Designing Future-Proof Substrate for CEA

OASIS Grower Solutions Launches Horticubes AeroMax

“I believe that Horticubes® AeroMax will be the most relevant substrate in the industry,” says Dr. Vijay Rapaka, global research manager at OASIS® Grower Solutions, a division of Smithers-Oasis Company, about Horticubes AeroMax. This substrate is engineered for the precision growing of young plants for hydroponic farming of leafy greens and compact plants.

OASIS Grower Solutions was established in the mid-1950s and began with the development of ornamental growing media. Fast forward to the present day and the company has expanded its product offering to meet the demands of the ever-developing horticultural industry, which now includes vertical farms and highly automated greenhouses. OASIS Grower Solutions currently has manufacturing locations in 20 countries and develops new products through in-house research and customer feedback. The company introduced its Horticubes line in the 1980s, then added Horticubes XL in 2011. Now, OASIS Grower Solutions introduces Horticubes AeroMax for the hydroponic production of leafy greens.

The benefits 
When designing the Horticubes AeroMax substrate, OASIS Grower Solutions focused on what they consider to be the three cardinal rules of horticultural substrate development. Firstly, a substrate should allow the grower to propagate healthy, uniform, and vigorous young plants. The second rule is that a substrate should support growers in modulating crop growth by facilitating the acceleration or deceleration of growth, or the use of wet and dry cycles. Finally, substrates should be able to withstand automated processes. This, according to Vijay, is especially important in controlled environment agriculture as automation is becoming increasingly used.

“With more LEDs, IoT, and automated processes, we knew that we needed a substrate that allowed us to precise control of young plant growth. We needed a smart substrate exclusively designed for precision hydroponic farming,” says Vijay.

The Horticubes AeroMax is engineered according to these cardinal rules and is unique from other substrates in five main ways. As denoted in its name, AeroMax is a very porous media that enhances the oxygenation of the root zone so that seeds can germinate quickly and uniformly. According to Vijay, more air in the root zone also increases root health and root branching. AeroMax is also different in that the substrate is low-density, low-strength which makes the substrate light and airy. As a result, roots can easily penetrate the substrate and express their full potential without expending much energy.

“With hydroponics, we need the roots to get to the nutrients as soon as possible. We don’t want the substrate to be a barrier,” explains Vijay.

The third advantage of Horticubes AeroMax is the good drainage which virtually eliminates any chance of overwatering because the excess water easily drains out. This also means that growers can achieve maximum nutrient refreshment rates. Fourthly, OASIS Grower Solutions tested multiple substrate colors but eventually selected black as this allows growers to increase the surface temperature of the substrate by a few degrees, thereby accelerating crop growth. A final benefit of Horticubes AeroMax is the reduction in algae growth on the substrate surface as the high drainage rate ensures that the top surface is dry.

According to Vijay, “these five key features weren’t present in our previous substrates. Overall, we achieved in making a substrate that will respond well to controlled growing environments, allowing the precision production of plants.”

The target market for Oasis Horticubes AeroMax
Horticubes AeroMax was primarily developed for leafy green production in vertical farms and was engineered to be future-proof, according to Vijay.

“This industry is progressing with LEDs, IoT, automation, etc. We developed Horticubes AeroMax with all of this in mind and believe it will be the most relevant substrate in the industry.”

OASIS Grower Solutions is currently developing Horticubes AeroMax applications for high-wire products and has another product coming to the floriculture industry.

For more information:
Vijay Rapaka, Global Research Manager
OASIS Grower Solutions
https://oasisgrowersolutions.com/aeromax 

Publication date: Wed 16 Jun 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com

The Basis, A Homogeneous Climate, Is Already There" Artechno Doing New Cultivation Tests In VF Chamber

"Together with another colleague, I am adding green thumbs to the team that is full of technicians here", Rick van Schie laughs. As the son of a tomato grower and next year's fourth-year horticulture student, he  started cultivation research in the industrial hall of Artechno in De Lier. In a AVF+ Junior climate chamber Rick researches irrigation strategies for four different substrates and the effect that far-red light has on the stretching in lettuce.

Previously, the Artechno industrial hall was mainly the place to build complete water management systems for the greenhouse or harvesting lines and turnkey systems for vertical farms and deep-float systems. “The cultivation space with deep-float facility provided insight into growth and also important key figures for the business case. By testing and growing ourselves, we can now also better serve our customers in the vertical farm industry and provide them with better data and growth recipes.”

Rick started growing in the climate chamber in mid-June. "It is often wise for a grower to first do tests in a small chamber and to collect as much information as possible about lighting, climate and irrigation before scaling up to a larger system. That is why we also offer our chambers for rent to growers."

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Cameras and LED
The AVF + Junior with which Rick is currently doing tests is equipped with Philips GEN3 LED luminaires, whereby both the spectrum and the light intensity are adjustable. The chamber is also equipped with special hyper-spectral cameras (and sensors), making it possible to monitor the crop and climate without having to enter the chamber.

Homogeneous climate
Anyone who would enter the chamber will notice, according to Rick, that the climate is remarkably homogeneous. "Or actually you do not notice that much and that is positive. To demonstrate that there really is air circulation, I have hung up an A4 sheet, but you do not notice it."

Art, general director: "The aim was to realize a delta T difference of less than 1 degree Celsius difference in a 10-layer climate chamber of about 8 meters high, and we succeeded."

All this is possible thanks to the air treatment units that were developed by Artechno itself. "You want to exclude as many variables as possible in your research, so a homogeneous climate is essential."

Study 1: irrigation strategies
The first study examines the effect of different irrigation strategies on four different substrates (stone wool, foam plug, glue plug, and soil mix with 10% wood fiber). This should become the basis for other studies with various types of lettuce, Rick says.

Study 2: far-red light
The second research is conducted into the addition of far-red light. Lighting is applied with 180 micromoles for a total of 18 hours and in the last hour, far-red light is added with 10%. There is also a control group (DRB LB) without the addition of far-red light.

"The purpose of the addition of far-red light is to achieve more stretching in the leaves so that the plant makes better use of the growing surface after transplanting. This could possibly also influence the bringing forward of the growth curve."

Germination
Rick is very satisfied with the results of the sowing tests in comparison to the tests carried out in the previous two years. "96-98% germination on the various substrates is a good result, but maybe this might be surpassed by an upcoming germination chamber."

Low input, high output
The results of the tests are assessed, among other things, by measurements of fresh and dry weight, growth percentage, quality, and kilo/m2. "From these results, certain trend lines are emerging, from which the crop growth rate can be calculated. This trend line also gives us insight into the smarter use of the LED light (grams of fresh weight per mole). The ultimate aim is to be consistent with the lowest possible input to achieve the highest output (kilo/m2/year)."

Rick knows that kg/m2/year is an important factor for customers to determine the profitability of their business case. "The results of our tests are used for this, among other things. The results and experiences with certain products we always provide feedback to our suppliers and customers, so that they remain up-to-date."

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Soft fruit
Meanwhile, Rick and Artechno see that, in addition to demand for research for herbs and leafy crops, there is also an increasing demand for soft fruit. "This includes, for example, growing strawberries indoors and testing with the rooting phase in, for example, the propagation of blueberry plants.

We also want to be proactive in this, so we will certainly carry out tests ourselves. For ourselves, but also for growers or suppliers to whom we rent the chambers. In addition, I can mentor them and, in consultation, help to draw up a good research plan, always with a lot of literature as a foundation, so that you are not wasting time doing research that has already been done."

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For more information: 
Artechno
www.artechno.nl
info@artechno.nl

Rick van Schie
rick@artechno.nl

Publication date: Fri 24 Jul 2020
© HortiDaily.com

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