Special Issue "Urban Horticulture - New Trends and Technologies"

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Protected Culture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 March 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Genhua Niu
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252, USA
Interests: controlled environment agriculture; hydroponics; indoor vertical farming; environmental stress physiology; urban landscape water conservation
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Celina Gómez
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environmental Horticulture Dept., University of Florida, 1529 Fifield Hall, 2550 Hull Rd., Gainesville FL 32611-0670, USA
Interests: indoor plant production; sole-source lighting; urban gardening; hydroponics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban horticulture is the study of the relationship between horticultural crops and the urban environment. Traditionally, urban horticulture has been dominated by backyard gardeners, community gardeners, and small-scale commercial growers in urban and peri-urban spaces. Backyard and community gardeners are typically hobbyists who enjoy raising their own vegetables, fruits, herbs, and sometimes flowers, in decks, balconies, covered patios, community plots, or residential rooftops, to supplement their diets. Although economic gain from gardening is not their primary focus, some of these gardeners sell their produce at seasonal farmers’ markets.

In recent years, interest in urban horticulture has increased due to rapid urbanization, the expansion of cities, and increased consumer demand for locally grown fresh produce. Moreover, a new type of urban horticulture—indoor vertical farming (VF)—has gained momentum among young entrepreneurs and urban growers. For this type of urban horticulture, the application of highly efficient production systems such as hydroponics and aquaponics with different environmental control techniques is preferred. The size of VF ranges from mini-indoor farms to large-scale commercial facilities with automation. Although the number of large-scale operations is still limited, small-scale VFs have burgeoned in large cities in recent years. These small VFs usually sell their products directly to up-end restaurants and grocery stores. The main crops are typically microgreens, herbs, baby leafy greens, and edible flowers, although interest is increasing for fruiting vegetable crops like strawberries, tomatoes and peppers.

In this Special Issue, we would like to provide a platform for researchers to share their opinions and research findings relevant to all types of urban horticulture.

Prof. Dr. Genhua Niu
Dr. Celina Gómez
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 papers will be 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 1400 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

  • Aquaponics
  • Community gardening
  • Controlled environment agriculture
  • Hydroponics
  • Indoor gardening
  • LED lighting
  • Organic gardening
  • Pick-and-eat
  • Rooftop gardening
  • Urban agriculture
  • Urban gardening

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Quality Evaluation of Indoor-Grown Microgreens Cultivated on Three Different Substrates
Horticulturae 2021, 7(5), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7050096 - 02 May 2021
Viewed by 805
Abstract
The microgreens are innovative products in the horticultural sector. They are appreciated by consumers thanks to their novelty and health-related benefits, having a high antioxidant concentration. This produce can be adopted for indoor production using hydroponic systems. The aim of the present work [...] Read more.
The microgreens are innovative products in the horticultural sector. They are appreciated by consumers thanks to their novelty and health-related benefits, having a high antioxidant concentration. This produce can be adopted for indoor production using hydroponic systems. The aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of three growing media (vermiculite, coconut fiber, and jute fabric) on yield and quality parameters of two basil varieties (Green basil—Ocimum basilicum L., Red basil—Ocimum basilicum var. Purpurecsens) and rocket (Eruca sativa Mill.) as microgreens. Microgreens were grown in floating, in a Micro Experimental Growing (MEG®) system equipped with LED lamps, with modulation of both energy and spectra of the light supplied to plants. Results showed high yield, comprised from 2 to 3 kg m−2. Nutritional quality varied among species and higher antioxidant compounds were found in red basil on vermiculite and jute. Coconut fiber allowed the differentiation of crop performance in terms of sucrose and above all nitrate. In particular, our results point out that the choice of the substrate significantly affected the yield, the dry matter percentage and the nitrate concentration of microgreens, while the other qualitative parameters were most influenced by the species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Horticulture - New Trends and Technologies)
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Article
Effects of Light-Emitting Diodes on the Accumulation of Phenolic Compounds and Glucosinolates in Brassica juncea Sprouts
Horticulturae 2020, 6(4), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae6040077 - 09 Nov 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 809
Abstract
Recent improvements in light-emitting diode (LED) technology afford an excellent opportunity to investigate the relationship between different light sources and plant metabolites. Accordingly, the goal of the present study was to determine the effect of different LED (white, blue, and red) treatments on [...] Read more.
Recent improvements in light-emitting diode (LED) technology afford an excellent opportunity to investigate the relationship between different light sources and plant metabolites. Accordingly, the goal of the present study was to determine the effect of different LED (white, blue, and red) treatments on the contents of glucosinolates (glucoiberin, gluconapin, sinigrin, gluconasturtiin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, 4-hydroxyglucobrassicin, glucobrassicin, and neoglucobrassicin) and phenolic compounds (4-hydroxybenzonate, catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeate, gallate, sinapate, and quercetin) in Brassica juncea sprouts. The sprouts were grown in a growth chamber at 25 °C under irradiation with white, blue, or red LED with a flux rate of 90 μmol·m−2·s−1 and a long-day photoperiod (16 h light/8 h dark cycle). Marked differences in desulfoglucosinolate contents were observed in response to treatment with different LEDs and different treatment durations. In addition, the highest total desulfoglucosinolate content was observed in response to white LED light treatment, followed by treatment with red LED light, and then blue LED light. Among the individual desulfoglucosinolates identified in the sprouts, sinigrin exhibited the highest content, which was observed after three weeks of white LED light treatment. The highest total phenolic contents were recorded after one week of white and blue LED light treatment, whereas blue LED irradiation increased the production of most of the phenolic compounds identified, including 4-hydroxybenzonate, gallate, sinapate, caffeate, quercetin, and chlorogenic acid. The production of phenolics decreased gradually with increasing duration of LED light treatment, whereas anthocyanin accumulation showed a progressive increase during the treatment. These findings indicate that white LED light is appropriate for glucosinolate accumulation, whereas blue LED light is effective in increasing the production of phenolic compounds in B. juncea sprouts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Horticulture - New Trends and Technologies)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

 title: Some Observations about Underreported Challenges for Vertical Farming

(no particular order)

  1. Practitioners have insufficient knowledge of commercial crop production
  2. Practitioners are unaware of and/or undervalue the role Cooperative Extension can play
  3. Investments are high and do not end with securing the initial start-up capital
  4. The ‘Our system is the greatest’ syndrome
  5. The ‘We build it and they will come’ syndrome
  6. The ‘We need to protect our intellectual property’ mentality
  7. Insufficient collaborations with other vertical farming operations
  8. Insufficient data sharing and collaborations with researchers
  9. Combining business goals with social responsibilities (e.g., consumer health, nutrition, community development)
  10. Attracting and retaining skilled labor
  11. Winning over all consumers, not just affluent consumers
  12. Biology: We know a lot, but nature has a way to surprise us when we least expect it
  13. Aquaponics: Twice the challenge
  14. Carbon footprint of vertical farming
  15. Like most farming, vertical farming is 24/7/365
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