This presentation ’Growing leafy greens with a low-pH hydroponic solution for root-rot disease management” was given by Chieri Kubota (Ohio State University) during our 49th café forum on February 7th, 2023. Indoor Ag Science Café is organized by the OptimIA project team funded by USDA SCRI grant.

• Indoor Ag Science Café is an open discussion forum, planned and organized by OptimIA project team.
• OptimIA (Optimizing Indoor Agriculture) is a project funded by USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative and supported by many of you receiving this email (thank you!).

Café Archive

Check out our previous cafés in our Indoor Ag Science Cafe page on the OptimIA website!

Indoor Ag Science Cafe is organized by the OptimIA project team funded by USDA SCRI grants program.
Previous café recordings are available in the OptimIA project website.
Please contact for more info: kubota.10@osu.edu

Upcoming Cafes:

• March 28th (Tuesday),11 AM Eastern – Michigan State OptimIA Research Showcase by Nathan Kelly, Jiyong Shin, and Devin Brewer (Michigan State University)
• April 25th (Tuesday), 10AM Eastern – “Optimizing Productivity of Plant Made Pharmaceutical under Indoor Controlled Environment’” by Dr. Ryo Matsuda (University of Tokyo, Japan)
• May 9th (Tuesday), 11AM Eastern – “Climate-smart Credentialing of New CEA Employees by Resource Innovation Institute” by Rob Eddy (Resource Innovation Institute) 
• June 20th (Tuesday), 11AM Eastern – “Growing Culinary Herbs under Controlled Environment’” by Dr. Christopher Currey (Iowa State University) 

Interested in giving a talk to share your thoughts and experiences? Please contact us!

Upcoming Courses/Events/News:

• July 15-18, 2023: Cultivate’23 Annual Conference and Trade Show in Columbus, OH [More information]
• July 15, 2023: OptimIA at Cultivate’23 “Essentials of Hydroponics Production: A tHRIve Symposium” [More information]
• July 19, 2023: OHCEAC 2^nd Annual Conference “Advancement of Sustainable Controlled Environment Crop Production Sciences and Technologies” in Columbus, OH and online [More information]

Upcoming Cafes:

• September 21st (Tuesday), 11AM Eastern – ‘Introduction to Aquaponics‘ by Dr. Paul Brown and Dr. Cary Mitchell (Purdue University)
• October 26th (Tuesday), 11AM Eastern – ‘Vertical Farming – Past, Present and Future‘ by Robert Colangelo (Green Sense Farms)
• November TBA
• December 7th (Tuesday), 11AM Eastern – ‘Plant-Made Pharmaceuticals under Controlled Environment‘ by Dr. Nobuyuki Matoba (University of Louisville)

Interested in giving a talk to share your thoughts and experiences? Please contact Chieri Kubota

Japan is a leader in the world of indoor farming. At the heart of their success is a non-profit organization, the Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA), and Eri Hayashi, its Vice President. Find out more about this sophisticated collaboration between academia, industry, and government. See the ways several of Japan’s indoor farm companies use technological advances, sophisticated production efficiency measures, and data-driven operations to promote high productivity and uniformity. Find out what innovations are driving what Hayashi refers to as the fourth generation of plant factories with artificial light. 

Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of the OptimIA project, funded by the USDA SCRI grant program. Interested parties can join the free café forums, live or recorded (http://www.scri-optimia.org). The café forum is designed to serve as a communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals. 

‘Indoor Farming in Mexico: Current Status and Opportunities’ by Karla Garcia

Founder and Director of Microgreen FLN and Technical Services Specialist for Hort Americas, Karla Garcia, discusses in the February 2021 Ag Café episode what’s happening in Mexico’s controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry, what’s impeding its growth, and what she hopes will change that in the future. As a business owner and technical consultant in CEA, Ms. Garcia has a unique and insightful perspective on the impact government policy, training, and public perception of CEA products has on the future success of CEA in Mexico.

This presentation ‘Indoor Farming in Mexico: Current Status and Opportunities’ was given by Karla Garcia (Microgreens FLN & HortAmericas) during our 27th cafe forum on February 23rd, 2021. Indoor Ag Science Cafe is organized by the OptimIA project team funded by USDA SCRI grant program.

The Café presentations are available from YouTube channel.

Upcoming Cafes:
March 30, 11am EST – ‘USDA SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Grants Program Overview’ by Dr. Steven Thomson & Melinda Coffman (USDA NIFA)

Interested in giving a talk to share your thoughts and experiences? Contact them

Soilless Strawberry School

Greenhouse-focused Track

Learn all you need to grow strawberries in soilless substrates under greenhouse and high tunnel conditions. Online live lectures and discussion on March 26, 10am-3pm (EDT).

Recordings will be available for additional 2 weeks.

Registrations fees: $180 per person

Ohio resident discount available (please contact Chieri Kubota)

More information & registration

Register by 3/23/21

Contact Chieri Kubota for more information (kubota.10@osu.edu)

Dr. Chieri Kubota, the Director of the new center focusing on controlled environment agriculture and protected cultivation hosted this event to introduces the programs and membership.

What OHCEAC is unique about is that we are integrative, interdisciplinary, and inclusive team conducting collaborative research to respond to CEA stakeholder needs. Our focus inclusively covers various production systems and crop types. We use the terminology of CEA as having a very broad meaning including soil-bassed or soilless systems under various types of climate control or modification structures.

This presentation given by Dr. Murat Kacira and his graduate student KC Shasteen introduces the concept of using crop modeling/simulation for making indoor farming management decisions. Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of a project OptimIA, funded by USDA SCRI grant program (http://www.scri-optimia.org). The café forums are designed to serve as precompetitive communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals. 

The Café presentations are all available on their YouTube channel   

Contact Chieri Kubota at the Ohio State University (Kubota.10@osu.edu) to be a Café member to participate.

CLEVELAND—GE Current, a Daintree company has gifted 272 horticultural lighting fixtures to The Ohio State University to benefit the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. 

The Arize Element L1000 LED fixtures will illuminate a state-of-the-art greenhouse being built within the new Controlled Environment Food Production Research Complex. The greenhouse was made possible with funding from Nationwide Insurance, as well as support from other Ohio-based companies.

“We are excited to be deepening our relationship with OSU,” said Melissa Wesorick, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Current. “This is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with this historic institution and the Ohio community, as well as inspire and empower the next generation of growers.”

With construction slated to begin in 2021, the production greenhouse will provide hands-on training opportunities for students to learn how to grow various crops in a greenhouse setting. The multiple tailored light spectrums offered by the Arize Element L1000 opens the door for unique research and scientific exploration into crop production and plant growth, as well as expand upon the understanding of how LEDs can further that growth. The facility will also serve as the location for future grower conferences and workshops. 

“Lighting is a key technology of controlled environment agriculture,” said Chieri Kubota, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and lead researcher at the new greenhouse facility. “We are excited about potential research outcomes that will advance the science and technology of growing in these environments. We greatly appreciate Current’s generous and important gift to help make this happen.”

Kubota’s work encompasses plant physiology and horticulture engineering to enhance the understanding and efficiency of controlled environment agriculture production systems such as greenhouses, warehouses (vertical farms) and growth chambers.

Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science offers science-based instruction and solutions in both the classroom (to over 3,200 undergraduate and 500 graduate students) and in Ohio’s 88 counties through OSU Extension. Learn more at cfaes.osu.edu.

About GE Current, a Daintree company
Current enhances commercial and industrial facilities, cities, greenhouses and all spaces in between with advanced lighting and intelligent controls. Working with our partners, we deliver the best possible outcomes for our customers. See why Current is always on at www.gecurrent.com. 

This month’s Indoor Ag Science Cafe was about financing indoor farm start up. Nicola Kerslake gave an overview of funding strategies and her guest presenter Dave Dinesen (CubicFarms) shared their insightful experience. Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of a project OptimIA, funded by USDA SCRI grant program (http://www.scri-optimia.org). The café forums are designed to serve as precompetitive communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals. 

The Café presentations are available on the YouTube channel.   

Contact Chieri Kubota at the Ohio State University (Kubota.10@osu.edu) to be a Café member to participate. 

Advanced learning and discussion for growers towards “an integrated approach based on physics and plant physiology, leading to a balanced growing method for high yields, quality, saving energy, and profitability in greenhouse controlled environments”

Instructor: Dr. Peter van Weel

• Author of ‘Plant Empowerment’
• Expert in greenhouse climate control
• Former PI at Wageningen UR, The Netherlands

Host: Dr. Chieri Kubota

The Ohio State University
Ohio CEA Center

The goal of this Workshop is for growers to empower crop production through a balanced growing method, through an integrated approach based on physics and plant physiology, for high yields, quality, saving energy, and profitability in greenhouse controlled environments

Textbook (optional): ‘Plant Empowerment’ available at www.plantempowerment.com

Registration is open through July 1.
Workshop fee is $20 per person.

For more information, contact Dr. Chieri Kubota, kubota.10@osu.edu

Roberto and Kellie work on lighting technologies for basil production and shared their most updated research on light intensities during young seedling stage of basil, affecting flavor profile and consumer liking in addition to yield and quality. Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of our project OptimIA, funded by USDA SCRI grant program (http://www.scri-optimia.org). The café forums are designed to serve as precompetitive communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals. 

The Café presentations are available on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjwIeYlKrzH_uppaf2SwMIg4JyGb7LRXC   

Contact Chieri Kubota at the Ohio State University (Kubota.10@osu.edu) to become a Café member and be able to participate. 

This comprehensive summary is an essential information for indoor farming! February Indoor Ag Sci Café focused on water quality and biofilm for indoor production.

Dr. Fisher discussed characteristics of different source water and their potential issues (alkalinity, chlorine, salinity, and pathogens) as well as mitigation measures. Key steps of biofilm management was introduced and efficacy of different commercial products was discussed.

Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of our project OptimIA, funded by USDA SCRI grant program (http://www.scri-optimia.org). The café forums are designed to serve as precompetitive communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals.

The Café presentations are available from the YouTube channel. Contact Chieri Kubota at the Ohio State University (Kubota.10@osu.edu) to be a Café member to participate.

Leafy greens include commonly consumed vegetables such as lettuce, kale, and microgreens. Production challenges outdoors have led to interest in growing these specialty crops hydroponically in controlled environments, such as indoor farms. However there is little information on whether this is economically viable. Capital and operating costs can be significant for startups, especially as it relates to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and cooling systems. Leafy greens are a good candidate for indoor farming because they can be grown rapidly and in relatively small spaces. Indoor environments are heavily controlled, so growers aren’t constrained to a small geographic area within the U.S. There are, however, other geographic concerns.

The team and its collaborators have three major goals:

• Define optimal profitability based on yield and other high-value attributes of the plants, such as nutrition content
• Optimize indoor environmental conditions, such as humidity, air movement, temperature, light and carbon dioxide concentration, to increase yield and high-value attributes
• Encourage indoor farming stakeholders to collaborate with academic and industry groups that are working in controlled-environment agriculture.

The long-term project goals are to help integrate indoor farming into the specialty-crop segment of agriculture in the U.S.; to increase the sustainability and hence profitability of this rapidly emerging sector; and to locally produce leafy greens that have higher quality attributes. To this end, our economists will better understand operating and capital expenditures (capex), and define risk and production scenarios that are most profitable. Our horticulturists and engineers will improve production efficiency, product quality, and value-added attributes of leafy greens for reliable, consistent, year-round production. In addition, the team will design and test more effective localized air-distribution methods suitable for indoor production systems, as well as develop strategies to better manage humidity around plants to reduce tip burn. While the project focuses on leafy greens, the results will also inform a wide range of controlled-environment growers through the development of growth recipes, strategies for nutritional content and anthocyanin enhancement, environmental management recommendations, and insights for economic sustainability as well as market and consumer perception of locally produced crops.

For more information, visit the project website at scri-optimia.org.