The freshness of leafy vegetables is one of the most essential requirements that plant factories need to meet in order to attract consumers. The farmbox^® developed by Farmship, Inc. is an in-store plant cultivation system. It can be placed on the floor of a supermarket where it can be used to grow aromatic herbs with lighting and irrigation equipment. This system allows consumers to purchase extremely fresh vegetables by harvesting the aromatic herbs by themselves and minimizes the time lag between the time of harvest and purchase, which is a major factor affecting freshness. In addition, the flavor/smell, which is attributed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted by plants, is also one of the most important factors affecting freshness, especially for aromatic herbs. In this study, we investigated the effect of in-store cultivation using a farmbox^® on VOC emissions from sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) leaves. In the standard commercial production process, control plants were grown under a PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density) of 300 μmol m^-2s^-1 for 16 hours a day for 23 days (16L:8D). Then, for the light treatment, plants were maintained in the farmbox^® and subjected to lighting with a PPFD of 130 μmol m^-2s^-1 for 4 hours a day for an additional 7 days (4L:20D). For the dark treatment, plants were maintained in the farmbox^® under continuous dark conditions for an additional 7 days. VOCs emitted from whole and shredded leaves were collected using a closed chamber system and analyzed by GC-MS (Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer) with a thermal desorption system. The emission of typical VOCs from sweet basil, such as eugenol, cineole, linalool, (Z)-3-hexenal, and (Z)-3-hexenol, was observed. In the case of the whole leaves, the emission of cineole during the dark treatment was significantly higher than that from the from the control and the light treatments. Conversely, in the case of the shredded leaves, the emission of (Z)-3-hexenal from both the light and the dark treatments was significantly lower than that from the control treatment. Furthermore, the emissions of linalool and (Z)-3-hexenol from shredded leaves of plants maintained under dark conditions were lower than those of the control. The results suggest that lighting conditions during the preservative cultivation period in the farmbox^® affect the VOC emission profile of sweet basil leaves, and that these conditions can be used to modify the flavor/smell profile of this herb.

We investigated the grain thickness distribution of flavorful rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Koshihikari) in Japan. A total of 150 samples were collected from three Special A rice cultivation areas (with high ratings for taste quality) and compared with 30 samples collected from other rice growing areas. We found that the flavorful rice samples tended to have greater grain thickness than the control samples. There were multiple differences in the physicochemical properties of rice samples with different thicknesses. In general, the thicker rice grains had higher amylose contents and lower protein contents. Higher amylose and lower protein contents were correlated with higher taste values and cooking qualities. The results suggested that we can improve the taste quality of rice by selecting grains with greater thickness. We can also sort rice with different protein and amylose contents by fractionation based on thickness. This fractionation method could help address the increasing demand for high quality rice.