Method and apparatus for the improvement of nutritional quality of leafy vegetables

Profil Titel	Method and apparatus for the improvement of nutritional quality of leafy vegetables
Referenz	09 LT 57AB 3FT0
Herkunftsland	Lithuania
Kooperationsart	Angebot
Eintrag/Änderung	2009-12-18 / 2010-11-23
Status	Dieses Profil ist abgelaufen! Falls Sie denoch Interesse haben, kontaktieren Sie uns. (2011-11-07)

Kurzfassung

Lithuanian firm is offering a lighting technology which can be applied in greenhouses for short-term pre-harvest treatment of leafy vegetables. The method allows for a fast decreasing of the concentration of harmful nitrates by several times, while the content of some nutrient compounds (e.g., carbohydrates) increases. Partner is sought for further R&D projects as well as for commercial cooperation.

Details

Technology for treatment of leafy vegetables by high-density photosynthetic photon flux for the improvement of nutritional quality is offered. At the pre-harvest stage, the plants are treated by radiant flux generated by a solid-state illuminator in order to direct the photosynthetic and metabolic processes present in plants. The plants are irradiated within a period of up to thre days with a photosynthetic photon flux density of 300-500 µmol m–2 s–1 in the special range within the wavelength range of 400 to 700 nm and photoperiod of 12 to 24 hours and with an optional alteration of the environmental conditions. The solid-state illuminator has a design with thermal radiation directed outwards from the treated plants and an optional photoregulator, which allows power-saving by dimming during high sunlight.

Innovative Aspects:
The innovative aspects of the proposed technology are as follows:
•Differently from use of high-pressure sodium lamps, application a solid-state illuminator for treatment of plants allows generating a high-density photosynthetic photon flux without substantial radiant heat and therefore high intensity of photosynthesis is attained.
•Using solid-state illuminator for short-term treatment of plants rather than for full-cycle growth.
•Nitrate concentration in plants will decrease 2 to 3 times in, for example, lettuce, marjoram and green onion.
•Nutritional quality of vegetable will increase.
•Increase in anti-oxidants compounds of plants

Application of an expensive solid-state illuminator for short-term treatment makes this technology economically viable in terms of the vegetable production cost. The net production cost of leafy vegetables is expected to increase by 15-20%, whereas the content of harmful nitrates is decreased by 2 to 3 times and the nutritional quality of the vegetables increases. In particular, the offered technology is suitable for improving the nutritional quality of leafy vegetables grown under rather poor lighting conditions typical of greenhouses in the Northern countries.