About Us:

Globally, factors such as soil quality, water and land availability, seasonality, alongside pests and disease incidence challenge conventional field production of many horticultural crops. When these constraints become highly limiting, growers may adopt protected cultivation practices, defined as strategies which deliberately modify growing conditions to maintain optimal plant growth, yield or quality. For example, production may be shifted into warm polythene tunnels or glass greenhouses when faced with temperatures low enough to stunt growth.

The fundamental goal of our lab is to contribute practical, commercial and scientific knowledge to the field of protected cultivation. Our lab focuses primarily on controlled environment agriculture (CEA), a specific form of protected cultivation which integrates advanced technologies such as water-based hydroponics systems, artificial lighting and climate control, alongside automation to optimize growing conditions. We seek to create management practices to improve the production of a wide variety of plants in protected environments, including but not limited to: tomatoes, lettuce, herbs and ornamentals, in both soil and hydroponic systems. 

Research in CEA is highly interdisciplinary, and in order to solve complex problems in both California and a global industry, we must consider and integrate the different levels of plant science, from the cell to industry, while drawing from the perspectives of experts in plant biology, physiology, engineering and economics, and more.