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Representation of vertical farming (VF) types. Stacked horizontal systems comprise multiple levels of horizontal growing surfaces and can be located in glasshouses (a), sometimes with level rotation incorporated, or controlled environment (CE) facilities (b). A variation of this approach is that of multi-floor towers (c) where each level is isolated from the surrounding levels. The use of balconies (d) for crop production is another example of VF using stacked horizontal growing surface. Vertical growing surface include green walls (e), which can be positioned on the side of buildings and other vertical surfaces and cylindrical growth units (f) with vertical arrangements of plants.
Source publication
Pressure on agricultural land from a rising global population is necessitating the maximisation of food production per unit area of cultivation. Attention is increasingly turning to Vertical Farming (VF) approaches in an attempt to provide a greater crop yield per square meter of land. However, this term has been used to cover a broad range of appr...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... form of Vertical Farming (Figure 1(a, b)) frequently adapts existing commercial protected horticulture systems. Such systems comprise multiple levels of traditional horizontal growing platforms. ...
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... horizontal growing systems have the potential to be stacked on top of each other within taller structures to form a vertical farm. This can be achieved either in glasshouses (Figure 1(a)) or in self-contained controlled environment (CE) facilities, sometimes referred to as 'Plant Factories' (Takatsuji, 2010;Figure 1(b)). Glasshouses have the benefit of being able to utilise sunlight for plant growth with supplementary levels of lighting being required during periods of low light, for example during winter or cloudy conditions, or for areas of the system distant from the glasshouse periphery or shaded by higher levels of planting. ...
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... is that of Multi-Floor Towers (Figure 1(c)). In this scenario, rather than the multiple levels of plant growth occurring in the same chamber (glasshouse or CE), the different levels of planting are located on different floors of a tower structure and so are isolated from each other. ...
Context 4
... alternative to indoor growth in Multi-Floor Towers is the use of balconies for growing produce (Figure 1(d)). This approach is more suited to production on an individual or community basis rather than commercial enterprises but may prove useful for the personal production of low-volume crops such as herbs. ...
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... walls Green Walls comprise vertical or inclined growing platforms sited in locations such as the façades of buildings (Figure 1(e)) (Köhler, 2008). Potential issues with green walls include the ease of harvest of plants high above ground level, exposure to urban pollution in walls not covered by a protective surface and maintenance of an equal provision of water from the top to bottom of the wall. ...
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... this type of system, plants are grown one above another around the surface of upright cylindrical units housing a nutrient supply (soil or hydroponic substrate) and located within a glasshouse or CE facility (Figure 1(f)). A comparison between a Cylindrical Growth Unit and a conventional horizontal growing surface has been made using lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. ...
Context 7
... form of Vertical Farming (Figure 1(a, b)) frequently adapts existing commercial protected horticulture systems. Such systems comprise multiple levels of traditional horizontal growing platforms. ...
Context 8
... horizontal growing systems have the potential to be stacked on top of each other within taller structures to form a vertical farm. This can be achieved either in glasshouses (Figure 1(a)) or in self-contained controlled environment (CE) facilities, sometimes referred to as 'Plant Factories' (Takatsuji, 2010;Figure 1(b)). Glasshouses have the benefit of being able to utilise sunlight for plant growth with supplementary levels of lighting being required during periods of low light, for example during winter or cloudy conditions, or for areas of the system distant from the glasshouse periphery or shaded by higher levels of planting. ...
Context 9
... is that of Multi-Floor Towers (Figure 1(c)). In this scenario, rather than the multiple levels of plant growth occurring in the same chamber (glasshouse or CE), the different levels of planting are located on different floors of a tower structure and so are isolated from each other. ...
Context 10
... alternative to indoor growth in Multi-Floor Towers is the use of balconies for growing produce (Figure 1(d)). This approach is more suited to production on an individual or community basis rather than commercial enterprises but may prove useful for the personal production of low-volume crops such as herbs. ...
Context 11
... walls Green Walls comprise vertical or inclined growing platforms sited in locations such as the façades of buildings (Figure 1(e)) (Köhler, 2008). Potential issues with green walls include the ease of harvest of plants high above ground level, exposure to urban pollution in walls not covered by a protective surface and maintenance of an equal provision of water from the top to bottom of the wall. ...
Context 12
... this type of system, plants are grown one above another around the surface of upright cylindrical units housing a nutrient supply (soil or hydroponic substrate) and located within a glasshouse or CE facility (Figure 1(f)). A comparison between a Cylindrical Growth Unit and a conventional horizontal growing surface has been made using lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. ...
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Citations
... Currently, one of the current trends in the development of urban agriculture is the creation of energy-saving LED irradiators, designed for growing plants in light culture [5,6]. The advantage of LED light sources (Light-emitting diode -LED) is the ability to flexibly adjust the intensity and spectrum of lighting [7], and also due to the minimum energy costs through the high efficiency, in addition to a long service life, low heat dissipation, lower volume/weight [8] and close location to plants makes LED lighting a cost-effective solution for multilevel cultivation technology without natural light in indoor spaces [9]. ...
Growth rates, plant biomass and the concentration of beneficial compounds largely depend on the quality and intensity of illumination. Plants of the ‘Mizuna Red’ variety were grown using a low-volume technology in a regulated agroecosystem of a tiered hydroponic module produced by VIM (Russia). The plants were illuminated by specially designed LED lamps manufactured by VIM (Russia) with a dy-namically controlled spectral composition in 4 channels. For experimental researches, the design of the lighting system included several modes of emission: continuous, pulsed and scanning with a radiation intensity of 15000 lux and a total PAR of 321 µmol m⁻²s⁻¹: blue – 97 µmol m⁻²s-a; green – 84 µmol m⁻²s⁻¹; red – 122 µmol m⁻²s⁻¹; far red – 18 µmol m⁻²s⁻¹ (Proportions B: G: R ~ 30:26:44). The aim of the study was to assess the effect of different modes of emission on productivity, physi-cochemical indicators and to develop technological methods for obtaining highquality commercial products of Japanese cabbage variety 'Mizuna Red' grown in a longline hydroponic module. The use of a pulsed emission mode made it possible to increase the photosynthetic activity of ‘Mizuna Red’ plants, which eventually influenced the growth of the aboveground mass and its quality indicators with a strong correlation between these indicators. The concentration of photosynthetic pigments was dependent on the emission mode.
... The geographical location of Wenchi on the western side of Jaman North and South may explain its higher wind direction. Jaman South had a high wind speed, which contributed to its high-yield production which promotes sustainable farming (Beacham, Vickers & Monaghan, 2019;Kalantari et al., 2018;van Delden et al., 2021). The DTW model effectively analyzed the similarity of spatial data, demonstrating its effectiveness for spatiotemporal analysis. ...
The cultivation of cashew crops carries numerous economic advantages, and countries worldwide that produce this crop face a high demand. The effects of wind speed and wind direction on crop yield prediction using proficient deep learning algorithms are less emphasized or researched. We propose a combination of advanced deep learning techniques, specifically focusing on long short-term memory (LSTM) and random forest models. We intend to enhance this ensemble model using dynamic time warping (DTW) to assess the spatiotemporal data (wind speed and wind direction) similarities within Jaman North, Jaman South, and Wenchi with their respective production yield. In the Bono region of Ghana, these three areas are crucial for cashew production. The LSTM-DTW-RF model with wind speed and wind direction achieved an R 2 score of 0.847 and the LSTM-RF model without these two key features R 2 score of (0.74). Both models were evaluated using the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test, which is commonly used in time series analysis to assess stationarity, where the LSTM-DTW-RF achieved a 90% level of confidence, while LSTM-RF attained an 87.99% level. Among the three municipalities, Jaman South had the highest evaluation scores for the model, with an RMSE of 0.883, an R 2 of 0.835, and an MBE of 0.212 when comparing actual and predicted values for Wenchi. In terms of the annual average wind direction, Jaman North recorded (270.5 SW), Jaman South recorded (274.8 SW), and Wenchi recorded (272.6 SW). The DTW similarity distance for the annual average wind speed across these regions fell within specific ranges: Jaman North (±25.72), Jaman South (±25.89), and Wenchi (±26.04). Following the DTW similarity evaluation, Jaman North demonstrated superior performance in wind speed, while Wenchi excelled in wind direction. This underscores the potential efficiency of DTW when incorporated into the analysis of environmental factors affecting crop yields, given its invariant nature. The results obtained can guide further exploration of DTW variations in combination with other How to cite this article Bediako-Kyeremeh B, Ma T, Rong H, Osibo BK, Mamelona L, Nti IK, Amoah L. 2024. Effects of wind speed and wind direction on crop yield forecasting using dynamic time warping and an ensembled learning model. PeerJ 12:e16538 machine learning models to predict higher cashew yields. Additionally, these findings emphasize the significance of wind speed and direction in vertical farming, contributing to informed decisions for sustainable agricultural growth and development.
... Vertical farming, a cutting-edge agricultural approach, revolutionizes traditional farming methods by maximizing crop production within limited spatial confines. This innovative technique involves the cultivation of crops in vertically stacked layers or inclined surfaces, leveraging advanced technologies to create controlled environments that optimize plant growth and yield (Beacham et al., 2019). Understanding the key techniques and components of vertical farming is crucial for harnessing its full potential in addressing the challenges of land scarcity and food production within urban settings. ...
This book delves into the dynamic landscape of modern horticulture, exploring a myriad of innovative techniques and technologies aimed at fostering sustainable practices and maximizing productivity. With a comprehensive array of chapters authored by leading experts in the field, this book serves as a vital resource for professionals, researchers, and students seeking to stay abreast of the latest advancements in horticultural science.
The chapters within this volume cover a diverse range of topics, each offering valuable insights into key areas of innovation. From "Climate-Smart Horticulture" to "Precision Irrigation in Greenhouse Horticulture," readers gain a deep understanding of how cutting-edge methodologies are being employed to adapt to changing environmental conditions and optimize resource usage. Additionally, chapters such as "Sustainable Horticultural Water Management" and "Optimizing Nutrient Management Strategies" provide critical perspectives on addressing challenges related to water scarcity and nutrient deficiency, crucial for ensuring long-term sustainability in horticultural production. Furthermore, this book explores the untapped potential of underexploited horticultural crops and discusses strategies for enhancing crop productivity and quality through advancements in biotechnology. It also sheds light on the importance of integrated pest management and post-harvest innovations in modern horticulture, emphasizing the need for holistic approaches to pest control and food preservation. With "Sky-High Harvests," the book takes a unique turn by examining the role of horticulture in urban landscapes, showcasing how innovative practices can contribute to sustainable abundance in cities.
... A series of pressures, including rapid population growth, urbanization, climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss related to extreme weather events, challenge the ability of food systems to provide sufficient and steady food supply. However, the open-field farming system cannot fully meet the requirements of the growing population due to the extremely long and costly supply chain and the nonuniformity of freshwater resources [1][2][3][4]. Figure 1 shows the global distribution of prediction of crops yield in 10 years per capita of both national and subnational survey regions. The prediction shows that South America and North America will have high yields, while most parts of Africa and the Middle East will still have food scarcity. ...
Plant factory with artificial light (PFAL) is a promising technology for relieving the food crisis, especially in urban areas or arid regions endowed with abundant resources. However, lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems of PFAL have led to much greater energy consumption than open-field and greenhouse farming, limiting the application of PFAL to a wider extent. Recent researches pay much more attention to the optimization of energy consumption in order to develop and promote the PFAL technology with reduced energy usage. This work comprehensively summarizes the current energy-saving methods on lighting, HVAC systems, as well as their coupling methods for a more energy-efficient PFAL. Besides, we offer our perspectives on further energy-saving strategies and exploit the renewable energy resources for PFAL to respond to the urgent need for energy-efficient production.
... According to past studies [2][3][4], multi-layered cropgrowing platforms are used in the innovative agricultural practice known as vertical farming. This has drawn interest, due to its potential to boost crop yields per unit amount of land [5,6], especially compared to conventional agriculture and greenhouses. Urbanisation and population growth are driving the global vertical farming market, which, in one case study, reached $5.6 billion in 2022 and is expected to exceed $35 billion by 2032 [7]. ...
This paper presents the development of a benchmark vertical farm that could potentially enable the sustainable development of urban and rural areas. The investigation seeks to tackle global issues linked to sustainability development goals such as zero hunger, affordable clean energy, industry innovation and infrastructure, amongst others. Vertical farms enable plant-friendly environments in urban skyscrapers through agricultural techniques, often identified as consuming large amounts of energy. These facilities could be fully embedded into urban planning as clean energy sources such as solar and wind are fully utilised. This paper scrutinises the potential for wind energy utilisation in a vertical farm with different planting corridor widths. The study also seeks to clarify the potential for energy harvesting by identifying suitable micro wind turbines installed in the façade and roof. The vertical farm prototype is elliptical and has a total height of 108 m, 80 m width, and 60 m chord. This paper studied the prototype with corridor widths of 3 m, 4 m, 5 m, and 6 m, respectively. The maximum inlet wind speed was defined as 20 m/s, and the atmospheric boundary layer condition was applied to simulate an urban wind environment and observe the aerodynamics of the farm. The results showed that the benchmark building with a corridor of 5m-width has the best potential for wind energy harvesting, particularly when the wind turbines are located on the roof.
... The primary principle of vertical farming is to maximize crop production per unit area by utilizing vertical space and optimizing growing conditions. By employing advanced technologies and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) techniques, vertical farms aim to provide a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional land-based farming [13]. ...
Vertical farming has emerged as a promising solution to address the challenges faced by 21st century agriculture. As the global population continues to grow and urbanization increases, traditional agricultural practices are struggling to meet the rising demand for food while also grappling with issues such as climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation. Vertical farming offers a sustainable and efficient alternative by leveraging innovative technologies and controlled environments to grow crops in vertically stacked layers within urban settings. This article explores the concept of vertical farming, its advantages, and the challenges associated with its implementation. It delves into the various technologies and systems employed in vertical farms, including hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics, and discusses their potential to optimize resource utilization and enhance crop yields. The article also examines the economic viability and social implications of vertical farming, highlighting its potential to create jobs, reduce food miles, and improve food security in urban areas. Furthermore, it addresses the challenges and limitations of vertical farming, such as high initial costs, energy requirements, and the need for specialized skills. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of further research, investment, and collaboration to scale up vertical farming and harness its full potential in shaping the future of sustainable agriculture.
... The primary principle of vertical farming is to maximize crop production per unit area by utilizing vertical space and optimizing growing conditions. By employing advanced technologies and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) techniques, vertical farms aim to provide a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional land-based farming [13]. ...
Vertical farming has emerged as a promising solution to address the challenges faced by 21st century agriculture. As the global population continues to grow and urbanization increases, traditional agricultural practices are struggling to meet the rising demand for food while also grappling with issues such as climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation. Vertical farming offers a sustainable and efficient alternative by leveraging innovative technologies and controlled environments to grow crops in vertically stacked layers within urban settings. This article explores the concept of vertical farming, its advantages, and the challenges associated with its implementation. It delves into the various technologies and systems employed in vertical farms, including hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics, and discusses their potential to optimize resource utilization and enhance crop yields. The article also examines the economic viability and social implications of vertical farming, highlighting its potential to create jobs, reduce food miles, and improve food security in urban areas. Furthermore, it addresses the challenges and limitations of vertical farming, such as high initial costs, energy requirements, and the need for specialized skills. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of further research, investment, and collaboration to scale up vertical farming and harness its full potential in shaping the future of sustainable agriculture.
... As the goal of this research was to produce a growing medium useful for today's vertical farms, the DOE was tailored to maximize the growth of crops common to them (lettuces, kale, bok choy, and spinach). 33 The state of the art in vertical farming varies widely from company to company and there are many watering systems that are employed. Some of the most common hydroponics systems are ebb and ow, nutrient lm technique (NFT), vertical drip tower, and deep-water culture. ...
A novel, optimized, polysaccharide and biochar-based, compostable hydrogel horticultural growing substrate for use in hydroponics and vertical farming was created based upon empirical methods and statistical design of experiments (DOE). A 15-run D-optimal mixture DOE was completed that increased the 2-week plant growing ability of a five-component hydrogel nearly ten-fold from 4.3695 g to 41.2623 g per 100 plants. The data were analyzed using a standard least squares method with an effect screening emphasis, and a model was created that maximized the signal to noise ratio. There was a good correlation between the measured and predicted values of the model, with an r-squared value of 0.90. The predictions of efficacy and compostability were confirmed with subsequent experiments that showed the hydrogel was composted in less than 12 weeks and that the plant growth predicted by the model differed from the experimental growth by 0.65%. The resulting optimized formulation had a high fertilizer content for a growth medium. We therefore suggest that an empirical approach to formulation research can produce superior outcomes with a statistically designed study.
... By carefully considering these design factors, it is possible to improve light distribution and promote more uniform growth and productivity across the vertical farming system (Choubchilangroudi & Zarei, 2022;Lubna et al., 2022). The comparison between vertical and horizontal farming clearly demonstrates the advantage of vertical farming in terms of crop yield and economic viability (Touliatos, Dodd & Mcainsh, 2016;Beacham, Vickers & Monaghan, 2019;Oh & Lu, 2023). In the same unit area, more crops were planted in vertical farming than horizontal farming ( Table 2). ...
Background
Greenhouse vertical farming under natural sunlight is an alternative farming technique that grows crops in a stacking column and extends in a vertical direction. Sunlight availability is one of the crucial factors for crop development in vertical farming. Therefore, this investigation aimed to examine the effect of sunlight availability on lettuce growth and yields at different levels of vertical shelves.
Methods
Six shelves were constructed with three levels: upper, middle and lower levels. Lettuces ( Lactuca sativa L.) as ‘Baby Cos’ and ‘Green Oak’ at 14 days after sowing were planted on the three levels. The photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was recorded, and the PPFD values were then converted to the daily light integral (DLI). Plant height and canopy width were measured three times at 14, 21 and 28 days after transplanting. At maturity, fresh weight (FW) was directly monitored after harvest.
Results
The results showed that the highest PPFD and DLI values were found at the upper level (PPFD 697 μmol m ⁻² s ⁻¹ and DLI 29 mol m ⁻² d ⁻¹ ) in comparison to the middle (PPFD 391 μmol m ⁻² s ⁻¹ and DLI 16 mol m ⁻² d ⁻¹ ) and lower (PPFD 322 μmol m ⁻² s ⁻¹ and DLI 13 mol m ⁻² d ⁻¹ ) levels. The lowest plant height and canopy width values were observed on the upper levels for both lettuce varieties during the three measurement dates. The middle (‘Baby Cos’ = 123.8 g plant ⁻¹ and ‘Green Oak’ = 190.7 g plant ⁻¹ ) and lower (‘Baby Cos’ = 92.9 g plant ⁻¹ and ‘Green Oak’ = 203.7 g plant ⁻¹ ) levels had the higher values of FW in comparison to the upper level (‘Baby Cos’ = 84.5 g plant ⁻¹ and ‘Green Oak’ = 97.3 g plant ⁻¹ ). The values of light use efficiency (LUE) showed an increased trend from the upper to lower levels in both varieties, with values of ‘Baby Cos’ of 0.10 g mol ⁻¹ in the upper level, 0.28 g mol ⁻¹ in the middle level and 0.26 g mol ⁻¹ in the lower level and ‘Green Oak’ of 0.12 g mol ⁻¹ in the upper level, 0.44 g mol ⁻¹ in the middle level and 0.57 g mol ⁻¹ in the lower level. The findings of the study indicated the viability of utilizing vertical shelves for lettuce production.
... Vertical farming also enhances food security by providing consistent yields year-round, independent of weather conditions [19]. Furthermore, vertical farming can contribute to local food resilience by shortening supply chains and reducing reliance on longdistance transportation [20][21][22][23][24][25]. leftovers, etc., can be produced around the structures. ...
Vertical farming presents a transformative approach to agriculture with the potential to address pressing environmental sustainability challenges. This abstract explores the role of vertical farming in advancing environmental sustainability. By utilizing innovative techniques like hydroponics and aeroponics, vertical farming optimizes resource use, reduces land footprint, and minimizes environmental impact. Through the vertical stacking of crops in controlled indoor environments, it maximizes land use efficiency and minimizes water consumption compared to traditional farming methods. Moreover, vertical farms located in urban areas reduce transportation emissions by shortening the food supply chain. However, challenges such as high initial investment costs and Review Article Singh et al.; J. 211 energy consumption remain barriers to widespread adoption. Collaborative efforts among researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders are crucial to overcoming these challenges and scaling up vertical farming practices. Despite obstacles, vertical farming holds significant promise for promoting environmental sustainability by enhancing food security, conserving natural resources, and reducing the ecological footprint of agriculture.
