Lealon Martin
Southern University and A & M College, LA·Engineering
Microgreens are edible plants harvested as seedlings. They are packed with nutrients but grow fast and spoil quickly, so much of their value can be lost between the farm and the table.
- Fields
Engineering
Plant Science & Agriculture
- Topics
microgreens
phytochemicals
nutrients
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2027
What they work on
- Investigate how different growth media change the levels of beneficial phytochemicals, health-promoting plant compounds, in microgreens.
- Explore the metabolic pathways that make these nutrients to identify growing conditions that boost amounts of selected nutrients in microgreens.
- Collect data on microgreen cultivation and harvesting across experimental and commercial production platforms, using sensors and data analytics.
- Develop multiscale models that optimize the microgreen supply chain from production to consumer to deliver high-quality, nutritious produce.
More about the research
This collaborative project among three universities asks how to manage the whole microgreen life cycle, from growing and harvesting to shipping, so consumers receive a high-quality, nutritious product.
Why it matters
Microgreens are nutrient-dense but spoil fast, which leads to waste and lost nutritional value. Better growing conditions and sensor-guided supply chain models could help growers and distributors deliver fresher, more nutritious produce to consumers and reduce losses of this perishable crop.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
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Morgan State University, MD·Computer Science
Assess the commercial translation potential of an AI supervisory control platform for controlled-environment agriculture, through hands-on investigation of the hydroponic and greenhouse industry.
Javad Mohammadpour Velni
Clemson University, SC·Engineering
Integrate photosynthesis models with real-time biophysical measurements to optimize environmental settings such as light and climate for crop growth in controlled-environment agriculture facilities.
Mahmoud Almasri
University of Missouri-Columbia, MO·Engineering
Develop a Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy sensor that uses metal nanoantennas on a side-polished optical fiber to quickly detect and measure Salmonella types in poultry samples.
The school
Southern University and A & M College: 2 labs on PI Pages, $5M a year on research, 29 research doctorates a year.
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