“Could be part of the answer”

Adjusting the environmental conditions of indoor vertical farms using sensors and modeling could be the key to securing global food supplies as populations grow rapidly, scientists have found.

An international team of researchers investigated how to make vertical farming more efficient and less energy-intensive systems for higher yields. According to a summary of a study conducted Borderswe may have to increase food production by almost 70% by mid-century.

As Frontiers explained, vertical farms “may be part of the answer” to achieving this goal, but they are currently expensive and difficult to scale because they consume so much electricity. However, scientists have discovered that adjusting the light in vertical farms based on the needs of specific plants could make these farms of the future more profitable.

“The biggest advantage of vertical farming systems is that healthy food can be grown much closer to consumers in places where it would otherwise not be possible: in metropolitan areas, in deserts and in places where it is cold and dark much of the year. “,” said Dr Elias Kaiser, first author of the study published in Frontiers in Science.

The biggest hurdle to overcome in mass adoption of vertical farms is that they operate in static environmental conditions, which increases energy costs. However, scientists said that manipulating variables that affect plant growth, such as carbon dioxide levels, temperature fluctuations and light wavelengths, could make indoor farms cheaper to operate and produce more resilient crops.

Light is perhaps the most important variable, as plants rely on it for photosynthesis. Scientists say this variable is also key to increased efficiency vertical farming operations.

“Electricity price fluctuations can be used to the advantage of vertical farming systems by using more electricity when it is cheaper,” explained Marcelis.

In addition, the team believes that smart lighting can be another tool for reducing energy costs. Their model showed that by adjusting the light intensity using an optimization algorithm, energy costs could be reduced by 12% without affecting plant growth.

But scientists say other important issues need to be addressed before vertical farming can feed the planet. For example, they said that controlling airflow speed, carbon dioxide levels and indoor temperature using modern sensors and models can help reduce energy costs even further.

The team noted that more research is needed to understand which variables correlate with higher yields and which lead to improved crop quality.

“In a vertical farm, all growing conditions can be precisely controlled, which is critical to optimizing yield, quality and resource efficiency.” said Marcelis. “Once dynamic environmental controls are established, energy consumption and the cost of energy used can be significantly reduced, increasing the profitability and sustainability of vertical farms.”

Vertical farming is already changing the way we grow food and even made a splash in the production of mussels and oysters with vertical ocean farms. As farming technology advances, we can expect it to bear fruit in the form of better and cheaper food and a cleaner planet.

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