About

Carole Saravitz is a Research Associate Professor and the Director of the NCSU Phytotron at North Carolina State University. Her research involves the design and implementation of phytotronics studies aimed at solving controlled environment problems and testing innovations in controlled environment systems, with a current focus on increasing energy efficiency. Her interests include the development of LED light protocols to optimize plant growth across a variety of crops, including major crops such as corn, soybean, and cotton, as well as horticultural crops like cucumber and tomato. Saravitz's work encompasses the development of advanced environmental control systems, including the installation of state-of-the-art control systems to enhance the precision and capabilities of the Phytotron facilities. Her research also extends to developing and improving plant propagation and genome editing technologies, such as the development of double haploid systems for cotton and tomato breeding, which aim to accelerate genetic improvement and increase sustainability in crop production. Her contributions include leading projects funded by agencies like the NSF and North Carolina Biotechnology Center, focusing on integrating solar energy with greenhouse systems, developing new plant breeding methodologies, and improving environmental control infrastructure to support innovative plant research.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Agronomy
• Physics
• Biology
• Engineering
• Agricultural engineering
• Optics
• Environmental engineering
• Ecology
• Electrical engineering

Selected publications

• A Two-Step System for Efficient Agrobacterium tumefaciens–Mediated Transformation of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

  HortScience · 2025-10-10

  articleOpen access

  Cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.), as one of the major vegetable crops in the world, is frequently affected by fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases, as well as environmental stress that can cause serious loss of yield. Although there has been a steady improvement of many traits in cucumber through traditional breeding, the lack of sufficient genetic variability within the cucumber germplasm for disease and abiotic stress resistance remains a major challenge. Genetic transformation has opened new possibilities for the introduction of novel traits through genetic engineering or genome editing of the cucumber genome. However, an efficient and stable regeneration and genetic transformation system in cucumber is lacking. In this study, a two-step culture procedure for shoot regeneration and selection of transformed plants has been developed for highly efficient transformation of cucumber. In step 1, following Agrobacterium transfection, a large number of transformed cells are generated on culture medium using a low concentration of antibiotics. Subsequently, in step 2 the explants are transferred onto medium containing a high concentration of antibiotics in addition to abscisic acid (ABA) and AgNO 3 . Furthermore, a fluorescent maker is used to separate transformants from escapes and chimeric shoots in the early developmental stages, increasing the recovery of transformed shoots. An average transformation frequency of 14.52% was recorded 2 months after infection. Finally, all shoots were rooted and plantlet acclimatized by applying an improved transgenic plantlet propagation, rooting, and acclimatization protocol. This is the first study to establish a cucumber transformation system by using two-step regeneration/chemical selection combined with visual screening of fluorescent marker proteins, a process that also may facilitate enhanced transformation of other plant species.

  PublisherDOI

• Emergent molecular traits of lettuce and tomato grown under wavelength-selective solar cells

  Frontiers in Plant Science · 2023 · 17 citations

  • Agronomy
  • Environmental science
  • Biology

  The integration of semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) in greenhouses offers new agrivoltaic opportunities to meet the growing demands for sustainable food production. The tailored absorption/transmission spectra of ST-OSCs impacts the power generated as well as crop growth, development and responses to the biotic and abiotic environments. To characterize crop responses to ST-OSCs, we grew lettuce and tomato, traditional greenhouse crops, under three ST-OSC filters that create different light spectra. Lettuce yield and early tomato development are not negatively affected by the modified light environment. Our genomic analysis reveals that lettuce production exhibits beneficial traits involving nutrient content and nitrogen utilization while select ST-OSCs impact regulation of flowering initiation in tomato. These results suggest that ST-OSCs integrated into greenhouses are not only a promising technology for energy-neutral, sustainable and climate-change protected crop production, but can deliver benefits beyond energy considerations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Emergent molecular traits of lettuce and tomato grown under wavelength-selective solar cells

  UNC Libraries · 2023-03-03

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The integration of semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) in greenhouses offers new agrivoltaic opportunities to meet the growing demands for sustainable food production. The tailored absorption/transmission spectra of ST-OSCs impacts the power generated as well as crop growth, development and responses to the biotic and abiotic environments. To characterize crop responses to ST-OSCs, we grew lettuce and tomato, traditional greenhouse crops, under three ST-OSC filters that create different light spectra. Lettuce yield and early tomato development are not negatively affected by the modified light environment. Our genomic analysis reveals that lettuce production exhibits beneficial traits involving nutrient content and nitrogen utilization while select ST-OSCs impact regulation of flowering initiation in tomato. These results suggest that ST-OSCs integrated into greenhouses are not only a promising technology for energy-neutral, sustainable and climate-change protected crop production, but can deliver benefits beyond energy considerations.

  PublisherDOI

• Beyond energy balance in agrivoltaic food production: Emergent crop traits from wavelength-selective solar cells

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2022-03-13 · 2 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract The integration of semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) in greenhouses offers new agrivoltaic opportunities to meet the growing demands for sustainable food production. The tailored absorption/transmission spectra of ST-OSCs impacts the power generated as well as crop growth, development and responses to the biotic and abiotic environments. We grew lettuce and tomato, traditional greenhouse crops, under three ST-OSC filters that create different light spectra. Lettuce yield and early tomato development are not negatively affected by the modified light environment. Our genomic analysis reveals that lettuce production exhibits beneficial traits involving nutrient content and nitrogen utilization while select ST-OSCs impact regulation of flowering initiation in tomato. ST-OSCs integrated into greenhouses are not only a promising technology for energy-neutral, sustainable and climate-change protected crop production, but can deliver benefits beyond energy considerations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Balancing crop production and energy harvesting in organic solar-powered greenhouses

  Cell Reports Physical Science · 2021 · 82 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Agricultural engineering
  • Agronomy

  Adding semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) to a greenhouse structure enables simultaneous plant cultivation and electricity generation, thereby reducing the greenhouse energy demand. However, there is a need to establish the impact of such systems on plant growth and indoor climate and to optimize system tradeoffs. In this work, we consider plant growth under OSCs and system-relevant design. We evaluate the growth of red leaf lettuce under ST-OSC filters and compare the impact of three different OSC active layers that have unique transmittance. We find no significant differences in the fresh weight and chlorophyll content of the lettuce grown under these OSC filters. In addition, OSCs provide an opportunity for further light and thermal management of the greenhouse through device design and optical coatings. The OSCs can thus affect plant growth, power generation, and thermal load of the greenhouse, and this design trade space is reviewed and exemplified.

  PublisherDOI

• The use of near infrared spectroscopy to predict foliar nutrient levels of hydroponically grown teak seedlings

  Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy · 2021-07-08 · 3 citations

  article

  Due to a combination of durability, strength, and aesthetically pleasing color, teak ( Tectona grandis L.f.) is globally regarded as a premier timber species. High value, in combination with comprehensive harvesting restrictions from natural populations, has resulted in extensive teak plantation establishment throughout the tropics and subtropics. Plantations directly depend on the production of healthy seedlings. In order to assist growers in efficiently diagnosing teak seedling nutrient issues, a hydroponic nutrient study was conducted at North Carolina State University. The ability to accurately diagnose nutrient disorders prior to the onset of visual symptoms through the use of near infrared (NIR) technology will allow growers to potentially remedy seedling issues before irreversible damage is done. This research utilized two different near infrared (NIR) spectrometers to develop predictive foliar nutrient models for 13 nutrients and then compared the accuracy of the models between the devices. Destructive leaf sampling and laboratory grade NIR spectroscopy scanning was compared to nondestructive sampling coupled with a handheld NIR device used in a greenhouse. Using traditional wet lab foliar analysis results for calibration, nutrient prediction models for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), magnesium (Mg), boron (B), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), sodium (Na), and zinc (Z) were developed using both NIR devices. Models developed using both techniques were good for N, P, and K (R 2 > 0.80), while the B model was adequate only with the destructive sampling procedure. Models for the remaining nutrients were not suitable. Although destructive sampling and desktop scanning procedure generally produced models with higher correlations they required work and time for sample preparation that might reduce the value of this NIR approach. The results suggest that both destructive and nondestructive sampling NIR calibrations can be useful to monitor macro nutrient status of teak plants grown in a nursery environment.

  PublisherDOI

• Cold tolerance of diverse stevia cultigens under controlled environment conditions

  Agrosystems Geosciences & Environment · 2020-01-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Low temperature is a major limiting factor for the growth and development of many crops, including stevia ( Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni), a natural low‐calorie sweetener. In this study, 14 stevia half‐sib families selected from several populations were evaluated for chilling stress using controlled growth chambers. The experiment was set up as a split‐plot arrangement in a randomized complete block design. Whole plots were chilling temperatures (2, 0, –2, or ‐4 °C) and subplots were the combination of 14 cultigens and 5 chilling durations (2–10 d of chilling). Genetic differences were large at chilling temperatures of +2 °C for a duration of 10 d, 0 °C for 8 d, or –2 °C for a duration of 6 d. Ten days of chilling induced severe damage in all cultigens except for the three with the highest tolerance (7947‐3, 7918‐1, and 7686‐6). In this study, 5 of 14 cultigens were highly susceptible, 8 were moderately susceptible, and 1 was tolerant after 6 d of chilling at –2 °C (7947‐3).

  PublisherDOI

• Achieving Net Zero Energy Greenhouses by Integrating Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells

  Joule · 2020 · 289 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Environmental engineering
  • Agricultural engineering
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Semi-transparent organic solar cells for greenhouse application (Conference Presentation)

  2019-09-10 · 2 citations

  article

  Semi-transparent Organic Solar Cells for Greenhouse Application Yuan Xiong1*, Eshwar Ravishankar2, Jennifer Swift3, Harald Ade1*, Ronald Booth2, Melodi Charles4, Reece Henry1, Brendan O’Connor2, Jeromy James Rech5, Carole Saravitz3, Heike Sederoff4, Long Ye1, Wei You5 1. Department of Physics, Organic and Carbon Electronics Lab (ORaCEL), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA 2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and ORaCEL, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA 3. Department of Plant Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA 4. Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA 5. Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA E-mail: yxiong8@ncsu.edu; hwade@ncsu.edu Semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) show great potential in building-integrated photovoltaics due to the advantages in solution processability, flexibility, and transparency. Herein, we present a systematic study on the application of high-performance ST-OSC filters in a greenhouse by utilizing three representative systems with different spectral responses, namely, FTAZ:PC71BM[1], FTAZ:IT-M[2, 3], and PTB7-Th:IEICO-4F[4]. Specifically, the cultivation of red leaf lettuce is conducted in a controlled environment growth chamber, which is possible to duplicate any climate, and under different ST-OSC filters. In principle, the ST-OSCs absorb a portion of the solar spectrum for power generation and lettuce utilizes the penetrated light for photosynthesis. Furthermore, we quantitatively investigate the leaf area and number profiles, plant biomass, and photosynthetic rate under the as-prepared ST-OSC filters treatments. On the base of statistical analysis after the growth cycle, we can identify the best ST-OSC for plant growth. These results thus pave the way to integrate ST-OSCs with greenhouses. [1] S. C. Price, A. C. Stuart, L. Yang, H. Zhou, W. You, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011, 133, 4625. [2] L. Ye, Y. Xiong, Q. Zhang, S. Li, C. Wang, Z. Jiang, J. Hou, W. You, H. Ade, Advanced Materials 2018, 30, 1705485. [3] Y. Xiong, L. Ye, A. Gadisa, Q. Zhang, J. J. Rech, W. You, H. Ade, Advanced Functional Materials 2019, 29, 1806262. [4] X. Song, N. Gasparini, L. Ye, H. Yao, J. Hou, H. Ade, D. Baran, ACS Energy Letters 2018, 3, 669.

  PublisherDOI

• Characterization of development and artemisinin biosynthesis in self-pollinated Artemisia annua plants

  Planta · 2011-05-25 · 28 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Frank A. Blazich

  United States Naval Academy

  9 shared

• Henry V. Amerson

  7 shared

• Harald Ade

  6 shared

• Heike Sederoff

  North Carolina State University

  6 shared

• Eshwar Ravishankar

  6 shared

• Melodi Charles

  North Carolina State University

  5 shared

• Reece Henry

  North Carolina State University

  5 shared

• Jeromy James Rech

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  5 shared

Awards & honors

• Development of Double Haploid-DH System for Cotton (2022-202…
• Double Haploid-DH for Tomato Breeding and Genomic Community…
• Installation of an Argus Control System to Improve and Expan…
• INFEWS/T3: Solar-Powered Integrated Greenhouse (SPRING) Syst…
• Establishing Die-Off Rates of Surrogate and Virulent EHEC-ST…