Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is a system of agricultural production in which environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, lighting, ventilation, irrigation, carbon dioxide concentration, and sanitary parameters are regulated to support crop development. This approach is widely used in the production of mushrooms, fresh greens, leafy vegetables, and other highly perishable agricultural products (Benke & Tomkins, 2017; Nifa et al., 2026).

In recent years, automation has become one of the major directions in the development of modern agricultural production. Climate-control systems, automated irrigation, digital monitoring, sensors, and analytical technologies can improve resource management and increase production efficiency (Kozai et al., 2020). 

Nevertheless, a controlled environment should not be understood as a fully autonomous production environment. Agricultural production involves living biological systems that remain variable and can respond differently even when environmental parameters appear to be stable. This limitation is particularly significant in mushroom production and the cultivation of fresh greens, where relatively small variations in microclimate, growing substrate, raw materials, or the physiological condition of the crop may substantially affect productivity and final product quality. Consequently, professional technological supervision remains important even in production facilities with advanced automation. The author has extensive practical experience in the commercial cultivation of mushrooms and fresh greens under controlled conditions. Over many years of production activity, various monitoring approaches and cultivation algorithms have been applied and refined to improve production stability, yield, and product quality. This practical experience in continuous commercial production provides a basis for evaluating automation not only as a technological concept but also as a component of an operating agricultural production system. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of technologist expertise alongside automated systems in modern mushroom and fresh-greens production and to identify production situations in which professional observation, interpretation, and decision-making remain essential for maintaining stable cultivation processes and marketable product quality.

This study is based on the author's long-term practical observations of commercial mushroom and fresh-greens production processes conducted under controlled environmental conditions. The analysis considered the performance of automated systems used to regulate temperature, humidity, ventilation, irrigation, and lighting in relation to professional technological supervision. Particular attention was given to production situations in which predetermined automated algorithms alone were insufficient to maintain process stability and required assessment or intervention by an experienced technologist.  

Fig. 1: Yield assessment by sensors yield/assessment by an experienced technologist.

The methodological approach included production monitoring, comparative analysis, systematic evaluation of practical observations, and a review of scientific literature concerning agricultural automation, mushroom cultivation, and Controlled Environment Agriculture (Carrasco & Preston, 2020; Kalantari et al., 2018; Shekmohammed et al., 2023). The analysis focused on differences between sensor-based assessment and professional evaluation of biological responses, including crop development, substrate condition, microclimate variability, and product quality.

Why Automation Does Not Replace the Technologist: Automated systems can continuously monitor and regulate temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, lighting, ventilation, and irrigation. However, these systems operate within predetermined parameters and algorithms and cannot independently interpret the complex responses of living biological systems (Kalantari et al., 2018; Kozai et al., 2020). In commercial mushroom cultivation, situations may occur in which measured environmental parameters remain within the established ranges while crop development becomes unstable. An automated system can identify numerical deviations but cannot independently determine why mycelial development has slowed, why the casing layer retains moisture unevenly, or why one batch of compost behaves differently from a previous production cycle. Variations in compost structure, moisture content, mycelial activity, and air circulation may influence yield, mushroom density, uniformity, and marketable quality (Carrasco & Preston, 2020; Fletcher & Gaze, 2007). A similar limitation exists in the production of fresh greens and microgreens. Automated equipment can maintain predetermined lighting, irrigation, temperature, and humidity settings, but these parameters alone do not provide a complete assessment of plant physiological condition. The same cultivation program may produce different results depending on seed quality, seasonal conditions, growth intensity, crop characteristics, and other biological variables. Under such conditions, an experienced technologist evaluates not only sensor readings but also leaf structure, growth uniformity, color, plant turgor, and the rate of biomass formation (Benke & Tomkins, 2017; Kozai et al., 2020). 

This professional assessment is particularly important for products intended for retail distribution. Insufficient density of fresh greens, excessive stem elongation, excessive moisture, loss of plant elasticity, or changes in mushroom appearance can reduce the commercial value of a production batch even when no critical deviations are detected by automated monitoring systems (Chang & Miles, 2004). 

Fig. 2: Technologist's decision-making process.

For this reason, the technologist remains responsible for key production decisions that require practical observation, interpretation of crop behavior, and an understanding of biological processes. Professional assessment enables cultivation parameters to be adjusted in response to specific production conditions and allows emerging deviations to be identified before they result in substantial losses of product quality or yield (Fletcher & Gaze, 2007; Royse et al., 2017).

The Influence of Technologist Expertise on Mushroom Production as a Sensitive Biological System

Mushroom production particularly clearly demonstrates the limitations of relying exclusively on automated control. Compost, even when obtained from the same supplier, may vary in structure, moisture content, fermentation activity, and the behavior of the developing mycelium. Similarly, the casing layer may retain and release moisture differently depending on its composition, preparation, and storage conditions. These biological and material variations can influence crop development even when the environmental parameters recorded by automated systems remain within predetermined ranges (Carrasco & Preston, 2020; Fletcher & Gaze, 2007).

In addition, localized microclimatic zones may develop within mushroom-growing chambers and may not be adequately represented by average sensor readings. Differences in airflow, temperature, humidity, and evaporation within individual areas of a chamber can affect mycelial development and the formation of fruiting bodies. Under such conditions, an experienced technologist evaluates not only numerical data from monitoring systems but also the visual and physiological condition of the crop, the intensity and uniformity of mycelial development, moisture behavior in the casing layer, and the uniformity of fruiting-body formation. Practical production experience demonstrates that early identification and professional interpretation of such deviations are important for preventing disease development, minimizing potential yield losses, and maintaining the marketable quality of mushrooms (Fletcher & Gaze, 2007). Automation therefore provides essential monitoring and environmental control, while the technologist interprets biological responses and determines when cultivation parameters require adjustment.

Short Production Cycle of Fresh Greens: The Role of the Technologist

In the production of fresh greens and microgreens, cultivation errors can become visible particularly quickly because of the relatively short growing cycle. 

Fig. 3: Controlled environment for growing mushrooms and greens.

Insufficient or excessive lighting, excessive moisture, inappropriate seeding density, inadequate ventilation, or delayed harvesting can substantially affect the appearance and commercial quality of the product within a short period of time (Benke & Tomkins, 2017; Kozai et al., 2020). 

This is especially important for products intended for retail distribution, where visual freshness is a major component of marketability. Even relatively minor yellowing, excessive stem elongation, uneven growth, or loss of plant turgor can reduce the commercial value of a batch and potentially make it unsuitable for retail sale. For this reason, the technologist performs not only a monitoring function but also an adaptive and strategic role in production. Cultivation parameters may need to be adjusted according to the characteristics of a particular seed batch, seasonal changes, crop growth intensity, physiological responses, and the quality requirements of the final product. Professional supervision allows these factors to be considered together rather than relying exclusively on predetermined automated settings.