Updates on Microgreens Grown under Artificial Lighting: Scientific Advances in the Last Two Decades

Microgreens have a high nutrient density and are beneficial to human health. Even though this class of vegetables have gaining increasing levels of attenti

Henrique Baeninger Pescarini, Vitor Gonçalves da Silva, Simone da Costa Mello, Luís Felipe Villani Purquerio, Fernando César Sala, T.Q. Zorzeto

Horticulturae · 2023 · https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9080864

Abstract

Microgreens have a high nutrient density and are beneficial to human health. Even though this class of vegetables have gaining increasing levels of attention in the last year, scientific research on the growth of microgreens in controlled environments under artificial lighting have not been thoroughly characterized. By describing the scientific outputs focused on the impacts of artificial illumination on microgreens, especially from the first two decades of the 21st century, it is therefore possible to detect advancements and research gaps in this research field. This review is divided in two parts: first, a general overview of the scientific production about microgreens; second, a systematic review of scientific studies exploring artificial lighting on the production of microgreens. The overview of scientific production on microgreens and artificial lighting across the Scopus, Web of Science, and Scielo databases, from 2000 to 2021, respectively, indicated three phases, as before 2011 no paper was found: phase 1 (2012 to 2014), six papers; phase 2 (2015 to 2018), fifteen papers; and phase 3 (2019 to 2021), forty-six papers, respectively. Mustard was the most evaluated crop under all production stages. With regard to the second part of this review, studies on artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps (high-pressure sodium light bulbs—HPS), from the supplementation to the replacement of HPS lighting with light emitting diode (LED) lamps, and plant responses with respect to light properties comprise the main works identified. Studies on the distribution of environmental factors under controlled microgreen cultivation present research gaps.

Licence and reuse

LicenceCC-BY-4.0
May we host this PDF?Yes
May we publish a plain-language summary?Yes — this licence permits adaptations.
Commercial use permitted?Yes
Share-alike required?No

How to credit this work

Henrique Baeninger Pescarini; Vitor Gonçalves da Silva; Simone da Costa Mello; Luís Felipe Villani Purquerio; Fernando César Sala; T.Q. Zorzeto (2023). Updates on Microgreens Grown under Artificial Lighting: Scientific Advances in the Last Two Decades. Horticulturae. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9080864 Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Hosted by EVEC Athens (microgreens.org.gr). No changes were made to this article. Provided as-is, without warranties. EVEC Athens is not affiliated with, and this copy is not endorsed by, the authors or the publisher.

Explore this on our site

About this copy

This is a copy of the published article, hosted by EVEC Athens for free educational use under its open licence. The permanent scientific reference is the DOI above. We have not altered the file in any way. If you are an author or rights holder and want this copy removed, please use our notice and takedown procedure. We acknowledge every request within five working days, and act within ten.

Co-funded by the European Union.
This portal presents the microgreens methodology; the organisation behind it is EVEC Athens — the European Voluntary and Educational Center (evec.org.gr). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Open licence. Except where stated otherwise, the educational materials on this portal are licensed under CC BY 4.0 — free to use, adapt and share, including commercially, with credit. See the licence terms.

Accessibility. We aim for WCAG 2.1 AA and publish what does and does not yet meet it — see the accessibility statement. If anything here blocks you, tell us and we will send the material in a format that works for you.