I (Isabella) Righini, MSc

Originally from Italy, I have been living and working in the Netherlands since 2018. I have a background in Horticultural Science and I am currently working as Researcher at Wageningen Plant Research in the unit of “ Greenhouse Horticulture”. At the same time, I am doing a PhD within the “Horticulture & Product Physiology” at Wageningen University focusing on production efficiency and resource use in Controlled-environment Agriculture for urban and peri-urban areas. The PhD is funded as part of an H2020 project ('Food Systems in European Cities', 862663) running between 2020-2024, in which I am also the leader of a Work Package (on the implementation of horticulture projects in several EU cities).

Since 2024 (and until 2026) I am member of the Young Mind Committee of the ISHS, representing Europe, together with other 11 candidates worldwide. 

Research focus
My research over the years has included different aspects around greenhouse hortitech: projects in different systems, from low-tech to high-tech greenhouses and vertical farms (both academic and B2B) to investigating the effect of different technologies on resource use efficiency and production of different crops (e.g., tomato, cucumber, soybean and, to a lesser extent, strawberry, basil, lettuce); validation of greenhouse-climate models adapted to different climatic regions; use of validated greenhouse-climate models to assess the effect of greenhouse investments (e.g., greenhouse structure, climate equipment) and management (e.g., climate settings) on crop yield, resource and energy use. I also worked on the topic of digital farming and autonomous greenhouses in partnership with “Tencent”, investigating the potential of sensors, mechanistic- and AI- models for remote control of greenhouse horticulture production.