Articles
Influence of different DLI treatments on Valerianella locusta plants grown in an indoor vertical farm
Article number
1426_25
Pages
175 – 182
Language
English
Abstract
Nowadays, one of the main challenges is to bring safe, fresh and nutritious food in the rapidly growing urban areas.
Vertical farms (VFs) is a pioneering agricultural method that can significantly contribute to the partial solution of this challenge due to the sophisticated controlled-environment agriculture practices, the fully insulated installations and the application of multiple stacked growing layers, VFs can maximize yield production per unit area.
However, one of the challenges of VFs is the high electricity demand for lighting operation and consequently high operational cost for maximum biomass production in a year-round basis.
The aim of this study is to examine and determine the optimum duration, quality and quantity of the indoor lighting operation in Valerianella locusta plants under different operational schemes and evaluate the energy and light use efficiency of the system.
Two different light qualities have been tested, a) white (W) and b) blue, red and NIR-infrared (B-R-NIR). The three tested treatments under each spectra combination had a photoperiod of 16 h d‑1 of light and 3 different PPFD (150, 250, 350 μmol m‑2 s‑1), resulting in different daily light integrals, DLI of 8.6, 14.4 and 20.2 mol m‑2 day‑1, respectively.
Plants were cultivated at 25°C and 500 μmol mol‑1 CO2 and 60 RH%. From results, a progressive increase of biomass production of plants is observed along with higher PPFD at DLI 14.4 mol m‑2 day‑1. However, energy use efficiency is maximized under lower PPFD and DLI values at lamp lettuces’ plants.
Effects of the spectrum quality relate to differentiations in the leaf colouring and the chlorophyll content of the plants.
This study shows that under reduced PPFD and DLI values, Valerianella locusta plants can present optimized yield and resources use efficiency for indoor cultivation contributing to significant improvements on the sustainability performance of the system.
Vertical farms (VFs) is a pioneering agricultural method that can significantly contribute to the partial solution of this challenge due to the sophisticated controlled-environment agriculture practices, the fully insulated installations and the application of multiple stacked growing layers, VFs can maximize yield production per unit area.
However, one of the challenges of VFs is the high electricity demand for lighting operation and consequently high operational cost for maximum biomass production in a year-round basis.
The aim of this study is to examine and determine the optimum duration, quality and quantity of the indoor lighting operation in Valerianella locusta plants under different operational schemes and evaluate the energy and light use efficiency of the system.
Two different light qualities have been tested, a) white (W) and b) blue, red and NIR-infrared (B-R-NIR). The three tested treatments under each spectra combination had a photoperiod of 16 h d‑1 of light and 3 different PPFD (150, 250, 350 μmol m‑2 s‑1), resulting in different daily light integrals, DLI of 8.6, 14.4 and 20.2 mol m‑2 day‑1, respectively.
Plants were cultivated at 25°C and 500 μmol mol‑1 CO2 and 60 RH%. From results, a progressive increase of biomass production of plants is observed along with higher PPFD at DLI 14.4 mol m‑2 day‑1. However, energy use efficiency is maximized under lower PPFD and DLI values at lamp lettuces’ plants.
Effects of the spectrum quality relate to differentiations in the leaf colouring and the chlorophyll content of the plants.
This study shows that under reduced PPFD and DLI values, Valerianella locusta plants can present optimized yield and resources use efficiency for indoor cultivation contributing to significant improvements on the sustainability performance of the system.
Publication
Authors
D.D. Avgoustaki, G. Vatsika, C. Vatistas, T. Bartzanas
Keywords
vertical farming, light in horticulture, energy use efficiency, light use efficiency, plant physiology, daily light integral, Valerianella locusta
Groups involved
- Division Precision Horticulture and Engineering
- Division Greenhouse and Indoor Production Horticulture
- Working Group Nettings in Horticulture (subgroup of Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates)
- Working Group Light in Horticulture
- Working Group Organic Greenhouse Horticulture
- Working Group Vegetable Grafting
- Working Group Modelling Plant Growth, Environmental Control, Greenhouse Environment
- Working Group Protected Cultivation, Nettings and Screens for Mild Climates
- Working Group Computational Fluid Dynamics in Agriculture
- Working Group Design and Automation in Integrated Indoor Production Systems
- Working Group Mechanization, Digitization, Sensing and Robotics
- Working Group Greenhouse Environment and Climate Control
- Division Landscape and Urban Horticulture
- Commission Agroecology and Organic Farming Systems
- Division Vegetables, Roots and Tubers
- Working Group Vertical Farming
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