Directing Development of Next-Generation Spectrally-Controlled Plant Growth

Plants are an essential part of our day-to-day lives. They provide us oxygen to breathe through photosynthesis, food and drugs for human health and well-being in addition to many materials and products for everyday use across Canadian society. For plants, light is a central to their growth, development and survival, rendering our understanding of how light can be harnessed to enhance plant growth and productivity for human benefit of importance. With climate change putting pressure on agricultural production, and greenhouse produce valued at $1.34 billion Canadian dollars per annum (2016), there is a pressing need for new innovations to propel horticultural produce production forward. Using an array of plant types (some having all their genes and some missing genes) this project will use the latest molecular technologies to understand how G2V Optics programmable-spectra lighting technology can be employed to help plants grow better using less energy.

Faculty Supervisor:

Richard Glen Uhrig

Student:

Partner:

G2V Optics

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Manufacturing; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Alberta

Program: