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What is the best cultivation strategy in a vertical farm?
Vertical farming takes place in a fully controlled environment with minimal space use and without the use of chemical crop protection products. It is a promising solution for food production for many applications and regions. But what is the best cultivation strategy in such a vertical farm? This is what the Business Unit Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs of Wageningen University & Research is investigating. A growth model is under development for lettuce.
There is already a lot of knowledge and expertise in the field of vertical farming in the Netherlands. However, that knowledge and expertise are very fragmented. As a result, the sector lacks sufficient (international) clout. The Fieldlab Vertical Farming South Holland project ensures bundling in one central location. The Field Lab has four work packages: Market Marketing and Demand Articulation, Innovation and Demonstration, Education and Training and Business Accelerator. WUR is involved in a number of the work packages.
For example, WUR is investigating what the best cultivation strategy is in a vertical farm. So-called growth models already exist for many crops grown in greenhouses: they can be used to predict the effects of certain cultivation measures. However, the growing climate in a vertical farm is largely incomparable to a greenhouse. After all, there are no external influences, and energy and water are preserved within the cultivation space.
Based on an existing growth model for lettuce in greenhouses, WUR is developing a cultivation model for a vertical farm. This model will also include the quality of the crop as output. A vertical farm is very suitable for producing premium quality crops: burnt leaf edges, for example, are not desirable.
Whether vertical farming is actually profitable depends, among other things, on local circumstances, such as the land price and the energy price. That is why the growth model will be linked to a business economics model, also developed by WUR. This is possible because the Fieldlab has received a new financial boost from the ERDF and the Province of South Holland.
The Vertical Farming South Field Lab is made possible by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and a contribution from the Province of South Holland. More information: https://fieldlabverticalfarming.com.