Difference between revisions of "Food/Controlled Environment Agriculture"

Revision as of 02:21, 24 April 2010 (view source) Balatro (Talk | contribs) (New page: 300pxHydroponics is the growing of plants in a nutrient-enriched water rather than in soil. This allows for precise control of the amount of nutrients that ...)		Latest revision as of 14:20, 21 August 2011 (view source) Balatro (Talk | contribs)
(29 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	[[Image:Hydroponics.jpg|right|300px]]Hydroponics is the growing of plants in a nutrient-enriched water rather than in soil. This allows for precise control of the amount of nutrients that the plants receive. The figures on {{wp|Hydroponics#Higher_Yields|Wikipedia}}, show that hydroponics yields represent an increase on normal growing techniques of about 50% to over 1700%. The precision of control over the growing medium also lends itself to automation more readily than does growing in soil. And {{em}} best of all {{em}} by optimizing the nutrient flow, we can supply plants with the nutrients they need to produce the flavonoids that give them their flavour. With controlled growing, it is possible to achieve a more intense flavour than growing in soil.	+	Aeroponics is the art of growing plants with their roots in air rather than in soil. The roots are intermittently spraying with nutrient-enriched water. This allows for precise control of the amount of nutrients that the plants receive.
−	Hydroponics also achieves a ten- or twenty-fold decrease in the amount of [[Fundamental resources/Water|water]] compared to growing in soil [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics#Commercial]. Aeroponics is an even more water-efficient method of growing plants, where the roots are suspended in a dark box and occasionally misted with controlled sprays of nutrient-enriched mist. Aeroponics pioneer Richard Stoner has claimed that aeroponics uses 2% the water of drip irrigation. Aeroponics also results in significantly higher yields than hydroponics [http://www.springerlink.com/content/q21136170183051l/].	+	[[Image:Aerogarden.jpg|left|180px]]The figures on {{wp|Hydroponics#Higher_Yields|Wikipedia}} show that growing plants hydroponically (with their roots in nutrient-enriched water) results in yields 50% to over 1700% higher than growing in soil. Aeroponics yields are higher yet <sup>[http://www.springerlink.com/content/q21136170183051l/]</sup> <sup>[http://www.buzzle.com/articles/aeroponics-vs-hydroponics.html]</sup>.
−	[[Image:Aerogarden.jpg|left|250px]][[LEDs]] can be used as an alternative to the sun in providing the light for plants to grow. Unlike ordinary lightbulbs, LED panels can be designed to emit a full spectrum of light, which is what plants need to grow. LEDs could be useful in situations where sunlight is unavailable - such as in winter in regions far from the Equator, in underground or underwater dwellings, in cities where a demand for space means food must be grown on stacked shelves indoors, and in space stations. Currently the main obstacle to large-scale controlled environment agriculture projects such as [http://www.verticalfarm.com/ The Vertical Farm Project] is the cost of energy needed to provide the light. As LEDs become cheaper and more energy-efficient (as with recent developments in OLED and PHOLED technology) this sort of production of high-quality food is becomes more and more feasible.	+	By growing aeroponically indoors, we can create an environment that can be monitored and controlled electronically. This lends itself readily to [[Advanced automation|automation]]. A controlled environment allows food to be grown year-round, independent of seasons. While only one harvest a year can be grown conventionally, constant-yield growth gives 4-30 harvests a year, depending on the plant. Growing indoors greatly reduces the threat of pests and plant-diseases, eliminating the need for pesticides. And best of all, by optimizing the nutrient flow, we can supply plants with the nutrients they need to produce the flavonoids that give them their flavour. With controlled growing, it is possible to achieve a more intense flavour than growing in soil.
−	Light use can also be optimized by using fibre-optic cables to pipe sunlight down from the rooftop to the plants. This would significantly reduce the amount of energy needed.	+	Aeroponics requires an input of water with dissolved mineral salts, but it uses these resources very efficiently. Hydroponics uses only 5-10% the water of agriculture <sup>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics#Commercial]</sup>, while aeroponics uses 65% less water than hydroponics and only a quarter the nutrients <sup>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics#Aeroponics]</sup>. Such water-efficient growing will make huge difference if we want to preserve our [[Fundamental resources/Water|water resources]], as 69% of all our water use is for agriculture <sup>[http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/lD1tMGiLZ7NL9mBOL2aQ/WaterFactsAndTrends-Update.pdf]</sup>. Both of the necessary inputs for aeroponics - [[Water|water]] and [[Material#Twenty most abundant elements in Earth's crust|minerals]] - are in enormous abundance on Earth.
−	Using aeroponics and LED grow lights, the conditions of plant-growth can be precisely monitored, controlled and optimized. A controlled environment greatly reduces the threat of pests and plant-diseases, and allows for fast, consistent growth of healthy, nutritious, pesticide-free and tasty plants. Also, controlled environments eliminate the dependence of food production upon the cycles of the season, allowing food to be grown all year around. This fact effects at least a fourfold increase in productivity over traditional farms. Dickson Despommier, an advocate of vertical, controlled-environment farming, has painted a picture of what this farming might be like -	+	[[LEDs]] can efficiently satisfy the light requirements of plants. Experiments by the University of Manitoba found that LED lighting increases yields by about 40% <sup>[http://www.greenhousecanada.com/content/view/1562/38/]</sup>. LEDs could be useful in situations where sunlight is unavailable - such as in winter in regions far from the Equator, in underground or underwater dwellings, in cities where a demand for space means food must be grown on stacked shelves indoors, and in [[space habitats]]. Currently the main obstacle to large controlled-environment agriculture projects such as [http://www.verticalfarm.com/ The Vertical Farm Project] is the cost of energy for lighting. As LEDs become cheaper and more energy-efficient (as with recent developments in OLED and PHOLED technology) these projects become more and more feasible. Fibre-optic cables can pipe sunlight in from outdoors, significantly reducing the amount of energy needed.
−	<blockquote>	+	[http://omegagarden.com/ Omega Garden] uses an innovative cylindrical design in which plants are constantly tilted so they have to adjust to gravity<sup>[http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=avaRAAAAEBAJ]</sup>. It is claimed that this method can result in a fivefold increase over other plants grown in the same conditions but without rotation.
		+
		+	There are many tricks that can be used to increase yield in controlled-environment growing that are not feasible on farms. Increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the air can increase yield 30-50%. Supplementing with fulvic acid can increase yield over 30%. Plant hormones such as gibberellin increase yields significantly.
		+
		+	[[Image:Hydroponics.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Note that several plants can be grown stacked vertically, greatly reducing footprint]]Even with none of these tricks, a hydroponic garden can regularly grow 2kg of vegetables a day (more than enough to nourish a person) in 20 square meters <sup>[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ezRcpPE6EGwJ:www.carbon.org/senegal/india1.doc&cd=4&hl=en]</sup>. An aeroponic garden using LEDs, CO<sub>2</sub>, plant hormones and fulvic acid could grow the same amount in perhaps half the space. Furthermore, it is possible to stack five layers of crops one on top of another in a 2m high system, reducing footprint fivefold. The surprising result is that in the near future, city-dwellers will be able to grow most or all of their own food in their kitchen - farming will not be necessary for food-production. [[Colonising Space|Space colonists]] could also grow food locally using aeroponics and in-vitro meat.
		+
		+	Dickson Despommier, an advocate of vertical, controlled-environment farming, has painted a picture of what controlled-environment growing might be like -
		+
		+
		+	[[Image:Podponics.jpg|right|thumb|[http://www.fastcompany.com/1770816/how-a-former-software-engineer-is-scaling-up-the-urban-agriculture-movement PodPonics] is one existing proof-of-concept; it grows an acre's worth of food in a single 320 square foot (30m<sup>2</sup>) shipping container. Food produced in this way is local, fresh and delicious.]]<blockquote>
	"Each floor will have its own watering and nutrient monitoring systems. There will be sensors for every single plant that tracks how much and what kinds of nutrients the plant has absorbed. You'll even have systems to monitor plant diseases by employing DNA chip technologies that detect the presence of plant pathogens by simply sampling the air and using snippets from various viral and bacterial infections. It's very easy to do.		"Each floor will have its own watering and nutrient monitoring systems. There will be sensors for every single plant that tracks how much and what kinds of nutrients the plant has absorbed. You'll even have systems to monitor plant diseases by employing DNA chip technologies that detect the presence of plant pathogens by simply sampling the air and using snippets from various viral and bacterial infections. It's very easy to do.
	</blockquote>		</blockquote>
Line 16:		Line 25:
	Moreover, a gas chromatograph will tell us when to pick the plant by analyzing which flavenoids the produce contains. These flavenoids are what gives the food the flavors you're so fond of, particularly for more aromatic produce like tomatoes and peppers. These are all right-off-the-shelf technologies. The ability to construct a vertical farm exists now. We don't have to make anything new."</blockquote>		Moreover, a gas chromatograph will tell us when to pick the plant by analyzing which flavenoids the produce contains. These flavenoids are what gives the food the flavors you're so fond of, particularly for more aromatic produce like tomatoes and peppers. These are all right-off-the-shelf technologies. The ability to construct a vertical farm exists now. We don't have to make anything new."</blockquote>
−	If [[open collaborative design]] is applied to researching growing foods in controlled environments, algorithms could be developed modelling how varying nutrient flow, time, duration, intensity and color of light, and strains of plants used affects food yields and flavour. Programming these algorithms into computers that control the LED lights and the nutrient flow in the aeroponic system would yield a truly automated, decentralized food-production system. All this technology exists currently, and is being constantly improved and refined. Perfecting such a system would pave the way for man to live in [[space habitats]], which is why much of the research is being done by NASA.	+	Algorithms could be developed and shared online to model how nutrient flow, timing, duration, intensity and color of light, and strains of plants used affects food yields and flavour. [http://plantlab.nl/4.0/ PlantLab] is a company that is compiling exact, programmable specifications for growing various plants, but [[Open collaborative design|open-source methodology]] has proven to be a much faster way of compiling large streams of experimental data. Programming these algorithms into computers that control the LED lights and the nutrient flow in the aeroponic system would yield a truly automated food-production system that anyone could use to grow their own food indoors. All this technology exists currently, and is being constantly improved and refined.
−		+
−	Aeroponic plant production is the most advanced method of growing food available. It lends itself easily to automation, while at the same time minimizing water, energy and land use, maximizing nutritional values and producing awesome food. It is commercially viable now, even in our [[scarcity]-based economy, and there are several profitable aeroponic farms. As these scale-up, it will become more and more cost-effective. The Vietnamese government is introducing a large-scale scheme to grow potatoes aeroponically.	+

---

Latest revision as of 14:20, 21 August 2011

Aeroponics is the art of growing plants with their roots in air rather than in soil. The roots are intermittently spraying with nutrient-enriched water. This allows for precise control of the amount of nutrients that the plants receive.

The figures on Wikipedia  show that growing plants hydroponically (with their roots in nutrient-enriched water) results in yields 50% to over 1700% higher than growing in soil. Aeroponics yields are higher yet ^{[1] [2]}.

By growing aeroponically indoors, we can create an environment that can be monitored and controlled electronically. This lends itself readily to automation. A controlled environment allows food to be grown year-round, independent of seasons. While only one harvest a year can be grown conventionally, constant-yield growth gives 4-30 harvests a year, depending on the plant. Growing indoors greatly reduces the threat of pests and plant-diseases, eliminating the need for pesticides. And best of all, by optimizing the nutrient flow, we can supply plants with the nutrients they need to produce the flavonoids that give them their flavour. With controlled growing, it is possible to achieve a more intense flavour than growing in soil.

Aeroponics requires an input of water with dissolved mineral salts, but it uses these resources very efficiently. Hydroponics uses only 5-10% the water of agriculture ^[3], while aeroponics uses 65% less water than hydroponics and only a quarter the nutrients ^[4]. Such water-efficient growing will make huge difference if we want to preserve our water resources, as 69% of all our water use is for agriculture ^[5]. Both of the necessary inputs for aeroponics - water and minerals - are in enormous abundance on Earth.

LEDs can efficiently satisfy the light requirements of plants. Experiments by the University of Manitoba found that LED lighting increases yields by about 40% ^[6]. LEDs could be useful in situations where sunlight is unavailable - such as in winter in regions far from the Equator, in underground or underwater dwellings, in cities where a demand for space means food must be grown on stacked shelves indoors, and in space habitats. Currently the main obstacle to large controlled-environment agriculture projects such as The Vertical Farm Project is the cost of energy for lighting. As LEDs become cheaper and more energy-efficient (as with recent developments in OLED and PHOLED technology) these projects become more and more feasible. Fibre-optic cables can pipe sunlight in from outdoors, significantly reducing the amount of energy needed.

Omega Garden uses an innovative cylindrical design in which plants are constantly tilted so they have to adjust to gravity^[7]. It is claimed that this method can result in a fivefold increase over other plants grown in the same conditions but without rotation.

There are many tricks that can be used to increase yield in controlled-environment growing that are not feasible on farms. Increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the air can increase yield 30-50%. Supplementing with fulvic acid can increase yield over 30%. Plant hormones such as gibberellin increase yields significantly.

Even with none of these tricks, a hydroponic garden can regularly grow 2kg of vegetables a day (more than enough to nourish a person) in 20 square meters ^[8]. An aeroponic garden using LEDs, CO₂, plant hormones and fulvic acid could grow the same amount in perhaps half the space. Furthermore, it is possible to stack five layers of crops one on top of another in a 2m high system, reducing footprint fivefold. The surprising result is that in the near future, city-dwellers will be able to grow most or all of their own food in their kitchen - farming will not be necessary for food-production. Space colonists could also grow food locally using aeroponics and in-vitro meat.

Dickson Despommier, an advocate of vertical, controlled-environment farming, has painted a picture of what controlled-environment growing might be like -

"Each floor will have its own watering and nutrient monitoring systems. There will be sensors for every single plant that tracks how much and what kinds of nutrients the plant has absorbed. You'll even have systems to monitor plant diseases by employing DNA chip technologies that detect the presence of plant pathogens by simply sampling the air and using snippets from various viral and bacterial infections. It's very easy to do.

Moreover, a gas chromatograph will tell us when to pick the plant by analyzing which flavenoids the produce contains. These flavenoids are what gives the food the flavors you're so fond of, particularly for more aromatic produce like tomatoes and peppers. These are all right-off-the-shelf technologies. The ability to construct a vertical farm exists now. We don't have to make anything new."

Algorithms could be developed and shared online to model how nutrient flow, timing, duration, intensity and color of light, and strains of plants used affects food yields and flavour. PlantLab is a company that is compiling exact, programmable specifications for growing various plants, but open-source methodology has proven to be a much faster way of compiling large streams of experimental data. Programming these algorithms into computers that control the LED lights and the nutrient flow in the aeroponic system would yield a truly automated food-production system that anyone could use to grow their own food indoors. All this technology exists currently, and is being constantly improved and refined.