems, and solar spectral selective glazing.

Using 90% Less Water & Gaining 10x Yield Compared to Field Growing Lettuce production techniques and management practices commonly used within the greenhouses for semi-arid climate conditions such as the deserts of Southern Arizona has 90% less water usage and gain 10 times the annual yield compared to field growing of lettuce crops.

Ongoing evaluations of greenhouse hydroponic lettuce production includes differentiation by lettuce cultivar and production season within a floating-raft, deep water hydroponic system.

Temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and root zone nutrients are variables in the quality of production.

Technology for Optimal Crop Production Autonomous Crop Sensing & Phenotyping Greenhouse systems are more resource-use efficient when environmental control systems use plant responses measured in real-time for grower decision making.

Computer vision guided crop diagnostics and phenotyping systems provide timely identification of crop status, stress areas, and specific ways to improve resource use.

Control Strategy Development

Proper climate control strategies maintain desired climatic conditions and provide uniform environments in year-round, high-quality crop production.

Greenhouse and crop energy balance analyses create a detailed understanding of crop and greenhouse system interactions.

Climate control algorithms and strategies optimize environments.

Airflow & Distribution

Comprehensive 3-D CFD models (pictured on left) allow simulations that virtually determine the effects of hardware design and operational strategies within the crop canopies of CEA systems.

Core research is developing aerodynamic models of greenhouse and indoor plant production systems, with the result of improving design recommendations for system manufacturers, growers and operators.

Mars-Lunar Greenhouse CEAC has welcomed many to the Mars-Lunar Greenhouse (M-LGH) in the last 15 years. The M-LGH demonstrates Bio-Regenerative Life Support System (BLSS) technologies, enabling astronauts to live and work at future lunar and Martian bases.

Bio-Regenerative Life Support Systems use plants and the microbial community to recycle the atmosphere, water, organic solid waste, and produce food within its chamber - mirroring natural ecosystems within Earth’s atmosphere.

By providing 50% of the food calorie intake of the habitat crew from a BLSS with the remaining supplied from Earth, 100% of the required food, atmosphere, and water can be continually recycled to sustain life.

This will allow mankind to make home beyond Earth’s sheltering skies.

An interdisciplinary program for a new breed of farmers

Ag Tech Management (B.S.) An agricultural science and natural resources multidisciplinary program that emphasizes hands-on skills, application of technology, and development of economic and business communications skills.

Applied Biosciences with CEA (PSM) Preparing students with graduate-level education that integrates science and engineering-based approaches to CEA. Internship requirements ensure that our graduates are prepared with both the technical knowledge and business acumen for careers in the CEA industry.

Biosystems Engineering (B.S., M.S., PhD) An interdisciplinary engineering program that uses life sciences to develop solutions and new technologies to solve grand challenges in water, energy, food, and sustainable living. Includes development of greenhouse systems, sensors, and automation, to optimize resource use efficiency in plant production systems.

Sustainable Plant Systems (B.S.) This is an interdisciplinary program between PLS and SWES which emphasizes fundamental science principles and their applications in modern agriculture and crop production. Includes plant/microbial communities and plant breeding for improved growth, development, and adaption.

CEAC’s Annual Greenhouse Short Course Meeting and learning from research specialists, growers, and industry business leaders provides attendees of our annual Greenhouse Short Course with opportunities to learn emerging systems and practice techniques for advancing their business.

Information from experts in research, production and the bottomline business of controlled environment agriculture fills the annual multiple-day event. Attendees receive 3 days of intensely focused classroom sessions on all aspects of the science, technology, engineering and practice knowledge.

Within greenhouses of CEAC, attendees enjoy aromas of the vines that hold the tasty fruits of success with full-days of hands-on training workshops led by research and production specialists of The University of Arizona.

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Hydroponic Crop Intensive Workshops Nowhere else in the world can one receive a semester’s worth of lessons and hands on training in just one week.

Our intensive workshops designed to focus on hydroponic tomato and lettuce cultivation are held numerous times per year and bring in growers from all around the world.

The intensive workshops feature University of Arizona course content presented strategically throughout the week to allow business professionals and growers to minimize their time away from home - combining classroom time with hands-on training in the greenhouse in order to put the lessons learned by lecture into real world practice. Meant for growers of all levels, the Intensive Courses begin with the basics, but move quickly through critical content.

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Aquaponics Aquaponics is the integration of a recirculating aquaculture system growing fish, and a hydroponic system for plant production.

Aquaponic systems mimic naturally occurring closed-loop systems and create sustainable means for food production.

Plants within the fish culture system provide removal of nutrients, which omits the need for water changes, conserving water and eliminating discharge to the environment with natural bioremediation.

The nutrient source is utilized by both fish and plant, producing more products per input of feed. Removal of nutrients from fish effluent via plant nutrient uptake is a sustainable method of filtration.

Aquaponics is an effective and exciting teaching aid for students from kindergarten to seniors. CEAC Undergraduates have assisted several schools in designing and constructing aquaponic systems.

Mushroom Production Mushrooms are a “superfood” that represent one of the fastest growing specialty crops worldwide. Applied research and extension outreach is focused on supporting and promoting Arizona’s mushroom industry.

Mushroom production systems and operational guidelines are optimized for controlled environment agriculture in the Southwest by conducting research in both demonstration- and commercialsized production facilities.

A demonstration at CAC Tucson Village Farm is integrating mushroom cultivation into urban farm educational programs.

For commercial production efficiency and product quality, various agricultural and landscape waste products are used for substrates in combination with specific mushroom varieties now available for Arizona.

Educational programs about the technical and economic aspects of small- and large-scale businesses are in progress.

Seed Corn The University of Arizona CEAC is performing proof-of-concept research for production of seed corn to be used in a 7-acre hightech commercial greenhouse in Pima County.

CEAC’s commercial Research Greenhouses are being used to develop best practices for seed corn hydroponic growing systems.

In collaboration with industry, CEAC is establishing novel plant production procedures for growing corn in CEA. The objective is to develop new, more productive variety breeding lines.

Fertilizer formulation, growing media, light requirements and air temperatures have been assessed.

Growing plants indoors feeds the plant breeding process while using less water and continues year-round. These efforts provide improved productivity of field corn varieties that require less resource inputs from the farmer in the field.

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April 2018