Articles
HIGH EFFICIENT PLANT RADIATION WITHIN RUTHNER CROP PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Ruthner started in Vienna-Austria- to develop a method for vegetable growing in endless towerlike conveyor-belt systems under sunlight conditions.
But following up this always changing sunlight, the aim to have a continuous crop production independent of outside season could not be reached.
In addition, the so-called "tower greenhouses" had nearly the same problems as conventional greenhouses too and even some more as icefall in winter and less light for plant growing.
It was evident, that the idea of a continuous crop production line could be a target for countries where conventional agricultural cultivation methods are not possible.
Recognizing the problems of such areas, the development of the production method of Prof.
Ruthner lead to closed well-insulated gastight production lines, highly mechanized and where no soil is needed.
While the nursery takes place in a stationary cultivation system the ensuing production rooms are filled with a mainly vertically-led endless conveyor-belt, on which the plants are cultivated.
The size of the production rooms depends on the amounts of plants demanded, its space requirements and the growing pattern of the plant to be produced.
The environment generating equipment such as the 3-dimensional light lattice, the air conditioning systems, the CO2-dosing, the nutrient and water supply are integrated in the conveyor system.
The climate and all other environment conditions are generated in a programm-controlled way and comply to the daily needs of the plants.
The production rooms are designed in steel-skeleton-construction and are cladded with non-translucent reflection sandwich panels (1) for only artificial light is used in a three-dimensional arrangement of a lattice (2). (Figure 1)
As a rule such production units are designed tower-like with a height of i.e. 20 m.
The conveyor-belt consists of 2 parallel vertically-led conveyor chains (3) with a distance of 6 m from one another to which plant hangers (4) are fixed horizontally on elongated horizontal bolts pivotal for the hangers.
On these hangers special plant carriers are provided which enable the fixing of the hydrochannel or substrate hoses as well as the fixing of the plant sprout itself.
The cooled air enriched with CO2 flows into the production room from the top of the building.
Passing the lamps of the light lattice and the moving hangers with the growing plants the air is reconditioned by means of cooling machines.
While the nutrient supply and watering is provided at one of the lower ends of the conveyor systém, the 3-dimensional light lattice pracically fills the whole production room area.
The special arrangement of the lamps together with the movement of the plant conveyors between them allows to grow the plants under high light conditions very near (200 mm about) to the hot bulbs without burning the leaves.
There is no more problem with lightsaturation of the upper leaves and lack of light for the ground leaves.
All leaves get light radiation – about 20.000 lx – as the result of light addition from the SON-T lamps around. (Figure 2).
In some cases in which the growing pattern does not require different