What You May Not Realize about Vertical Farming
Vertical farming (VF) is a newer crop production practice that is attracting attention from all around the world. VF is defined as growing indoor crops on multiple layers, either on the same floor or on multiple stories. Most VF operations are located in urban environments, substantially reducing th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/322 |
| _version_ | 1797434568259665920 |
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| author | Farzana A. Lubna David C. Lewus Timothy J. Shelford Arend-Jan Both |
| author_facet | Farzana A. Lubna David C. Lewus Timothy J. Shelford Arend-Jan Both |
| author_sort | Farzana A. Lubna |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vertical farming (VF) is a newer crop production practice that is attracting attention from all around the world. VF is defined as growing indoor crops on multiple layers, either on the same floor or on multiple stories. Most VF operations are located in urban environments, substantially reducing the distance between producer and consumer. Some people claim that VF is the beginning of a new era in controlled environment agriculture, with the potential to substantially increase resource-use efficiencies. However, since most vertical farms exclusively use electric lighting to grow crops, the energy input for VF is typically very high. Additional challenges include finding and converting growing space, constructing growing systems, maintaining equipment, selecting suitable plant species, maintaining a disease- and pest-free environment, attracting and training workers, optimizing the control of environmental parameters, managing data-driven decision making, and marketing. The objective of the paper is to highlight several of the challenges and issues associated with planning and operating a successful vertical farm. Industry-specific information and knowledge will help investors and growers make informed decisions about financing and operating a vertical farm. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:35:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7718095ab6124334a89238d4218999ae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:35:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj.art-7718095ab6124334a89238d4218999ae2023-12-01T21:00:34ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242022-04-018432210.3390/horticulturae8040322What You May Not Realize about Vertical FarmingFarzana A. Lubna0David C. Lewus1Timothy J. Shelford2Arend-Jan Both3Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USADepartment of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USAHorticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USADepartment of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USAVertical farming (VF) is a newer crop production practice that is attracting attention from all around the world. VF is defined as growing indoor crops on multiple layers, either on the same floor or on multiple stories. Most VF operations are located in urban environments, substantially reducing the distance between producer and consumer. Some people claim that VF is the beginning of a new era in controlled environment agriculture, with the potential to substantially increase resource-use efficiencies. However, since most vertical farms exclusively use electric lighting to grow crops, the energy input for VF is typically very high. Additional challenges include finding and converting growing space, constructing growing systems, maintaining equipment, selecting suitable plant species, maintaining a disease- and pest-free environment, attracting and training workers, optimizing the control of environmental parameters, managing data-driven decision making, and marketing. The objective of the paper is to highlight several of the challenges and issues associated with planning and operating a successful vertical farm. Industry-specific information and knowledge will help investors and growers make informed decisions about financing and operating a vertical farm.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/322controlled environment agricultureindoor crop productionplanning and operationresource-use efficiency |
| spellingShingle | Farzana A. Lubna David C. Lewus Timothy J. Shelford Arend-Jan Both What You May Not Realize about Vertical Farming Horticulturae controlled environment agriculture indoor crop production planning and operation resource-use efficiency |
| title | What You May Not Realize about Vertical Farming |
| title_full | What You May Not Realize about Vertical Farming |
| title_fullStr | What You May Not Realize about Vertical Farming |
| title_full_unstemmed | What You May Not Realize about Vertical Farming |
| title_short | What You May Not Realize about Vertical Farming |
| title_sort | what you may not realize about vertical farming |
| topic | controlled environment agriculture indoor crop production planning and operation resource-use efficiency |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/322 |
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