Scientists are exploring how vertical indoor agriculture can help future food demand

To make sure everyone eats well in our busy world, we need to be creative. Vertical farming methods, which grow plants intensively indoors, may be part of the answer—but to use them on a large scale we need to overcome significant problems, especially the energy-intensive, expensive lighting system. heavy that plants need. grow up.

Scientists are now showing how controlling light according to the needs of certain crops can make them stronger and healthier while reducing energy use.

“The biggest advantage of vertical farming systems is that healthy food can be grown close to consumers in places where it is not possible otherwise: in cities, in deserts and in cold and humid regions. darkness during large parts of the year,” said Dr. Elias Kaiser, first author of the article Frontiers in Science. “The biggest challenge is the cost associated with the use of electricity.”

Providing information about the problem

Most vertical farming systems are operated using constant environmental conditions, which require a lot of electricity and are expensive to maintain. Scientific studies show that these harsh conditions are not necessary: ​​using strong environmental management, they suggest that we can achieve sustainable agriculture that is more cost-effective and produces healthier plants.

“We were inspired by the daily rhythms that plants show as well as the periods of development, which require that their growing environment be adjusted regularly in order to facilitate their growth in a perfect way,” said Professor Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University, senior author.

“We describe a strategy that uses knowledge of plant physiology, detection and modeling techniques, and new species designed for vertical farming systems.”

Because the natural activities of plants are greatly influenced by environmental conditions such as changes in temperature, light waves and CO levels.₂ in the atmosphere, controlling the environment allows the system of vertical agriculture to control the development of plants.

Light is an important variable; All plants need it to photosynthesize, and different wavelengths of light have different effects on different plants. This difference is also very sensitive to electricity prices, thus providing opportunities to make effective profits.

“Flexibility of electricity prices can be used for vertical farming systems, by using more electricity when it is cheaper,” explained Marcelis.

The authors have developed a model to evaluate smart lighting that aims to preserve the plants’ ability to photosynthesize properly during the day, while reducing electricity costs. They found that the optimization algorithm can reduce electricity costs by 12% without damaging the plants’ carbon footprint, just by changing the intensity of the light.

They then tested how variable light intensity affects the growth of leafy plants like spinach that are often grown in vertical farms, and found no negative effect. This remained true even when the plants were subjected to constant light intensity, rather than the random, normal pattern.

Seeds of the future

Some important issues still need to be addressed before vertical farming can help feed the world.

“Many of the proposed solutions have not been tested at larger scales representing vertical farms—they may have been demonstrated at the level of a single plant, but not at the scale of the entire crop standstill,” warned Kaiser.

Dynamically adjusts airflow, temperature and CO levels₂ depending on the needs of plants can provide opportunities to reduce electricity costs. Farmers will need the right sensors and models to help them monitor and adjust the environment, as well as new varieties that benefit vertical farming.

These varieties can take advantage of local production in safe conditions to focus on good nutrition and sensory qualities, rather than durability or shelf life. More research is needed to measure all these variables and set the right balance between high-quality and high-yielding crops.

“In a vertical farm, all aspects of growth can be well controlled, which is very important to improve yield, quality and resource utilization,” said Marcelis.

However, the technical feasibility of keeping them unchanged does not mean that keeping them unchanged is the best solution. Once strong environmental management is established, energy consumption and energy costs can be significantly reduced, increasing profitability and sustainability. of standing farms.”