README file
Data Set Title: “An open-access dataset of dynamic blue light to optimize growth efficiency and energy economics”
Data Set Author: Vivek Jadhav (University of Bologna) ORCID 0009-0004-7477-7506; Vito Aurelio Cerasola (University of Bologna) ORCID 0000-0002-8565-8236, Karin Nilsson (Nära Sverige AB, Sjöviksvägen, Stockholm), Marco Ghio (Germina S.r.l., Genova, Italy), Michael Martin (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm) 0000-0003-3014-8930; Giuseppina Pennisi (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0001-9377-4811; Giorgio Gianquinto (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0002-6548-5526; Francesco Orsini (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0001-6956-7054
Data Set Contact Person: Vito Aurelio Cerasola (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0002-8565-8236, vito.cerasola@unibo.it  
Data Set License: this data set is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  
Publication Year: 2026
Project Info: 
•	FrontAg Nexus (Impact of Climate-Smart & Water-Saving Frontier Agriculture on WEFE Nexus in Arid Mediterranean Regions), funded by European Union, PRIMA Programme, Grant Agreement num. 2242; https://frontagnexus.eu/. 
•	Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR) – MISSIONE 4 COMPONENTE 2, INVESTIMENTO 1.4 – D.D. 1032 17/06/2022, CN00000022, Agritech National Research Center (https://agritechcenter.it/it/). Furthermore, support was also provided by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS) through grant 2022-02036.
Data set Contents
The data set consists of: 
•	1 quantitative data file saved in .csv format named
“Dataset_Dynamic_Blue_OA.csv”
•	1 README file saved in .rtf format named
“README_Dataset_Dynamic_Blue_OA.rtf”

Data set Documentation

Abstract
The following dataset was used for the manuscript "Optimizing growth efficiency and energy economics in vertical farming through dynamic reduction of blue light in lettuce baby leaf (Lactuca sativa L.).” This dataset includes data from an experimental trial comparing static and dynamic lighting strategies in lettuce to improve energy use efficiency while maintaining or enhancing growth and energy economics under controlled-environment conditions. The experiment was conducted at Nära Sverige AB, a commercial vertical farm in Stockholm, Sweden, where four lighting strategies were used: a control (constant) and three dynamic treatments that reduced blue light by 50% compared to the control. All treatments were replicated three times and randomized in the experimental floor according to a complete randomized design. Results showed that the 25% and 38% blue-light reduction treatments increased fresh lettuce yield by 50–60% compared to the control, while dry weight remained stable, indicating improved leaf hydration. These treatments also improved light–energy use efficiency by up to 63% and reduced lighting costs by 40%, demonstrating that dynamic adjustment of blue light can enhance both crop productivity and energy economics in controlled-environment agriculture. The data were generated in the framework of the “FrontAg Nexus” project and also received funding from the European Union Next-GenerationEU (PIANO NAZIONALE DI RIPRESA E RESILIENZA (PNRR) – MISSIONE 4 COMPONENTE 2, INVESTIMENTO 1.4 – D.D. 1032 17/06/2022, CN00000022) within the Agritech National Research Center. Furthermore, support was also provided by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS) through grant 2022-02036.
Content of the file
The file “Dataset_Dynamic_Blue_OA.csv” contains a single sheet reporting variables related to agronomic, physiological, and morphological data collected weekly at 7, 14, and 21 days after transplanting (DAT). Each row represents one experimental unit, while each column represents the specific variable measured at different stages of lettuce growth (7, 14, 21 DAT). The first row reports the name of the column, including the treatment, replicate,  DAT, plant code (observation plant tag) and variables collected,  while the first column indicates the different lighting treatments, the second column the different replicate (from number 1 to number 3), third column denote DAT (the harvest time after transplanting), and the forth column plant code (identification observation plant, 1-5). The following columns  ndicate… (nel file sono presenti alter 16 colonne che è opportuno descrivere)
File specifics
The file is in .csv format and can be used on several software (excel, R, Python, Matlab). The .csv file has the following specifics:
•	Character set UTF-8
•	Field delimiter « ; » (semicolon)
Notes 
The data are presented in the following manuscript:
Jadhav, V., Cerasola, V. A., Nilsson, K., Ghio, M., Martin, M., Pennisi, G., Gianquinto, G., and Orsini, F. (2026). Optimizing growth efficiency and energy economics in vertical farming through dynamic reduction of blue light in lettuce baby leaf (Lactuca sativa L.).

inserire qui I riferimenti ai progetti

Methodologies 
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L., cv. Danster) was grown in a commercial vertical farm at Nära Sverige AB, located in Stockholm, Sweden. The experiment was conducted under controlled-environment conditions using a completely randomized design with four lighting treatments and three replicates. A constant red/blue light treatment (RB3) was compared with three dynamic lighting strategies in which the daily blue light integral was reduced by 25%, 38%, or 50% through hourly spectral modulation, while maintaining a constant photosynthetic photon flux density of 200 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and a 16 h photoperiod. Agronomical, morphological, physiological, and resource-use efficiency data were collected through destructive harvests at 7, 14, and 21 days after transplanting. Relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) were calculated once over the entire growing period, from transplanting to the final harvest (0–21 DAT), to assess the overall effects of the lighting strategies on crop growth performance.

List of variables 

Parameter	Description	
Treatment	Four different lighting treatments:
-	RB3 (control): constant lighting with 150 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ red light and 50 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ blue light.
-	25% B: dynamic lighting with hourly alternation between the control treatment and 175 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ red / 25 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ blue.
-	38% B: dynamic lighting with hourly cycling among four red/blue combinations: 150/50 (RB3), 162/38, 175/25, and 188/12 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹.
-	50% B: dynamic lighting with hourly alternation between the control treatment and 200 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ monochromatic red light	
Replication	Three replications for each lighting treatment, named “1”, “2”, “3”	
DAT	Days after transplanting	
Plant_code	Observation plant from each replication	
gFW_plant-1	Fresh weight per plant (g FW plant-1)	
Kg_FW_m-2	Fresh yield (kg FW m-2)	
gDW_Plant-1	Dry weight per plant (g DW plant-1)	
DMC	Dry matter content (DMC %)	
Plant_height	Plant height (cm)	
LAI	Leaf area index (LAI m2 m-2)	
Chl	Chlorophyll content (SPAD unit)	
L-EUE	Light-energy use efficiency (L-EUE, g FW kWh-1)	
LUE	Light use efficiency (LUE, g DW mol-1)	
Euro_kg-1_FW	Production cost (€ kg⁻¹ FW)	
SUE	Surface use efficiency (SUE, kg FW m-2 year-1)	
SLA	Specific leaf area (SLA, cm² g⁻¹ leaf DW)	
LWR	Leaf weight ratio (LWR, g leaf g-1 DW)	
LAR	Leaf area ratio (LAR, cm² g⁻¹ DW)	
RGR	Relative growth rate (RGR, g DW g-1 DW d⁻¹)	
NAR	Net assimilation rate (NAR, g DW cm⁻² leaf d⁻¹)