Berries such as strawberries are recognized as a significant constituent of healthy human diets owing to their bioactive secondary metabolites. To improve crop sustainability, yield and berry quality, alternative production systems should be proposed such as organic farming and the use of biostimulants. Thus, we have compared within a complete randomized block design seven biostimulant treatments: 1-control, 2-seaweed extract, 3-Trichoderma, 4-mycorrhiza, 5-mixture of three bacteria, 6-combination of mycorrhiza + bacteria, and 7-citric acid. Strawberry plants were grown in conventional high tunnel (CH), conventional greenhouse (CG) and organic greenhouse (OG). Our results showed that biostimulants did not impact the soil microbial activity (FDA) when compared with the control. Leaf chlorophyll content and photosynthetic leaf performance were not affected by any studied biostimulants. Bacteria, citric acid, and the combination of mycorrhiza + bacteria increased the number of flowering stalks compared with the control in CH, while bacteria increased the crown diameter and all biostimulants increased fresh and dry shoot plant biomass. Citric acid increased leaf Ca content in CG, when all biostimulants increased leaf N content in CH. Studied biostimulants increased berry productivity in CH, while citric acid treatment had the highest yield in CG. The anthocyanins content increased with the use of biostimulants in CH, whereas Trichoderma (CG) and the combination of mycorrhiza + bacteria (OG) increased the Brix, total polyphenols, and anthocyanin contents of the berries compared with the control.

Vertical farming is experiencing significant growth, and the optimization of artificial lighting is essential for enhancing the sustainability of this growing system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine how light segmentation, the incorporation of a low-intensity lighting phase known as the light compensation point (LCP) instead of the traditional dark phase, and variations in the light spectrum impact the agricultural outcomes of organically cultivated leafy greens. In controlled growth chamber environments, a variety of leafy plant species (Spinacia oleracea L., Ocimum basilicum, Beta vulgaris L., Lactuca sativa L. cv. ‘Garrison’ and ‘Blade’, Brassica rapa cv. ‘Japonica’ and ‘Chinensis’, Brassica juncea cv. ‘Scarlet Frills’ and ‘Wasabina’, Eruca sativa and Perilla frutescens L.) were subjected to four light treatments with varying intensities and durations of lighting, while in a second experiment, five different spectral growing conditions were compared. Irrespective of the plant species, shortening the length of the diel cycle by extending the cumulative daily lighting to 20–24 h per day (5L/1N [5 h at 261 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ + 1 h darkness for a total of 20 h of light per day] and 5L/1LCP [5 h at 256 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ + 1 h LCP at 20 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ for a total of 24 h of light per day]) led to an average increase of +12% in height, fresh weight (+16%), dry weight (+23%), and specific leaf weight (+11%), compared to the control plants (18L/6N; 18 h at 289 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ + 6 h darkness) and 6L/6LCP plants (6 h at 418 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ + 6 h LCP at 20 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ for a total of 24 h of light per day) during the first harvest. This also resulted in better light utilization, expressed as increased fresh (+16%) and dry (+24%) biomass per mol of light received. Conversely, the studied light spectral treatments had no effect on the growth parameters of the four selected species. In conclusion, our study showed that reducing light intensity while extending the photoperiod could potentially represent a cost-effective LED strategy for the indoor cultivation of organically or conventionally grown leafy greens.