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GLASE Consortium Aims to Reduce Cost and Impact of Hort Lighting
The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering ( GLASE ) consortium — which is led by Cornell University ’ s Controlled Environment Agriculture group and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ’ s Center for Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications , and supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority — aims to integrate advanced energy-efficient LED lighting with improved environmental controls for more efficient and sustainable greenhouse production . Research integrates advances in LED light engineering , plant photobiology , carbon dioxide enrichment , and systems control to dramatically reduce the energy cost and carbon footprint of horticultural lighting . The consortium is creating intelligent systems that can be easily tailored to the needs of specific greenhouse crops , providing unparalleled flexibility for the grower . To ensure new energy-efficient technologies are adopted within the greenhouse industry , GLASE will make its advanced systems capabilities broadly accessible through extensive educational outreach and training opportunities . The consortium will also include lighting manufacturers , growers , trade groups , produce buyers , agriculture lighting engineers , researchers , and government agencies , and other academic partners .
- glase . cals . cornell . edu
Plants Might Deliver Their Own Pest Controls in Future
Chemist John A . Pickett suggested that food crops will need to make and deliver their own natural pest controls in the future . The suggestion was made during Pickett ’ s 2017 Agricultural Research Service ( ARS ) Sterling B . Hendricks Memorial Lecture . Pickett pioneered the discovery of how pheromones and other signaling chemicals govern communication between insects and manage interactions between insects and their plant and animal hosts . These chemicals , called semiochemicals , influence the behavior of other organisms . Pickett later proved that when insect pheromones and plantderived semiochemicals are used together in traps , their ability to attract insect pests is multiplied beyond that of just adding each together . In Africa , Pickett helped develop a “ push-pull ” companion cropping system . By intercropping corn with a repellent plant and an attractive trap plant — both delivering semiochemicals that repel pests and attract beneficial insects — farmers are overcoming production limitations without harming the ecology . Such work is forefront in the contemporary movement away from wide spectrum pesticides toward more precise biobased controls that target specific pests .
- ars . usda . gov
Grant to Help Convert Atlanta Utility Easements into Urban Farms
A $ 50,000 grant awarded to the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District will be used to convert 15 acres of land inside Atlanta ’ s electric utility easements into urban farms . “ This project represents a way for the district to create a new paradigm of urban agriculture , both in Atlanta and throughout the county ,” district chairman Alan Toney says . “ By converting these easements that crisscross the city into food-producing farmland , we should begin to see greater food security within the areas of the city that need it the most .” The city has set a goal of bringing local , healthy food within a half mile of 75 per cent of city residents by 2020 . The conservation district is working with the city , Georgia Power Co ., and several non-profits on project . The grant came from the National Association of Conservation Districts .
- bizjournals . com
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