Youbin Zheng

Dr. Zheng's research and graduate training focus on the production of high-value plants in controlled environments, including greenhouses, indoor growing facilities (such as vertical farms), and high tunnels. His work encompasses food crops (e.g., baby greens and strawberries), medicinal plants (e.g., cannabis), and ornamental plants. His research interests span all aspects of controlled-environment plant production, with particular expertise in rootzone management, including soilless growing media, fertigation, and water treatment, as well as horticultural lighting, including light spectrum, intensity, and photoperiod.

Dr. Zheng began his research career studying the effects of environmental pollution on plant physiology and biochemistry using controlled-environment systems. Over the past two decades, he has integrated expertise in plant science, soils, and environmental management to address production challenges across the horticulture sector while developing technologies that improve environmental sustainability. He has lived, studied, and worked in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and China, and has been invited to present his research internationally, particularly on controlled-environment production of high-THC cannabis.

Academic History

• Ph.D. (Plant physiology and Biochemistry), Newcastle University, UK
• M.Phil. (Plant physiology and Biochemistry), Newcastle University, UK
• M.Sc. (Agriculture environmental science), Southwest University, China
• B.Sc. (Soil science and Agrochemistry), Southwest University, China

Affiliations and Partnerships

• Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Plant Science
• Board member of the Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO)
• Former president, Canadian Society for Horticultural Science/La Société Canadienne de Science Horticole
• Editorial review board member, Journal of Living Architecture 

Awards and Honours

• NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation
• Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching
• Distinguished Researcher Award
• Green Roof and Wall Awards of Excellence

Research Impact

Dr. Zheng’s research program aims to advance the sustainable production of high-value plants in controlled environments by developing new scientific knowledge and innovative production technologies. His research has generated approximately 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, numerous book chapters, scientific reports, and presentations. Many of his research findings have been widely adopted by the horticultural industry and incorporated into production guidelines and best management practices.

Among his major contributions are the development of the  Fertilizer Guide for Container Plant Production, the Greenhouse and Nursery Water Treatment Information System, and an integrated root-zone management program that provides environmentally sustainable alternatives to pesticide use. He also served as the editor, and contributing author of several chapters, for the Handbook of Cannabis Production in Controlled Environments, a leading reference in the rapidly evolving field of controlled environment cannabis production.

Dr. Zheng is equally committed to training the next generation of scientists and industry leaders. His graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are highly sought after, and his former trainees have gone on to successful careers as professors, researchers, industry managers, consultants, and other leaders in controlled environment agriculture and related sectors. Through his mentorship, he has helped build highly qualified personnel who continue to advance research, innovation, and sustainable horticultural production in Canada and internationally.

Current Research Projects

Autonomous, net-zero greenhouse strawberry production

Supported by the Weston Family Foundation’s Homegrown Innovation Challenge Program, the University of Guelph, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and industry partners are developing technologies for sustainable greenhouse strawberry production. Research focuses on energy-efficient lighting, net-zero vertical production systems, and autonomous fertigation to enable year-round local strawberry production while reducing costs and environmental impacts.

High-THC cannabis production

Dr. Zheng's research group investigates lighting strategies, including light intensity, spectrum, and photoperiod, as well as rootzone management, including growing media and fertigation, to improve the yield, quality, and production efficiency of controlled-environment cannabis. The research encompasses container-based production using soilless growing media and aquaponic cultivation systems, and field production. This work has contributed to some of North America's earliest peer-reviewed scientific publications on indoor medicinal cannabis production. The program has been supported by funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), Mitacs, and industry partners.

LED lighting for high-value plant production in controlled environments

Advances in LED lighting technologies have created new opportunities to improve the productivity, quality, and sustainability of high-value crop production in controlled environments. These technologies enable the production of premium fresh produce (e.g., microgreens, baby greens, and strawberries), medicinal plants (e.g., mint and cannabis), and ornamental crops with greater precision and energy efficiency.

Dr. Zheng’s team has been focusing on optimizing LED lighting strategies by determining the optimal light intensity, spectral composition, and photoperiod for different horticultural crops.

Sustainable soilless growing media development

In collaboration with Dr. Sheng Yang and industry partners, Dr. Zheng’s research team is using artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the development of sustainable soilless growing media for controlled environment agriculture. By integrating AI with experimental research, the team is identifying optimal growing media formulations that support high crop productivity while reducing environmental impacts.

A major focus of the project is the development of environmentally sustainable growing media through the reuse and recycling of spent growing media and plant residues. This research aims to reduce waste, lessen reliance on non-renewable growing media components, and promote a circular economy for greenhouse and indoor crop production.

Graduate Student Information

Dr. Zheng’s graduate student training is focused on preparing students for the real world, whether that be industry, government or academia. Both academic and social skills are emphasized. He encourages his students to work independently, but also to collaborate and interact with others in the lab and in society at large. Students graduating from Dr. Zheng’s program have either been hired by their chosen organizations or moved to a higher level of education. In the last decade, many of them have been hired by the medical cannabis industry.

Selected Publications

For the full list of Dr. Zheng's publication, refer to the Google Scholar Profile. 

• Kong, Y., Li, Q., Llewellyn, D., & Zheng, Y. (2025). Flowering and Morphology Responses of Greenhouse Ornamentals to End-of-Day Blue-Dominant Lighting with Different Phytochrome Photostationary States. Agronomy, 15(7), 1649.

• Ahrens, A., Llewellyn, D., & Zheng, Y. (2024). Longer photoperiod substantially increases indoor-grown cannabis’ yield and quality: A study of two high-thc cultivars grown under 12 h vs. 13 h days. Plants, 13(3), 433.

• Kong, Y., & Zheng, Y. (2023). Magic blue light: A versatile mediator of plant elongation. Plants, 13(1), 115.

• Llewellyn, D., Golem, S., Foley, E., Dinka, S., Jones, A. M. P., & Zheng, Y. (2022). Indoor grown cannabis yield increased proportionally with light intensity, but ultraviolet radiation did not affect yield or cannabinoid content. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 974018.

• Rodriguez-Morrison, V., Llewellyn, D., & Zheng, Y. (2021). Cannabis yield, potency, and leaf photosynthesis respond differently to increasing light levels in an indoor environment. Frontiers in plant science, 12, 646020.