QUASAR ENERGY GROUP LLC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.800000000000001

Description

The long-term goal of this project is to increase the shelf life of leafy green vegetables. Shortshelf life of produce is a significant concern for the produce industry and consumers worldwide.We believe the opportunity resides with longer shelf life which will result in significantly lesswaste and enhanced revenue along the value chain improved consumer satisfaction andincreased food safety. Water loss through open stomata is believed to be the main cause ofreduced shelf life. However; the importance of stomatal control to prolong shelf life has not beeninvestigated yet. To fill in this gap in knowledge we propose to develop preharvest water andlight management practices to stimulate and maintain stomatal closure after harvest forprolonged shelf life and improved food safety. The objectives are: (1) establish baseline for pre-and postharvest stomatal closure under current growing practices (2) evaluate duration ofpreharvest drought that forces stomatal closure (3) evaluate timing ofpre-harvest drought forstomatal closure (4) evaluate the frequency of preharvest drought on stomatal closure and (5)evaluate the impacts of dark periods on the stomatal response to drought. Leaf stomatal traits(aperture conductance) and leaf produce properties (water loss firmness turgidity) will bedetermined for all treatments at the R&8D facility of AeroFarms. After completion of Phase Iwe will apply for Phase II to determine how we could translate our findings to commercialproduction including automation of controls. We expect that longer shelf life will result insignificantly less waste and enhanced revenue along the value chain in addition to improvedconsumer satisfaction and increased food safety.