A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled Environments
Optimizing light conditions in controlled-environment agriculture is critical for enhancing crop yield and energy efficiency, particularly in high-value crops like strawberries, where precise spectral tuning can significantly influence both vegetative growth and fruit production. In this study, a wi...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/5/1130 |
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| author | Jun Zou Zihan Wang Haitong Huang Xiaohua Huang Mingming Shi |
| author_facet | Jun Zou Zihan Wang Haitong Huang Xiaohua Huang Mingming Shi |
| author_sort | Jun Zou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Optimizing light conditions in controlled-environment agriculture is critical for enhancing crop yield and energy efficiency, particularly in high-value crops like strawberries, where precise spectral tuning can significantly influence both vegetative growth and fruit production. In this study, a windmill-style vertical farming system was developed to facilitate efficient strawberry cultivation under low-light conditions. A custom LED lighting fixture, measuring 3 m in length, was suspended 30 cm above the canopy to uniformly illuminate a planting zone of 3.0 m × 0.3 m. The lighting system, which combines red (655–665 nm) and full-spectrum white LEDs, was optimized using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to enhance spatial light distribution. The uniformity of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) improved from 71% to 85%, and the standard deviation decreased from 75 to 15. Under a 16 h optimized lighting regime, strawberry plants exhibited a 55% increase in height compared to the non-supplemented control group (Group D), a 40% increase in leaf width, and a 36% increase in fruit weight (69.76 g per plant) relative to the 12 h supplemental lighting group (Group A). The system operates at a fixture-level power consumption of just 160 W, with its spectral output aligned with the absorption characteristics of strawberry foliage and fruit. These results demonstrate that an algorithm-driven lighting layout can significantly enhance both vegetative and reproductive performance in vertical strawberry farming while maintaining high energy efficiency. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c3eb97336a05409c96d50df950d85abe |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-c3eb97336a05409c96d50df950d85abe2025-08-20T01:56:55ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-05-01155113010.3390/agronomy15051130A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled EnvironmentsJun Zou0Zihan Wang1Haitong Huang2Xiaohua Huang3Mingming Shi4College of Science, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No. 100, Haiquan Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201418, ChinaCollege of Science, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No. 100, Haiquan Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201418, ChinaCollege of Science, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No. 100, Haiquan Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201418, ChinaCollege of Science, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No. 100, Haiquan Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201418, ChinaCollege of Science, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No. 100, Haiquan Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201418, ChinaOptimizing light conditions in controlled-environment agriculture is critical for enhancing crop yield and energy efficiency, particularly in high-value crops like strawberries, where precise spectral tuning can significantly influence both vegetative growth and fruit production. In this study, a windmill-style vertical farming system was developed to facilitate efficient strawberry cultivation under low-light conditions. A custom LED lighting fixture, measuring 3 m in length, was suspended 30 cm above the canopy to uniformly illuminate a planting zone of 3.0 m × 0.3 m. The lighting system, which combines red (655–665 nm) and full-spectrum white LEDs, was optimized using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to enhance spatial light distribution. The uniformity of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) improved from 71% to 85%, and the standard deviation decreased from 75 to 15. Under a 16 h optimized lighting regime, strawberry plants exhibited a 55% increase in height compared to the non-supplemented control group (Group D), a 40% increase in leaf width, and a 36% increase in fruit weight (69.76 g per plant) relative to the 12 h supplemental lighting group (Group A). The system operates at a fixture-level power consumption of just 160 W, with its spectral output aligned with the absorption characteristics of strawberry foliage and fruit. These results demonstrate that an algorithm-driven lighting layout can significantly enhance both vegetative and reproductive performance in vertical strawberry farming while maintaining high energy efficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/5/1130particle swarm optimizationLED supplemental lightingvertical farmingstrawberry cultivationurban agriculturelight distribution uniformity |
| spellingShingle | Jun Zou Zihan Wang Haitong Huang Xiaohua Huang Mingming Shi A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled Environments Agronomy particle swarm optimization LED supplemental lighting vertical farming strawberry cultivation urban agriculture light distribution uniformity |
| title | A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled Environments |
| title_full | A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled Environments |
| title_fullStr | A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled Environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled Environments |
| title_short | A Low-Energy Lighting Strategy for High-Yield Strawberry Cultivation Under Controlled Environments |
| title_sort | low energy lighting strategy for high yield strawberry cultivation under controlled environments |
| topic | particle swarm optimization LED supplemental lighting vertical farming strawberry cultivation urban agriculture light distribution uniformity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/5/1130 |
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