Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) refers to the cultivation of crops within enclosed structures—such as greenhouses, vertical farms, or growth chambers—that allow for complete or partial control over environmental conditions. This approach is designed to create near-optimal growing environments by precisely managing key growth parameters, including light intensity and duration, nutrient delivery, carbon dioxide levels, temperature, and humidity. By controlling these variables, CEA systems can enhance crop yield, quality, and consistency, while reducing exposure to pests and environmental stressors. As a result, many specialty crop growers increasingly rely on CEA technologies to improve productivity and sustainability in their operations.
If you are thinking about growing crops using CEA or just want to learn more about CEA a new fact sheet describing CEA including the types of structures and technology, substrates used to grow crops, and production systems is now published on Ohioline – https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-5819