About

Professor Genhua Niu is associated with the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas, which is a scientific research campus and headquarters for public teaching. The center focuses on agriculture, natural resources, and life sciences initiatives for north Texas and beyond. Researchers and extension specialists at Dallas, including Professor Niu, work to advance four main areas: urban agriculture and forestry, water and land resources, turfgrass and urban landscapes, and healthy living. The center conducts laboratory and field research across a wide range of disciplines to support these focus areas and related technologies, contributing to the development of sustainable practices and innovations in urban horticulture, turfgrass management, and ecological engineering.

Research topics

• Biology
• Horticulture
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Food science
• Computer Science
• Biochemistry
• Geography
• Materials science
• Meteorology
• Environmental science
• Environmental engineering
• Optoelectronics
• Agronomy
• Physics
• Engineering
• Environmental planning

Selected publications

• Rapid Screening of Thirty-two Commercial Spinach Cultivars for Heat Tolerance under High Temperature

  HortScience · 2026-01-05 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  As a cool-season leafy vegetable, spinach ( Spinacia oleracea L.) is highly sensitive to high temperatures, which limits its year-round production in warm climates. Although many commercial cultivars are marketed as “heat tolerant,” their performance under high temperatures in hydroponic systems remains largely unverified. Full-cycle testing of many cultivars is time-consuming and resource intensive, highlighting the need for rapid, early-stage screening methods to identify heat-tolerant cultivars. Therefore, this study evaluated short-term (4-day) responses of 32 commercial spinach cultivars at two constant temperatures (20 and 30 °C) under indoor farming conditions. Changes in canopy area and petiole elongation, along with chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (variable fluorescence/maximum fluorescence and performance index) and soil plant analysis development (SPAD) index, were analyzed to classify cultivar-specific heat tolerance. At 20 °C, ‘Dallas’, ‘Amador’, and ‘Pawnie’ exhibited the greatest canopy expansion (114%–181%), whereas ‘Lizard’, ‘Sioux’, and ‘Space’ remained compact. A high temperature (30 °C) reduced canopy expansion in most cultivars; however, ‘Mandolin’, ‘SV2157’, and ‘SV3580VC’ maintained stable canopy growth, indicating high heat resilience. Compact, yet consistent, performers ‘Lakeside’, ‘Lizard’, and ‘Sioux’ also maintained stable growth under heat, suggesting suitability for production in warm climates. In contrast, ‘Hammerhead’, ‘Reflect’, and ‘Rangitoto’ exhibited poor canopy and petiole development, reflecting low heat tolerance. Chlorophyll fluorescence and SPAD index remained relatively constant, suggesting limited sensitivity to short-term heat exposure.

  PublisherDOI

• How Novel Biostimulants Enhance Resilience and Quality in Hydroponic Crop Production—A Review

  Agronomy · 2026-04-17

  articleOpen access

  Hydroponic cultivation is expanding rapidly as a resource-efficient alternative to soil-based farming, but challenges related to nutrient management, abiotic or biotic stresses, and organic production still limit the system’s performance and efficiency. Biostimulants are increasingly being explored as a promising strategy to support productivity and sustainability in soilless systems. This review summarizes the current evidence on the use of plant biostimulants to support crop performance in hydroponic systems. Microbial biostimulants, such as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, and Trichoderma spp., have been reported to promote root growth by synthesizing phytohormones, enhance nutrient uptake, and reduce the impacts of salt and heat stress, with reported improvements in biomass and nutrient use efficiency. Seaweed extracts and protein hydrolysates modulate plant hormonal balance, improve antioxidant defense, and have been associated with improvements in yield and quality. Humic and fulvic acids increase micronutrient bioavailability through chelation and stimulate root activity through auxin-like effects. In organic hydroponics, biostimulants may help address the nutrient gap by accelerating organic matter mineralization. Existing key challenges include the lack of hydroponic-specific dosage guidelines and high commercialization costs. Future efforts should further evaluate system-specific strategies, including emerging tools such as artificial intelligence-optimized strategies and the use of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-edited microbes to support the long-term sustainability of controlled environment agriculture.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• What is the potential of controlled environment strawberry production within the South central United States?

  Open Access Government · 2026-04-16

  articleOpen access

  What is the potential of controlled environment strawberry production within the CSouth central United States? An interdisciplinary group of researchers in the south central United States is visiting existing strawberry growing operations to evaluate a pathway to greater production quantity and quality using controlled environment growing methods. Strawberries rank among the most popular fresh fruits within the US, and consumers expect fresh strawberries year-round. Strawberries are enjoyed for their taste, convenience, and nutritional benefits.(1) US strawberry consumption (2024) was approximately 1.24 billion kg (3.6 kg per capita). High demand has driven an open field production and distribution model which relies on seasonal rotation between Mexico, California, and Florida. The model ensures strawberry availability, but it requires long distance transport, and high labor, water, and agrochemical inputs.(1)

  PublisherDOI

• Biostimulants Applied in Seedling Stage Can Improve Onion Early Bulb Growth: Cultivar- and Fertilizer-Type-Specific Positive Effects

  Horticulturae · 2025-04-10 · 6 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Biostimulants play an active role in sustainable crop production. While biostimulants are thought to have long-term effects on plant growth, little research has been conducted to confirm this hypothesis. In this study, we investigated the long-term residual effects of biostimulants applied exclusively during the onion seedling stage on subsequent plant growth. Three onion cultivars (‘Carta Blanca’, ‘Don Victoro’, and ‘Sofire’) were evaluated with the application of nine microbial biostimulants (LALRISE Mycorrhizae, LALRISE Bacillus velezensis, Mighty Mycorrhizae, MycoApply, Spectrum, Spectrum DS, Spectrum Myco, Tribus Original, and Tribus Continuum), one seaweed extract (Kelpak), and two fertilizer types (conventional and organic fertilizer). Plant morphology and biomass were investigated during the early bulb stage of onion growth. Parameters such as plant height, neck diameter, bulb diameter, and the fresh and dry weights of the shoot, bulb, and root were measured. The results indicated significant cultivar-specific effects of microbial biostimulant and fertilizer type, as well as their interactions, on onion early bulb growth. While seaweed extract exhibited minimal residual impact, specific microbial biostimulants, such as Mighty Mycorrhizae and MycoApply, significantly enhanced bulb growth in the red onion ‘Sofire’. Tribus Continuum was found to increase bulb growth of the yellow onion ‘Don Victoro’. Positive effects of microbial biostimulants on onion growth were also observed with LALRISE Bacillus velezensis, Spectrum Myco, Spectrum, and LALRISE Mycorrizae. Furthermore, microbial biostimulants demonstrated more significant positive effects on onion growth when applied in conjunction with organic fertilizer. In conclusion, microbial biostimulants exhibited long-term positive effects on onion plant growth even when applied solely during the seedling stage prior to transplanting. However, these effects were significantly influenced by onion cultivar and fertilizer type, with the greatest benefits observed when combined with organic fertilizer. We recommend MycoApply and Mighty Mycorrhizae for growers seeking to enhance onion productivity, particularly in organic cultivation, as the two products enhanced bulb and leaf growth in ‘Sofire’ and ‘Don Victoro’.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Lowering light intensity while extending photoperiod at a constant daily light integral synergistically interacts with warm temperature to enhance leaf expansion and crop yield in lettuce in the absence of far-red light

  Frontiers in Plant Science · 2025-01-24 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Introduction Low light intensity and far-red (FR) light act as shade signals to induce specific morphological changes mediated by plant photoreceptors phytochromes (PHYs). Applying FR light or lowering light intensity over a longer photoperiod at a constant daily light integral (DLI) can increase crop yield by enhancing leaf expansion and photon capture. However, PHY activity is also dependent on temperature. We aimed to investigate the interactive effects of FR light, light intensity, photoperiod, and temperature on plant growth and morphology. Methods Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) ‘Rex’ was grown under three temperatures (20, 24, and 28 °C), each containing six light treatments [two levels of FR light (0 and 20% FR in total photon flux density from 400-800 nm) x three light intensities (150, 200, and 300 μmol m -2 s -1 )]. As light intensity increased, photoperiod was reduced (150, 200, and 300 μmol m -2 s -1 with photoperiods of 24 h, 18 h, and 12 h, respectively) to maintain a constant DLI of 13 mol m -2 d -1 . Results Under 0% FR light, the combination of lower light intensity/longer photoperiod and warmer temperature synergistically enhanced leaf expansion and photon capture; however, this interactive effect disappeared under 20% FR light. Stem elongation exhibited an opposite response pattern to leaf expansion; lower light intensity and warm temperature had a synergistic enhancement on stem elongation under 20% FR light, but not under 0% FR light. Shoot dry weight responded to the light and temperature factors similarly to total leaf area. Our results showed that plant biomass accumulation depended primarily on photon capture (r 2 = 0.93), rather than single-leaf photosynthetic efficiency. Antioxidant capacity was generally reduced by lower light intensity and FR light, but the reduction could be compensated by warmer temperatures. Discussion Thus, we concluded that applying lower light intensity over a longer photoperiod, combined with warm temperature, can effectively maximize leaf expansion and crop yield while maintaining nutritional quality in the absence of FR light. However, under strong shade signals composed of FR light, low light intensity, and warm temperature, lettuce prioritizes stem elongation at the expense of leaf expansion, leading to reduced crop yield.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Organic Fertilizer Optimization for Enhanced Growth and Nutrient Uptake in Bell Pepper Transplants (Capsicum annuum L.)

  Horticulturae · 2025-09-04

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Organic fertilization management for vegetable transplant production is challenging to growers due to the slow and unpredictable release nature of organic fertilizers. Nutrients in organic fertilizers, particularly nitrogen (N), often fail to meet the demands of rapidly growing transplants in soilless substrate. This study aimed to develop fertilization guidelines for organic bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) transplants by evaluating the performance of one conventional fertilizer, two organic fertilizers (Drammatic, Pre-Empt), and one naturally derived fertilizer (Bio-Matrix) at a range of N rates in supporting transplant growth. Bell pepper transplants were grown in an indoor growing chamber for 28 days with weekly fertilizer application. We found that the initial nitrate-N concentration in the fertilizer solution was the sole predictor of shoot dry weight (R2 = 0.62), confirming that N availability was the primary limiting factor for transplant growth. The conventional fertilizer produced the largest transplants (370.9 mg/plant in shoot dry weight) while Drammatic resulted in the lowest maximum shoot growth (196.6 mg/plant), likely due to its high salinity and the accumulation of ammonium in the substrate. Bell pepper transplants exhibited low nutrient uptake capability and resulted in low N recovery efficiency, especially with the two organic fertilizers, Drammatic and Pre-Empt (15.6% and 23.8%, respectively). Furthermore, we found no carryover effects of the fertilizer treatments during the transplant stage on bell pepper growth after being transplanted to the greenhouse for 18 days. The final shoot dry weight only correlated with transplant shoot dry weight at the time of transplanting (R2 = 0.87) but not with fertilizer type (p = 0.2849). Overall, Pre-Empt emerged as the most effective fertilizer for organic bell pepper transplant production. It is cost-effective, has low electrical conductivity, and is associated with low ammonium accumulation in the substrate. Therefore, it can be applied at high N rates to meet the N demand of bell pepper transplants. Based on our growing conditions, we recommend 23.1 g/L substrate of Pre-Empt for organic bell pepper transplant production.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Finding sustainable, resilient, and scalable solutions for future indoor agriculture

  npj Science of Plants · 2025-09-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) enhances food resilience. However, CEA faces major challenges—high energy intensity and carbon footprints. Technological advancements are essential to reduce operational costs and promote CEA sustainability. This perspective article explores key technological innovations poised to enhance CEA sustainability, emphasizing the necessity of transdisciplinary approaches. We examine integrated decision-making frameworks informed by comprehensive life cycle analysis, distributed indoor agriculture, electricity demand flexibility, Digital Twins, and engineered microbiomes and plants optimized for CEA systems. For each area, we assess the current state of research, identify knowledge gaps, and outline future directions. For example, comprehensive life cycle analysis incorporates environmental, economic and social dimensions can inform both CEA decision making and community-scale circular economy planning; grid-integrated control strategies can enable CEA facilities to provide ancillary grid services, improving both economic viability and grid resilience. A holistic transdisciplinary approach is essential to drive a sustainable future for the CEA sector.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Spectral effects of green and blue light on lettuce morphology, growth, phytochemicals, and antioxidant capacity are temperature-dependent

  Environmental and Experimental Botany · 2025-08-19 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Substituting green (G; 500-600 nm) for blue (B; 400-500 nm) light has been shown to enhance crop yield in indoor cultivation through increasing leaf expansion and photon capture. This effect is primarily mediated by cryptochrome photoreceptors. However, cryptochrome activity further depends on temperature. In our study, we investigated how B and G light and temperature interactively regulate plant growth, morphology, physiology, and phytochemical accumulation. Two lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ) cultivars, ‘Rex’ and ‘Rouxai’, were grown under three temperature conditions (20, 24, and 28 ℃) and five spectral treatments composed of B, G, and red (R; 600–700 nm) light (B 40 G 0 R 60 , B 30 G 10 R 60 , B 20 G 20 R 60 , B 10 G 30 R 60 , and B 0 G 40 R 60 ). The subscript number represents the percentage of each waveband in photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD; 400-700 nm). PPFD was maintained at 200 μmol m -2 s -1 with 18-h photoperiod. Our results showed that light spectral quality and temperature interactively influenced lettuce growth and morphology. Within a moderate temperature range (20–24 ℃), substituting G for B light and warmer temperature synergistically enhanced leaf expansion and biomass production. However, at 28 ℃, higher G percentages (i.e., lower B percentages) caused excessive stem elongation and downward leaf rolling, limiting leaf development and overall growth. Moreover, substituting G for B light, combined with warmer temperature, synergistically decreased phytochemical accumulation and antioxidant capacity, likely due to a reduction in reactive oxygen species content and lower oxidative stress. These findings demonstrate that temperature influences cryptochrome-mediated morphological and physiological responses to light quality, which, in turn, affect plant growth and phytochemical accumulation. • Blue and green light interact with temperature to regulate plant growth and phytochemical accumulations • Green light promoted leaf growth at 20–24 °C but reduced it at 28 °C due to excessive stem elongation • Absence of blue light caused downward leaf curling, reducing canopy photon capture • Blue light and warm temperature synergistically enhanced antioxidant capacity

  PublisherDOI

• Phosphorus Alleviates Aluminum Toxicity in Camellia oleifera Seedlings

  International Journal of Agriculture and Biology · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Comparison of Self- and Cross-Pollination in Pollen Tube Growth, Early Ovule Development and Fruit Set of Camellia grijsii

  International Journal of Agriculture and Biology · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  <ns2:p>Camellia grijsii Hance is one of the most important woody edible oil tree species in Southern China; however, it often has a low fruit set rate. To elucidate the causes of poor fruit set in C. grijsii, self-pollination (SP) with C. grijsii and cross-pollination (CP) of C. grijsii × C. villosa tests were conducted. Pollen germination and pollen tube growth into pistils, and early ovule development after SP and CP, were examined using a paraffin section and fluorescence microscopy. The fruit set percentage in SP and CP was also investigated. The results showed that pollen germinated normally on the stigma, and the pollen tubes both reached the style base after SP and CP, but the growth rates of pollen differed significantly between SP and CP, being faster for CP. The pollen tubes arrived at the style base 48 h after SP, but only 24 h after CP. No barriers to SP acted at the stigmatic or stylar level in C. grijsii; however, SP pollen tubes stopped at the upside of the ovary at 72 h due to the presence of ovarian self-incompatibility (OSI). There was also no callose deposition in the ovules at 84 h after SP. The inability of SP pollen tubes to penetrate the ovule and the absence of a mature embryo sac in the ovule were the critical factors that led to ovule abortion. Fruit set following SP (2.1%) was consistently and significantly lower than that obtained from CP (72.9%). Thus, we conclude that the presence of strong OSI gives rise to ovule abortion and is the main cause of the poor fruit set in C. grijsii.</ns2:p>

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Youping Sun

  Utah State University

  98 shared

• James E. Altland

  Agricultural Research Service

  97 shared

• Denise S. Rodriguez

  92 shared

• Qiang Liu

  Central South University of Forestry and Technology

  82 shared

• Lijuan Jiang

  Central South University of Forestry and Technology

  49 shared

• Terri W. Starman

  Texas A&M University

  42 shared

• Lifei Chen

  42 shared

• Feng Zou

  Central South University of Forestry and Technology

  40 shared

Education

• B.S., Agricultural Engineering

  Zhejiang University

• M.S., Agricultural Engineering

  Zhejiang University

• Ph.D., Horticultural Engineering

  Chiba University