Currently, the agricultural challenge is to get crop yield and quality at the same
time. Since ancient times, agricultural practices seek to confer comfort to plants
through stress reduction. For this reason, the use of greenhouse has emerged in the
perspective of reducing the stress produced by inadequate weather parameters such
as temperature, radiation, and relative humidity parameters as well as pest diseases. Consequently, they have allowed growing crops in an efficient way in
relative safety from the outside world. However, this practice has brought a
decrease in the production of phytochemicals with health implications, because
these compounds are produced by the plant in response to stress conditions.
Besides, because plant are sessile organisms, synthesis of phytochemicals represents a major strategy for counteracting unfavorable conditions.
The cultivation of crops inside greenhouses is the most intensive form of vegetal
production. Consequently, the challenge of feeding a global population could be
faced through protected agriculture. Nevertheless, the commitment in today’s
agriculture is not only to provide abundant food but also to contribute to increase
the health and wellness of a growing global population that cares about living with
quality and environment issues. Then the question that arises is related to how to
obtain both crop yield and secondary metabolites with health implications, since it
is stated that the production of these metabolites jeopardized plant fitness.
In this context, the use of metabolite inducing factors represents a viable
strategy to achieve both crop yield and bioactives, that is, the challenges assumed
by conventional and organic agriculture, respectively. Indeed, questions around the
use of metabolite inducing factors remain: what is the best inductor to use, in
which doses, at what growing state, just to name a few. The advances around this
topic along with the improvement in greenhouse building and climate control will
lead to conquer the goal of the twenty-first century: produce more and better food
for an increasingly demanding population in a sustainable manner. For this reason,
this chapter addresses the following topics: first, transitions in food production
systems; second, to what extent are emerging technologies and sustainable agriculture compatible; third, prospects to integrate technology and sustainability with
functional food.
1.2 Different Agricultural Visions: Conventional
Versus Organic
This section discusses the principles of conventional farming compared with
organic farming to achieve sustainable agriculture allowing in future the global
food supply.
1 Strategies for Sustainable Plant Food Production
3
time. Since ancient times, agricultural practices seek to confer comfort to plants
through stress reduction. For this reason, the use of greenhouse has emerged in the
perspective of reducing the stress produced by inadequate weather parameters such
as temperature, radiation, and relative humidity parameters as well as pest diseases. Consequently, they have allowed growing crops in an efficient way in
relative safety from the outside world. However, this practice has brought a
decrease in the production of phytochemicals with health implications, because
these compounds are produced by the plant in response to stress conditions.
Besides, because plant are sessile organisms, synthesis of phytochemicals represents a major strategy for counteracting unfavorable conditions.
The cultivation of crops inside greenhouses is the most intensive form of vegetal
production. Consequently, the challenge of feeding a global population could be
faced through protected agriculture. Nevertheless, the commitment in today’s
agriculture is not only to provide abundant food but also to contribute to increase
the health and wellness of a growing global population that cares about living with
quality and environment issues. Then the question that arises is related to how to
obtain both crop yield and secondary metabolites with health implications, since it
is stated that the production of these metabolites jeopardized plant fitness.
In this context, the use of metabolite inducing factors represents a viable
strategy to achieve both crop yield and bioactives, that is, the challenges assumed
by conventional and organic agriculture, respectively. Indeed, questions around the
use of metabolite inducing factors remain: what is the best inductor to use, in
which doses, at what growing state, just to name a few. The advances around this
topic along with the improvement in greenhouse building and climate control will
lead to conquer the goal of the twenty-first century: produce more and better food
for an increasingly demanding population in a sustainable manner. For this reason,
this chapter addresses the following topics: first, transitions in food production
systems; second, to what extent are emerging technologies and sustainable agriculture compatible; third, prospects to integrate technology and sustainability with
functional food.
1.2 Different Agricultural Visions: Conventional
Versus Organic
This section discusses the principles of conventional farming compared with
organic farming to achieve sustainable agriculture allowing in future the global
food supply.
1 Strategies for Sustainable Plant Food Production
3