Optimized Light Management in Controlled-Environment Horticulture
A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Protected Culture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2025 | Viewed by 79
Special Issue Editors
Interests: controlled-environment horticulture; environmental adaptability of leaf photosynthesis; fruit quality enhancement under adverse conditions; vegetable cultivation in greenhouses
Interests: physiological ecology of protected horticultural; plant photobiology; plant factory production technology; efficient production technology for horticultural vegetables
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: structural design of horticultural facilities; environmental regulation of horticultural facilities; simulation and optimization of light and thermal environments in greenhouses
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, controlled-environment horticulture (CEH) industry has experienced rapid expansion and, by integrating diverse horticultural facilities—including solar greenhouses, plant factories, and vertical farms—CEH has successfully transcended the inherent limitations of natural environments for horticultural crops. This innovation addresses a global challenge by enabling the year-round production of vegetables, flowers, fruits, and edible fungi, even under adverse seasons or extreme conditions, thereby significantly diversifying human product demands. Notably, CEH has demonstrated remarkable achievements in accelerating breeding innovation, which holds substantial implications for the future development of horticulture. However, the high-efficiency and intensive production paradigm of CEH inevitably entails substantial energy consumption to maintain optimal environmental conditions within confined spaces. Among all environmental variables, light management emerges as the primary factor requiring prioritized attention. Light serves a dual role in plant growth—it functions as an energy source for photosynthetic product synthesis and as a signaling agent regulating photomorphogenesis, developmental processes, and stress responses. Optimizing light management constitutes a critical strategy for achieving high-efficiency and low-carbon goals in CEH production systems. Regardless of whether solar or artificial lighting is utilized, effecting optimal light environments necessitates systematic understanding of (1) photobiological requirements during crop growth stages, (2) the characteristics of light environments in CEH, and (3) intelligent and energy-saving regulation through advanced control systems. This Special Issue will focus on recent advances in optimized light management in CEH and original research articles, reviews, mini reviews, and short communications are welcome.
Dr. Xiaolong Yang
Prof. Dr. Houcheng Liu
Prof. Dr. Xingan Liu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- light microclimate
- photobiology
- intelligent light regulation equipment
- precision light-controlled horticulture
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