Recent Trends in Urban Agriculture to Improve Bioactive Content of Plant Foods

Urban Farm DB summary

A review covers up-to-date information on the mechanisms producing bioactive compounds in plant foods grown through urban agriculture and the main factors influencing their levels, organized into four categories: ground-based uncontrolled agriculture, ground-based controlled agriculture, and building-integrated uncontrolled and controlled agriculture. In ground-based urban agriculture, applying short-term abiotic or biotic stress through agronomic management practices was shown to significantly affect bioactive compound levels in fruits and vegetables, while in building-integrated urban agriculture, artificial lighting, cultivation medium, and water use efficiency were identified as factors of interest for improving the level and composition of functional plant components.