Sustaining the Future: How Vertical Farming Could Revolutionize Food Production

Researchers are investigating how dynamic environmental management in indoor farms could help provide nutritious, high-quality, locally grown fruits and vegetables to support a growing population.

Vertical farming has the potential to transform food production in urban and extreme environments by optimizing plant growth through dynamic environmental controls, such as smart lighting that adapts to electricity costs and plant requirements. Researchers highlight the ability of these systems to improve food quality and sustainability while reducing energy consumption.

Innovative Approaches Needed to Overcome Challenges in Vertical Farming for Sustainable Food Production

As our world becomes more crowded, innovative solutions are needed to ensure everyone has enough food. Vertical farming, which intensively grows plants indoors, offers a promising option. However, the key obstacle to its widespread adoption is the high cost and energy demand of the lighting required for plant growth. Scientists are discovering that adjusting lighting to meet the specific needs of each crop can boost healthier growth while reducing energy consumption.

“The greatest advantage of vertical farming is that healthy food can be grown much closer to consumers in areas where it’s otherwise impossible, like mega-cities, deserts, and regions that are cold and dark for much of the year,” explained Dr. Elias Kaiser, lead author of a study in Frontiers in Science. “The biggest challenge is managing the electricity costs.”

Dynamic Environmental Control Makes Vertical Farming More Cost-Effective and Healthier

Many vertical farming systems rely on constant environmental conditions, which are expensive to maintain due to high electricity usage. However, the researchers’ analysis suggests that such stringent conditions are unnecessary. By using dynamic environmental control, vertical farming can become more cost-effective while also producing healthier plants.

“We were inspired by the natural rhythms plants exhibit on both daily and developmental timescales, which require regular adjustments to their environment for optimal growth,” explained Prof. Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University, the study’s senior author. “We propose a strategy that integrates plant physiology, advanced sensing and modeling techniques, and new crop varieties bred specifically for vertical farming systems.”

Since plants’ biological processes are strongly influenced by environmental factors like temperature, light wavelengths, and CO₂ levels, controlling these variables allows vertical farms to steer plant development. Lighting is especially crucial for photosynthesis, and different wavelengths affect various plants differently. Moreover, lighting is sensitive to electricity costs, offering potential for efficiency improvements.

“Fluctuations in electricity prices can benefit vertical farms by using more power when it’s cheaper,” said Marcelis.

Smart Lighting Model Enhances Photosynthesis and Reduces Costs in Vertical Farming

The researchers developed a model for smart lighting that maintains steady photosynthesis while reducing electricity costs. They found that an optimization algorithm could lower electricity expenses by 12% without reducing carbon fixation by adjusting light intensity. Testing on leafy plants like spinach, often grown in vertical farms, showed no negative effects from irregular light intensity variations.

Several challenges must be addressed before vertical farming can play a significant role in global food production.

“Many proposed solutions have been tested on individual plants but not at the scale of entire crop stands,” warned Kaiser.

Dynamic adjustments to airflow, temperature, and CO₂ levels based on plant needs could help reduce electricity costs. However, this requires advanced sensors, models, and cultivars specifically bred for vertical farming. These crops could prioritize nutrition and flavor over robustness and shelf life, taking advantage of localized, controlled environments. More research is needed to balance crop quality and yield.

“In vertical farms, growth conditions can be precisely controlled, which is crucial for optimizing yield, quality, and resource efficiency,” explained Marcelis. “But constant conditions aren’t always ideal. Once dynamic control becomes standard, both energy consumption and costs can decrease, boosting the profitability and sustainability of vertical farms.”

Read the original article on: Scitech Daily

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