Optimizing Carbon Dioxide Enrichment to Improve Fruit Quality and Expand Local Opportunities for Controlled Environment Strawberry Production

Commodities

• Fruits: berries (strawberries)

Practices

• Crop Production: greenhouses, varieties and cultivars, other
• Education and Training: participatory research
• Energy: energy conservation/efficiency
• Farm Business Management: market study, value added
• Sustainable Communities: urban agriculture

Severe climatic conditions,
widespread urbanization, and demand for fresh local food have
driven rapid growth of controlled environment agriculture
(CEA).  This technology-based approach
has the potential for year-round, reliable, and local crop
production. 
Optimizing production inputs (e.g., fertilizer, electric
lighting) to enhance crop yield and quality
provides
an economic
incentive
for
growers
while also
providing
environmental
benefits
by reducing
unnecessary natural resource use.  However, a
need exists for crop-specific
production protocols in CEA to optimize significant
production inputs,
such as carbon dioxide (CO₂).  Additionally,
while
production
protocols currently exist for many
leafy greens, limited information is
available for emerging, more nutritionally robust CEA crops, such as
strawberry.  The goal of the proposed research is to evaluate the
impact of CO₂ enrichment on strawberry yield
and quality to better understand the extent to which
this input
is beneficial for indoor
production.  Our project will integrate
high resolution photosynthesis data with novel phytochemical
profiling to elucidate how strawberry utilizes CO₂ during the reproductive growth
phase and the impacts on fruit number, size,
marketability, and ultimately, profitability.  We plan to creatively
influence wider adoption of CEA strawberry production
through community-driven
science,
specifically, sensory analysis with local Denver residents.  Increasing opportunities for
the community to participate
in agriculture has
social implications.  Addressing inequities
surrounding secure, reliable, and fresh
food access will enhance quality of life and human health
in Denver and beyond.  The outcomes of the project
will be cultivar-specific, everbearing strawberry
CO₂ enrichment protocols for CEA
production, which will be shared broadly with existing and
aspiring growers nationally at conferences, regionally at western
agricultural producer gatherings, and locally through educational
outreach events organized at the Colorado State University (CSU)
Spur campus.  Our research will
ultimately
contribute to both economically
viable
crop
diversification in CEA and improved sustainability
through
increased resource
use efficiency.

Research Objectives

The overall objective of
this research is to develop and disseminate specific
CO₂
protocols for controlled environment
production of everbearing strawberries that will enhance yield
and fruit quality.  We will grow two cultivars of strawberry
under ambient and enriched CO₂ concentrations
during the reproductive growth stage to
achieve the following
sub-objectives:

1. Compare the morphological and
   physiological responses throughout the reproductive growth
   stage for plants grown under ambient and enriched
   CO₂
   concentrations. 
2. Quantify the impact of enriched
   CO₂
   concentrations on fruit yield and
   morphology.
3. Evaluate the impact of an enriched
   CO₂
   concentration on fruit quality
   attributes.

Educational Objectives

The objective of the educational
component of this research is to coordinate and lead educational
activities that promote interest and engagement in controlled
environment strawberry production in Denver, Colorado.  We
will achieve this using the following sub-objectives:

1. Provide
   CO₂
   enrichment guidelines for CEA
   strawberry production to existing and aspiring
   producers.
2. Promote interest and engagement in
   CEA strawberry production and expansion in Denver.