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Machine Learning Is Making Pesto Even More Delicious
MELANIE GONICK
Intelligent Machines
Researchers at MIT have used AI to improve the flavor of basil. It’s part of a trend that is seeing artificial intelligence revolutionize farming.
by Will Knight
April 3, 2019
What makes basil so good? In some cases, it’s AI.
Machine learning has been used to create basil plants that are extra-delicious. While we sadly cannot report firsthand on the herb’s taste, the effort reflects a broader trend that involves using data science and machine learning to improve agriculture.
The researchers behind the AI-optimized basil used machine learning to determine the growing conditions that would maximize the concentration of the volatile compounds responsible for basil’s flavor. The study appears in the journal PLOS One today.
The basil was grown in hydroponic units within modified shipping containers in Middleton, Massachusetts. Temperature, light, humidity, and other environmental factors inside the containers could be controlled automatically. The researchers tested the taste of the plants by looking for certain compounds using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. And they fed the resulting data into machine-learning algorithms developed at MIT and a company called Cognizant.
The research showed, counterintuitively, that exposing plants to light 24 hours a day generated the best taste. The research group plans to study how the technology might improve the disease-fighting capabilities of plants as well as how different flora may respond to the effects of climate change.
“We’re really interested in building networked tools that can take a plant's experience, its phenotype, the set of stresses it encounters, and its genetics, and digitize that to allow us to understand the plant-environment interaction,” said Caleb Harper, head of the MIT Media Lab’s OpenAg group, in a press release. His lab worked with colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin on the paper.
The idea of using machine learning to optimize plant yield and properties is rapidly taking off in agriculture. Last year, Wageningen University in the Netherlands organized an “Autonomous Greenhouse” contest, in which different teams competed to develop algorithms that increased the yield of cucumber plants while minimizing the resources required. They worked with greenhouses where a variety of factors are controlled by computer systems.
Similar technology is already being applied in some commercial farms, says Naveen Singla, who leads a data science team focused on crops at Bayer, a German multinational that acquired Monsanto last year. “Flavor is one of the areas where we are heavily using machine learning—to understand the flavor of different vegetables,” he says.
Singla adds that machine learning is a powerful tool for greenhouse growing, but less useful for open fields. “These controlled environments are where you can do a lot of optimizing by understanding the complex variables,” he says. “In the open environments it’s still a question how we can close the gap.”
Harper added that in the future his group will consider the genetic make-up of plants (something that Bayer feeds into its algorithms), and that they will look to release the technology to anyone. “Our goal is to design open-source technology at the intersection of data acquisition, sensing, and machine learning, and apply it to agricultural research in a way that hasn't been done before,” he said.
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Will Knight Senior Editor, AI
Will Knight is MIT Technology Review’s Senior Editor for Artificial Intelligence. He covers the latest advances in AI and related fields, including machine learning, automated driving, and robotics. Will joined MIT Technology Review in 2008 from the UK science weekly New Scientist magazine.
Urban Crop Solutions Joining Forces For 'Intergalactic Project'
Selling growing solutions so that humans on other planets will be supplied with fresh and healthy food is an ultimate dream for Urban Crop Solutions. The realization of this dream may be fast approaching thanks to a collaboration with Puratos, an international business group active in the bakery supply, pastry and chocolate raw materials industries.
This ‘intergalactic’ project was announced this weekend. Urban Crop Solutions is responsible for the engineering and the supply of the vertical farming equipment and the plant science support towards the growing of crops in difficult circumstances.
The core of the ‘Mars simulation’ installation built by Urban Crop Solutions and Puratos is a Farmflex plant grow container that serves as a biosphere: a closed environment where crops and humans live in harmony. The crops produce, in this airtight environment, the oxygen for the people who in turn produce the CO2 for feeding the crops. This installation located in Belgium is the second largest fully controlled biosphere in the world with its 225 cubic meters of magnitude. The Lunar Palace in China is the largest with 550 cubic meters.
Urban Crop Solutions’ team of plant scientists managed to reduce the regular growth period for wheat (grains) of 120 days to a mere 60 days by optimizing all controllable elements supporting plant growth in a lab environment. All this was realized with only a fraction (5%) of the water requirement compared to normal open-air conditions. No herbicides nor pesticides must be used in this controlled environment growing solution. The result being a ‘beyond organic’ natural product. Test results open huge opportunities for sustainable agriculture on earth. The controlled environment vertical farming solutions of Urban Crop Solutions make it possible to give back economically challenged large agricultural areas to mother nature. The lack of fresh and healthy food will no longer be an issue in inhospitable or very dry regions, a topic that received a lot of attention in the last couple of months.
Urban Crop Solutions is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. In February 2016 the Flemish Minister President Geert Bourgeois inaugurated the largest automated indoor vertical farming installation of Europe. The keynote address of this event, presented by Urban Crop Solutions’ co-founder and Chairman, Frederic Bulcaen, brushed upon the topic of a dream come true when one day its vertical farming solutions would supply fresh food for citizens of planet Mars. Thanks to the cooperation with Puratos realizing this dream is approaching in a very fast way.
“Studies demonstrate that it is likely that by 2030 the first humans will land on Mars and will establish a permanent colony” says Maarten Vandecruys, co-founder and CEO of Urban Crop Solutions. “Our approach to partner with ambitious global industrial groups and research institutions for controlled indoor farming solutions is finally paying off. We feel to be at the cutting-edge with our technology, products and services in this fast-emerging industry of Urban Farming, whether it is in space, in cities, on the surface or beneath it.”
Urban Crop Solutions develops tailor-made indoor vertical farming solutions for its clients. These systems are turnkey, robotized and able to be integrated in existing production facilities or food processing units. Urban Crop Solutions has its own range of standard growing container products. Being a total solution provider, they can also supply seeds, substrates and nutrients for clients that have limited experience with (indoor) farming. Currently the company has developed plant growing recipes for more than 220 crop varieties that can be grown in closed environment vertical farms.
Some of these recipes (ranging from leafy greens, vegetables, medicinal plants to flowers) are developed exclusively for its clients by the Urban Crop Solutions team of plant scientists. With headquarters in Waregem (Belgium – Europe) and operations in Miami (Florida, US) and Osaka (Kansai, Japan) they are globally active.
For more information on this press release, on Urban Crop Solutions or on the products and services of Urban Crop Solutions you can contact Maarten Vandecruys, Co-founder and Managing Director (+32 476 37 17 33 - mava@urbancropsolutions.com), Frederic Bulcaen , Chairman (+32 496 57 83 55 -frbu@urbancropsolutions.com ) or visit our website (www.urbancropsolutions.com):
Company headquarters: Regional headquarters:
Grote Heerweg 67 800 Brickell Avenue, 1100 Suite
8791 Beveren-Leie (Waregem) Miami (FL 33131)
Belgium Florida
Europe USA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/urbancropsolutions
Twitter: www.twitter.com/U_C_Solutions
LinkedIn: bit.ly/UrbanCropSolutionsLinkedIn
YouTube channel: bit.ly/UrbanCropSolutionsYouTube
Instagram: www.instagram.com/urbancropsolutions/
USA: Virginia - Controlled Environment Agriculture On The Rise
March 17, 2019
Growing food indoors has been trending for several years, and some farmers are weighing the benefits of moving production indoors.
Innovations in greenhouse and vertical farming operations were discussed at the 2019 Virginia Smart Farming Conference, held March 12 at the Virginia Farm Bureau in Goochland County. Keynote speaker Dr. Neil Mattson of Cornell University shared research and information about controlled environment agriculture businesses.
Controlled environment agriculture is an innovative method of growing plants by creating an optimized aerial and root zone environment and focusing on production benefits. The merits of producing foods in a controlled environment include high plant quality, predictable crop timing and consistently available quantity with limited environmental impact. Many operations use hydroponics—growing plants without soil and using a mineral nutrient solution in a water solvent.
According to the 2014 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Horticultural Specialties, the top crops grown under protection include tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, lettuce, herbs and cucumbers. Tomatoes were grown the most in a controlled environment, with 96,265 tons; of that amount, 82,797 tons were produced hydroponically. Cucumbers were the second-largest crop at 36,310 tons produced and 33,101 produced hydroponically.
Mattson said there were 37 stacked plant facilities and rooftop greenhouses in the United States in 2017. Stacking indicates the plants, usually shorter crops, are grown in multiple layers stacked one above another.
While there are benefits to growing in a controlled environment, barriers also exist. “Accessing capital and the high up-front costs of getting started are the biggest barriers to overcome, because this is still somewhat new,” Mattson explained. It can be hard to show realistic business models, he added.
Accessing the market also can be tricky because “consumers are well-served by the conventional market,” Mattson said. “You need to show value to the table to get produce buyers to buy these crops.”
He said the energy required to grow the crops, and the labor force needed, can be daunting. “It’s a different type of labor,” Mattson said. “The sheer numbers for harvesting, packaging and educating growers to optimize production systems and push production” can be challenging.
Jerry Conner of Four Oaks Farms in Franklin County started a hydroponic greenhouse operation in 2012, planting the first seeds in April 2014. Four Oaks Farms grow lettuce and other leaf crops, including microgreens and herbs, as well as other vegetables. Conner sells produce at farmers’ markets and to area schools.
He said hydroponic operations require significant capital investment; computer, electrical, mechanical and plumbing knowledge; and 100 percent commitment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Plants don’t take Christmas or Thanksgiving off or anything like that, so I classify it as a labor of love.”
Future Farms: Agritech Innovations To Feed A Changing Planet
Hydroponic and vertical farming systems have long been touted as a solution to the problem of land use by agriculture, since much of the arable land is already taken and 31% of total global rice, wheat, and maize production in eastern Asia and northwest Europe has already plateaued.
April 3rd, 2019 by The Beam
The future of agriculture will be directly impacted by two of humanity’s biggest menaces on the horizon: population growth and climate change. With more mouths to feed and less planet to feed them on, and increasingly alarming predictions of environmental shifts, innovators working in crop agriculture have to figure out how to grow more food, faster, with fewer resources, by developing new technologies to scale up the planet’s food production mechanisms sustainably.
With 815 million people on the planet suffering from hunger and 1 in 3 malnourished already, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has set sustainable development goals to eliminate world hunger by 2030. Adding at least 2 billion more people to feed by 2050, the FAO has estimated food production will have to increase by 70%.
To achieve these goals, agritech must overcome food production plateaus in areas that are being farmed to their maximum capacity, and ensure that these areas will continue to yield more food year over year without endangering future generations’ access to non-renewable resources. Balancing the need for technological innovation to increase food production at all costs to stop hunger in the next 12 years, while managing the conservation of the natural resources essential to modern agriculture is no small task: sustainable agriculture is already at odds with the status quo. New technologies must address the ways industrial agriculture currently uses land, water, fertilizers, pesticides, and energy resources.
On top of this challenge, the future is not yet evenly distributed. As high-tech innovations sweep Europe and North America, projects in China, India, and Africa are supporting the 500 million family farms that feed 80% of the planet. If all 570 million farms on the planet are able to operate at the efficiency levels demonstrated by these technological trends, agriculture in 2050 will look very different from today.
Growing trend: precision farming
Precision farming combines information science with agricultural engineering, harvesting massive amounts of data from the farming process. Utilizing technological advances like advanced sensors, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for data processing, precision farming helps monitor big picture environmental factors like weather patterns, water distribution, and soil chemistry, as well as tiny measurements like nutrient deficiencies in individual plants. Called the next “digital revolution” for agriculture, precision farming has already been shown to increase crop yields while reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, which decreases the pollution of groundwater and depletion of non-renewable resources like phosphorus.
GPS may not seem like a radical new technology, but its integration into John Deere tractors in 2001 allowed data to be collected on their location with precision down to a few centimeters. This innovation alone reduced fuel costs for tractors by as much as 40% in some cases by keeping them from covering redundant areas or missing a spot.
Using precision farming tech like driverless tractors tilling only specific land areas and quadcopters collecting data on soil chemistry, water content, nutrients, and growth, Dutch farmers, the world’s top exporters of potatoes and onions, and the second largest exporter of vegetables in overall value, are able to more than double the amount of potato yield per acre compared to the global average and reduce dependence on water by 90%.
For this trend to sweep the globe and be available to the 144 million farmers in Asia, basic digital literacy is the first step. While many of these populations now have access to smartphones, very few are using them for farming. Once these farmers are connected to digital infrastructures and can use these technologies to enable data-driven decision making, they too will be able to join the digital green revolution.
Precision farming agritech startups to watch:
Taranis, an aerial imaging company that provides farms in Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine and the United States with data to identify potential crop issues.
Tule Technologies, which focuses on irrigation and water use data.
Pynco, an agricultural data analytics platform available for over 160 countries that sends alerts directly to the farmers’ smartphones.
Hacking biology to feed the planet
Biotechnology that modifies the genetic code of crops to make them more nutritious, grow more quickly, and resist diseases and pests are the backbone of modern multinational industrial agriculture. Many anti-GMO lobbyists and farmers believe that tampering with the genetic code of food products is too risky to try at scale, but to grow food under the conditions that global warming will bring, scientists are hastening work on mutations that will help make crops more resistant to drought, heat, cold, and salt.
CRISPR, the gene-editing bacteria that has been making headlines for its potential use in the human genome, is one of the biotechnologies that scientists are using to make crops grow more plentifully by allowing more efficient photosynthesis, as in the C4 Rice Project, or to encourage nitrogen fixing in crops that don’t naturally pull nitrogen from the air, which would mean less fertilizer used, and less fertilizer runoff polluting groundwater.
Agritech is also turning to nature to find solutions to problems that are currently being solved synthetically with fertilizers and pesticides. As one example, Seattle’s Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies has created non-toxic and non-pathogenic microbes that grow alongside plants and help them be more nutrient efficient, tolerate environmental stress, and yield more produce. In high stress growing seasons field tested across the globe, these microbes have increased crop yields by 10–50%. Koppert Biological Systems, founded in the Netherlands, also uses solutions found in nature by providing the natural predators and micro-organisms that can eliminate pests and diseases. Farmers using Koppert’s bees instead of artificial pollination have reported a 20–30% increase in yields and fruit weight, another reason that saving the world’s bee populations is essential to sustainable agriculture.
Biotechnologies have reached the developing world in the form of innovations like Golden Rice, a genetically modified strain of rice that contains vitamin A. According to a paper by Dr. R. B. Singh, the Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in the Asia-Pacific region, 180 million children in developing countries suffer from deficiency in vitamin A, resulting in 2 million deaths annually. With the FAO behind the development and distribution of Golden Rice and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supporting similar biotechnology projects like breeding bananas that provide higher levels of iron in sub-Saharan Africa, genetically modified crops will be a major technological trend in ending world hunger and providing for the population of 2050.
Three biotech startups to watch:
Trace Genomics, called the “23andMe for farms,” which does rapid microbiome testing for pathogens.
Symbiota, an open-source content management system for biodiversity data.
Clear Labs, a genetic sequencing startup built to look out for food-borne illnesses and pathogens on the molecular level.
Farms in the city
The CEO of Iron Ox, a hydroponic farm that is managed by precision farming techniques and automation, argues that “If farms are to survive, we need to think about them as tech companies.” What makes Iron Ox unique from other hydroponic operations is the amount of automation it uses, having developed a 1,000-lb robot arm that is finely tuned to harvest the 26,000 leafy green plants and herbs in its California facility. The robot, nicknamed Angus, also has an array of Lidar sensors that allow it to identify diseases, pests, and abnormalities plant by plant, and picks them up by grasping specially designed pots that don’t damage the veg. Through all of these innovations, Iron Ox has managed to boast production of 30% more produce than traditional farms.
Hydroponic and vertical farming systems have long been touted as a solution to the problem of land use by agriculture, since much of the arable land is already taken and 31% of total global rice, wheat, and maize production in eastern Asia and northwest Europe has already plateaued. While these extant farms are nudged by other technologies to increase yield and use less resources, indoor farms in urban areas are expanding the potential area that can be used to grow crops.
Since hydroponic systems are soil-less, isolated from environmental stress, pests, and diseases, and commonly use drip irrigation techniques, they avoid a lot of the problems faced by outdoor farms in conserving resources, but their many obstacle is energy. Running LED lights for indoor farms 24 hours per day is not sustainable, even for Iron Ox: it plans to expand into traditional greenhouses supplemented by LEDs. Some indoor and vertical farmers are already looking to solve the energy and light problem: Growing Underground, a UK operation set up in World War II bomb shelters, uses LED lights that only emit at spectrum ranges optimal for photosynthesis, and there are several companies including Valoya, Heliospectra, and even Philips, that are specifically developing longer-lasting and more energy-efficient LEDs for indoor agriculture. Another solution, pioneered by the Sky Greens vertical farming system in Singapore, uses a hydraulic system that consumes the equivalent of one lightbulb’s energy to rotate troughs of produce up and down 9-meter tall towers to take turns basking in sunlight.
Today, 54% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this number is predicted to rise to 66% by 2050. With the potential effects that global warming will have on the efforts of traditional agriculture, it’s a safe bet for vertical farms to develop in urban areas alongside advances in agritech for outdoor farms. Vertical farms can integrate many of technological innovations developed for traditional farms to produce as much food as possible, while isolating crops from pests and diseases, conserving non-renewable resources by closely controlling inputs and outputs, and minimizing transportation costs to put food on the table for booming urban populations.
Urban farming startups could be coming to a city near you:
Freight Farms, creators of the Leafy Green Machine™, a complete hydroponic system built into a 40-ft. shipping container.
AeroFarms, which has converted a 69,000-foot former steel mill into a facility to breed 1.5 million pounds of produce annually.
Edenworks, which has developed an aquaponic ecosystem for New York City’s rooftops.
If the predictions of experts on the climate and population for the next 10–25 years are correct, technological innovators in industrial agriculture have their work cut out for them. These future trends of farms moving into cities, biotechnology making food more nutritious and faster-growing, and precision farming incorporating big data with agricultural science will help tackle one of humanity’s greatest challenges yet, eliminating hunger while conserving the natural resources of the planet for future generations.
Key stats:
815 million: the number of people on the planet who suffer from hunger, 1 in 3 from malnourishment
70%: the amount global food production must increase to meet population growth demands by 2050
2/3: the fraction of the world population estimated to live in water-stressed countries by 2025
By Jonny Tiernan
This series of articles has been prepared with the support of our partner Viessmann, which has celebrated 100 years of its company in 2017 and is actively involved in positively shaping the next 100 years.
Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) Consortium to Revolutionize Agriculture
Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is launching the Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) Consortium, a public-private partnership that transcends the bounds of traditional agriculture to develop flavorful, nutritious crops specially intended for indoor agriculture
First-of-its-Kind Consortium Develops Crops Intended for Indoor Agriculture
WASHINGTON (April 3, 2019) – The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is launching the Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) Consortium, a public-private partnership that transcends the bounds of traditional agriculture to develop flavorful, nutritious crops specially intended for indoor agriculture.
Sustainably feeding a growing global population requires researchers to examine innovative food production approaches. One approach gaining traction is controlled environment agriculture (CEA), also known as indoor agriculture. Worldwide, interest in indoor agriculture is booming. Yet, CEA research largely focuses on design elements for the indoor systems, such as vertical productions facilities and lighting, not the plants themselves.
“The majority of the crops grown indoors have been developed over thousands of years for outdoor production,” said Sally Rockey, FFAR’s executive director. “While understanding the indoor system’s design elements is important, PIP seeks to understand which environmental and genetic factors help crops thrive indoors.”
The PIP collaborative convenes a diverse array of participants representing aspects of the indoor agriculture industry. The collaborative pools resources to fund joint research that produces nutritious, flavorful crops that can grow anywhere, year-round, profitably. PIP’s research will explore increasing nutrient content and yields, growing crops with less energy and understanding how crops perform best in CEAs.
“Do you remember the taste of tomatoes from your childhood? If you’re like me, every summer you complain that commercial tomatoes today are not the same. Commercial tomatoes are abundant, shelf-stable and disease resistance – but not perceived as tasty as they once were,” noted John Reich, FFAR Scientific Program Director. “However, PIP’s research could produce a tomato plant that grows quickly indoors, tastes great and is highly nutritious. This plant would require less energy to grow indoors, potentially increasing affordability, and could be grown anywhere regardless of environmental constraints.”
With a growing population, shifts in consumer demand for healthier, tastier food and challenges arising from a changing climate, producing crops indoors can mitigate these challenges and meet demand. CEA is successfully growing lettuce and other leafy greens profitably. PIP’s research seeks to make CEA an option for growing a variety of crops, including leafy greens and herbs, tomatoes, strawberries and blueberries. Initial PIP projects will focus on improving nutritional content and changing the size and shape of the plant.
This research has implications for a wide variety of agricultural environments, including outdoor agriculture and space. For farmers planning outdoors, PIP’s research has the potential to reduce strain on the environment, make crops more resilient to stresses, bolster food and nutritional security and shorten the supply chain for producers. The research is also useful for government agencies and corporations interested in growing food in space for long-term space exploration.
FFAR is investing $7.5 million in PIP, and with matching funds from participants, the consortium will invest a minimum of $15 million to develop flavorful, nutritious crops for indoor agriculture. PIP’s participants represent world-class indoor growers, breeders, genetics companies and agricultural equipment leaders, including AeroFarms, BASF, Benson Hill Biosystems, Fluence Bioengineering, Intrexon, Japan Plant Factory Association and Priva.
About the Precision Indoor Plants Consortium
Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) is a public-private partnership created by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) to produce new flavorful, nutritious crops specially intended for indoor agriculture. By focusing on innovative science and technology, the consortium’s research efforts will increase our ability to produce crops that are high-value, of consistent quality, and desired by consumers. Ultimately, PIP can help food producers grow flavorful, nutritious food indoors.
FFAR’s initial $7.5 million investment is matched by the PIP participants for a total investment of $15 million to develop flavorful, nutritious crops for indoor agriculture. PIP’s participants include AeroFarms, BASF, Benson Hill Biosystems, Fluence Bioengineering, Intrexon, Japan Plant Factory Association and Priva.
Fluence Bioengineering - Quote From Dave Cohen, CEO
Fluence is proud to be a founding member of the Precision Indoor Plants Consortium. Our cultivation and engineering teams are aggressively innovating how growers use LED lighting solutions to cultivate nutritious, high-quality produce. PIP is an important initiative to verify research into photobiology for commercial applications and enable more growers to profitably cultivate plants for people that do not normally have access to fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits,” said Dave Cohen, CEO, Fluence Bioengineering.
The Effect of Far-Red Enriched Spectra On Lettuce
One of the exciting features of LED grow lights is the ability to customize spectrums of light to fit various plant growth applications. Therefore understanding the relationship between light and plant growth is key for healthy, high-quality crop production.
Plants do not only utilize light for photosynthesis, but different light spectrums can be used to promote different growth responses in plants, at different growth stages.
Researching the effect of far-red
A research study was conducted by Heliospectra’s Plant and Light Experts on the effect of a Far-red enriched spectra on Black-Seeded Simpson. The purpose of the research was to study the effect of Far-red enriched spectrum on lettuce in a sole-source light environment.
The Far-red wavelength peaks around 735 nm, this waveband is not included in Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) which range from 400-700 nm but has been proven to steer growth responses in plants.
The research was conducted in Heliospectra’s plant lab using Heliospectra’s fully adjustable Elixia LED grow light. The lights have the ability to control and monitor provide growers with full control over the composition of the spectrum, intensity, and duration, giving growers the possibility to create their own light strategies.
The lettuce was seeded in 7x7 cm (2.7x2.7 in) pots with a mix of soil substrate and vermiculite. Four days after germination pots containing one plant were placed into a LED growth unit (1.4-m², 15ft² open area) with reflective curtains. The plants were grown under four different spectra, all with the same light intensity (200 mol/m2/s) and spectral composition within PAR (red, blue and white wavelengths), three of the four spectra had additional Far-red added to their spectrum at different intensities (Low, Mid, and High).
The lettuce were grown under LED light for a total of 22 days and the experiment was repeated 3 times.
Clear visual difference
At harvest, 5 pots per treatment were collected and measured. The lettuce head diameter was measured with accuracy of 0.5 cm with a ruler, and fresh weight were taken per plant with a scale (Mettler P1200).
A clear difference could be seen in height and size of the lettuce at harvest depending on the light strategy. With the head diameter and weight increased proportionately to the increase of amount of Far-red used.
These results indicate that far-red added to the spectrum has great impact on the growth of Black-Seeded Simpson lettuce. In a controlled sole-source environment, the spectral quality is of high importance, and gives growers a real potential to steer the visual appearance of the crop grown to fit their production goals.
Click here to download a summary of the test.
For more information:
Heliospectra
Box 5401 SE-402 29 Göteborg Sweden
Phone: +46 31 40 67 10
Fax: +46 31 83 37 82
info@heliospectra.com
www.heliospectra.com
Publication date : 3/15/2019
The Crazy Food Fight Over The Future of Vegetables
What’s at stake is billions of dollars and the future of food on the planet. Over the past 50 years, large farms growing massive amounts of one crop (known as monoculture) have gobbled up land. While industrial farming has increased crop yields, it’s done so at the expense of consumer choice
Who Knew Farming Could Get So Dirty?
BY RICHARD MARTIN
March 28, 2019
CHRISTOPHER TESTANI
On a cold, rainy night in Brooklyn, a crowd gathers inside the building that houses Square Roots, a company co-founded by CEO Tobias Peggs, a tech entrepreneur, and Kimbal Musk, who sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX (both started by his older brother, Elon) as well as Chipotle. Located on a dreary street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the building is, technically, a farm. Its parking lot holds ten enclosed shipping containers.
With a bit of showmanship, Peggs throws open the door to one of the containers and a violet glow envelops the crowd. Inside, tightly packed vertical rows of red leaf lettuce, basil, and mint grow hydroponically through a combination of artificial light and a nutrient-rich solution. Musk and Peggs say they can cultivate three acres of plants in one container using a technique that could be adopted by any city in the world.
CHRISTOPHER TESTANI
At the heart of the vertical-farming trend championed by Musk and Peggs is the idea that although you can find lettuce at your grocery store in Boston in January, thanks to a system that allows farms in states like California and Arizona to ship fresh greens across the country at a reasonable cost, there are better alternatives.
Growing lettuce outdoors on a large-scale farm uses a lot of water. Plus, it’s estimated that during the up-to-five-day domestic trip from these farms to the grocer, the greens lose much of their nutritional value.
About 35 miles north of Brooklyn, a back-to-the-future approach to farming is growing. A few days later, I join Jack Algiere, the farm director of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York, and we walk along a hillside path with cows and lambs grazing on one side, goats frolicking on the other.
CHRISTOPHER TESTANI
Dressed in a flannel shirt and a sturdy coat, Algiere enters a half-acre greenhouse. Lettuce leaves the size of a baby elephant’s ears luxuriate in the warm air. Purple and yellow stalks of chard erupt from the earth, which is dark brown and lush.
Algiere treats this food with the same care and attention as Dan Barber, a top chef. Barber runs Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a farm-driven restaurant that consistently ranks as one of the best restaurants in the world.
You would think the viewpoints of Musk and Barber, two of the most influential voices in farming, would be closely aligned, but their debate about how to grow lettuce is getting heated and dirty.
CHRISTOPHER TESTANI
Barber: “[Kimbal’s] really smart, but the only reason he wants everyone to eat salad in the winter is because it’s the only thing he can grow in a vertical farm. He’d be telling you he’d want everyone to eat rutabaga if he could grow rutabaga. I love the guy, but let’s be honest: You can’t grow anything.”
Musk: “I don’t think [Dan] has a fundamental disagreement with what I’m doing. He sees the momentum moving towards indoor farming, and he doesn’t like that future.”
What’s at stake is billions of dollars and the future of food on the planet. Over the past 50 years, large farms growing massive amounts of one crop (known as monoculture) have gobbled up land. While industrial farming has increased crop yields, it’s done so at the expense of consumer choice.
In a span of 80 years, the variety of the world’s seeds dwindled by 93 percent, according to the Rural Advancement Foundation International: In 1903, 497 types of lettuce existed, but by 1983, there were just 36.
Industrial farming is so chemically reliant and ultimately bad for the soil (not to mention bad for the diets of those who live on its produce) that the United Nations’ 2013 trade and development conference urged a global return to sustainable farming practices.
Nowhere are the consequences of industrial farming more evident than at your supermarket, where identical-looking potatoes, carrots, and greens line the produce shelves. The presentation looks attractive, but that sameness is a result of destructive land-management practices—practices that lead to less-nutritious produce.
And then there’s foodborne illness. Remember the Great 2018 Romaine Lettuce Scare? Investigators traced that outbreak back to a large-scale farm in Santa Maria, California.
“It’s not like this is the question we should be thinking about five generations from now,” Barber says. “This stuff takes a long time, but time is running out.”
The Musks Shall Inherit the Earth
Square Roots may be the least splashy of all of Kimbal Musk’s endeavors. The South African native became involved in the food world after making millions building and selling start-ups, both on his own and with his brother. He did a stint in culinary school in New York City, then settled in Boulder, Colorado.
Lost in the shadows of the Musk sibling mythology is that Kimbal is actually a legitimate farm-to-table pioneer. He opened his first restaurant, the Kitchen, in 2004, sourcing ingredients from Colorado’s rich agriculture and livestock communities.
Musk launched Square Roots with Peggs in 2016 with one concept: “Can we take a young person with no experience and bring them in and teach them how to farm in a box in double-quick time and get them to grow food that is tasty, that people want to eat?”
Kimbal Musk (left) and Tobias Peggs | CHRISTOPHER TESTANI
The initial results were encouraging, although Square Roots cycled through distribution concepts before arriving at its current direct-to-retail model. You can now find Square Roots’ greens and herbs at specialty grocers around New York City.
Later this year, the company plans to operate in other U. S. cities and then scale from there. In each market, the produce will travel from the shipping containers to nearby store shelves, a solution that is hyperlocal and, now, highly traceable.
During the romaine-lettuce scare of late 2018, when an E. coli outbreak in California led to a coast-to-coast recall, Peggs and Musk realized that the data they compile for Square Roots would allow them to trace everything they grow back to the very shipping container that produced it. Now there’s a “Transparency” section on the company’s website where consumers can enter the lot number from their package of Square Roots herbs.
There are energy concerns with this type of farming, as well as a sense that it isn’t natural, but Musk is leaning into those issues. This is lab-grown food, and his team is sciencing the shit out of it. Strawberries, eggplants, beets, radishes, carrots, and more will come to market in five years.
“Right now we’re super-premium and people love it,” Musk says. “But over time we really want it to be about real food for everyone. We can get the price down and deliver delicious product 365 days a year.”
The Real Dirt on Heritage Farming
Stone Barns Center runs apprenticeship and education programs aimed at training and supporting small farmers. Small-scale farming is knowledge-intensive and complicated, Algiere acknowledges, but it’s the right thing to do for ourselves and the planet.
Watch the news and it’s depressing for farmers, but there was a glimmer of good news in the USDA’s 2017 Agriculture Census. At the same time that the overall number of farms in the United States decreased by 5 percent to only 2 million, farms with annual revenues between $100,000 and $250,000 saw the largest increase in sales between 2016 and 2017.
“This is so important,” says Algiere, launching into a soliloquy about the rising interest of young, first-time farmers and the surprising upswing in the number of small U. S. farms. He grabs a rake and continues his lecture on how small farms on the perimeter of major urban centers can not only thrive but can also conserve the land.
Algiere walks out into a plot of carrots and runs the rake over the greens protruding from the soil, explaining that most of the equipment available to farmers is of the giant John Deere tractor variety, because industrial farming has dominated society since the mid- to late 20th century.
“The problem is that there hasn’t been a set of tools for small-scale, diversified farms since 1940,” he says. That’s why among the many educational endeavors that Stone Barns Center supports is Slow Tools, a collective of farmers, designers, and engineers (with an annual conference held on the property) aimed at manufacturing equipment that can help small farmers grow vegetables and work their five-ish acres more efficiently.
Attendees include retired engineers who’ve developed a desire to farm, prototypical millennials seeking a return to the land, and even city dwellers who got their first taste of farming by working at one of the vertical hydroponic farms.
Barber so believes in Algiere’s work, as well as the entire regenerative-farming and land-management movement, that he cofounded Row 7 Seeds last year. Barber asserts that most of the seed business is now owned by chemical companies that have little interest in small, regenerative farms.
Jack Algiere (left) and Dan Barber | CHRISTOPHER TESTANI
“They don’t make money on the seeds; they make money on the intervention of chemicals,” he says. “That’s why the seed company became so important to me. It really does lay the foundation for everything that follows, including flavor, up to when it hits your mouth. That can be determined on a genetic level.”
Back in the greenhouse, Algiere puts down the rake, heads outside, and walks to a barn filled with hundreds of chickens. They swarm toward him and produce a cacophony of clucks that make it impossible to hold a conversation.
He moves toward the pigs and extends his hand toward a comically large sow that comes to greet him. “My animal operations feed the compost and pasture operation here,” he says. “My compost system feeds the crops and orchards, and any leftover feeds the pigs.” As hogs wrestle playfully, he whispers about how amazing the bacon coming from these animals will taste.
Eat the pork from Stone Barns Center and you will immediately understand what Algiere means. Try its carrots and you’ll come to believe what Barber does. The flavor of these foods—started from diverse seeds (both heirloom and experimental hybrids), coddled by premium soil, cultivated with gentler farming methods—rewards the eater in a way that your typical supermarket versions cannot.
Is it hard work? Algiere’s calloused hands prove that, yes, it is. But it’s not anything we haven’t done before.
The Fight for Farming’s Futures
Chris Newman, who cofounded Sylvanaqua Farms in rural Virginia with his wife in 2013, calls himself a “permaculturist” and proclaims his reverence for the land—but also for technology. “There is no single ‘right’ way to produce food,” he says in an email interview.
His own farming practices aim to be regenerative, like Algiere’s, and he’s adamant that these types of farms can produce food while helping to restore the environment. Yet ultimately they won’t be able to keep up with demand.
“Sooner or later, people on both sides of the debate will have to understand that sustainable food production lies in the intersection of nature and technology, not in their mutual exclusion.”
Call them rigid in their convictions, but Musk, Peggs, Barber, and Algiere are at least stoking the debate about how to feed the planet healthy food. And they’re drawing prominent investors into the search for a resolution.
Investors like Tom Colicchio, a cohost of Top Chef and an early backer of Bowery Farming, a company with two hydroponic farms. “I like what [Barber] has to say, and I also believe that through the right kind of farming and regenerative practices, we can build soil, we can grow,” he says. “That doesn’t help if there’s flooding or drought with climate change. I’m looking at 20 or 30 years down the road, and we’re going to have to rely on indoor farming.”
But then there’s the issue of energy use. Henry Gordon-Smith, a leading consultant on urban agriculture, advises multinational corporations and individuals wanting to start their own vertical, rooftop, or greenhouse farms.
Seated in his Brooklyn office, he recounts a study he conducted for an international beverage company to determine the carbon footprint of five crops grown in three settings: a vertical farm and a greenhouse, both in New Jersey, and a soil-based farm in California.
The results were mixed, depending on the crop, but a key takeaway was that the vertical farm’s carbon footprint was “extraordinarily higher,” due to the energy used. He adds that when you account for food waste, water use, and social impact, the playing field levels a bit, but the bottom line, he says, is “there’s no silver bullet. That’s not the catchy sound bite that people are looking for, but that’s the fact.”
Yet the cash continues to pour into vertical farming. Venture capitalists have pledged about $1 billion over the past two years to fund start-ups like Plenty, AeroFarms, and Bowery Farming. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are in the game.
Market research projects the global vertical-farming market will hit $10 billion by 2025. Operations like AeroFarms’ 70,000-square-foot facility in Newark, New Jersey, and the 100,000-square-foot farm that Plenty built outside Seattle will soon become commonplace, proponents suggest.
Matt Barnard—the CEO of Plenty, which has amassed more than $200 million from investors like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and SoftBank, the majority shareholder in Uber—explains that he’s going big because of the scale of the problem.
“I was brought in by one thing and now I’m here for many—for health, nutrition, stresses on the land system,” Barnard says. That mission, however, may depend on trusting in not one solution but a combination of many.
For the moment, the vegetables available at your local farmers market or upscale grocery store reflect this dichotomy. You can easily find a plastic tub of lettuce from a hydroponic farm and, depending on the season, you may also find a sweeter, smaller, more efficient variety of honeynut squash developed in part by Barber and Row 7 Seeds.
Hydroponically grown greens and soil-grown, small-farm-produced squash living side by side in harmony: It’s a utopian vision already playing out in front of your shopping cart. The true question is, will you buy either? The answer, if you’re really concerned about your health and the health of the planet, is that you’ll buy both.
Salmon And Baby Chard, Brought To You By A Brooklyn Farm
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
Edenworks, an aquaponics operation in East Williamsburg, already sells salads at a local Whole Foods and is looking to scale up.
March 28, 2019
Brooklyn is not what most people envision when they think of farm country.
But if you take the L train to Montrose Avenue and walk a block, past the liquor store and catty corner to Louis Tommaso funeral home, you’ll find Edenworks. It’s an indoor aquaponics operation is raising salmon, shrimp and a hybrid striped bass on the lower level, with teeny tiny salad greens known as baby greens and microgreens, upstairs. A stone’s throw away is Oko Farms, also doing aquaponics, but outdoors and with an educational focus. And Smallhold, which grows mushrooms in its Minifarms in several New York City locations, is headquartered in nearby Fort Greene.
By housing fish and crops under one roof in East Williamsburg, Edenworks is putting a modern spin on an ancient form of agriculture. Chinese rice farmers have been putting carp in their flooded paddies for centuries, and the Aztecs grew crops on “chinampas,” or artificial islands, in lakes. The fish fertilize the crops and can be eaten at the end of the growing cycle.
The Edenworks version—urban, with a focus on premium products—should appeal to the growing category of shoppers looking for local, sustainable, healthy food that comes with lots of flavor and a good backstory. The company already sells two-ounce Spicy Microgreens and Mighty Microgreens Personal Salads for $4.49 each at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, location of Whole Foods Market. (Sorry locavores, but for now, the fish are only available to a select few at promotional or local events.)
A worker feeds Atlantic Salmon in a tank
Photographer: Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
Novel farming operations have proliferated in recent years, and several have attracted huge investments, notably indoor farms Plenty, which raised $200 million in 2017, and Bowery Farming, which pulled in $90 million in December. But profitability is elusive, and investments in such startups dipped last year, dropping 7.3 percent to $601 million, according to researcher AgFunder, even as the overall agri-tech sector raised a record-breaking $16.9 billion.
The hard part is turning small-scale operations into big ones. Several have failed, among them PodPonics in Atlanta, FarmedHere in Chicago and another Brooklyn aquaponics enterprise, Verticulture Farms. The indoor farming niche is “more challenging than many other ag-tech categories,” says Louisa Burwood-Taylor, AgFunder’s head of media and research. “Investors might be more wary until they’ve seen some of these concepts proven out.”
Welcome to the Aqualab
Edenworks co-founder Jason Green, a technologist with a background in neuroscience, believes he has a winning formula. The company closed a $5 million seed round in May, with investors including venture capitalists and food industry veterans. The bet is that Edenworks’s (relatively) simple plan to go to market, with a focus on greens before scaling the seafood, will land it alongside such aquaponics operations as Wisconsin’s Superior Fresh, which now produces 1.8 million pounds of leafy greens and 160,000 pounds of fish each year.
Green, who runs Edenworks, founded the company with construction manager and systems engineer Matt LaRosa and chief technology officer Ben Silverman in 2013, originally building a pilot system raising tilapia and a variety of vegetables. Now they’re growing only baby greens and microgreens, with itty bitty versions of red kale, chard and cabbage—and the lowly tilapia has been abandoned. That commonly farmed species, Green concedes, is never going to be a marquee item. “You can’t brand or market your way out of it being a tilapia,” he says.
Jason Green | Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
Edenworks’ ecosystem harnesses the power of the microbiome instead of pesticides, antibiotics or synthetic fertilizers. The ground-level Aqualab is where the fish live. The waste, mostly feces along with a bit of ammonia from the fish urine and uneaten food, is run through a mechanical filter to separate liquids from solids. Bacteria grown from a starter culture then convert the ammonia to nitrates, sending fertilizer-rich water to the greens in the Farmlab two flights up. For now the solids are aerobically digested, a bacterial sewage treatment process, similar to the ammonia’s conversion to nitrates. (In future facilities, Green said, they’ll be gasified to generate energy.) The result is yields more than twice industry averages and more than eighteen months of farming without any foodborne pathogens, according to the company.
A ‘Win-Win-Win?’
The next step is ramping up the operations into a larger, New York metro area farm in 2020. But scaling vertical farms, even those just focused on a single production system, has been a challenge.
“It sounds like a win-win-win,” says Henry Gordon-Smith, founder and managing director for Agritecture Consulting, an urban-farming consulting firm one L stop away. “But the challenge is anytime you combine multiple systems and make them depend on each other, things get complicated.”
To start, the technology does not scale linearly. “When you have more lights, people, systems and plans, the calculations and requirements to create the consistent micro-climate get more challenging,” he says. Running a farm indoors, as opposed to outdoors in consistently warm weather, drives up energy usage, too. Then there’s the feed problem. The vast majority of commercially available fish feed is made from seafood taken from the already fish-depleted ocean.
Microgreens growing at Edenworks | Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
Green recognizes these challenges: Edenworks is growing only baby and microgreens, high-value crops with short growth cycles. Plans for a larger facility include a more precise “climate delivery” (as opposed to “climate control”) system that will help avoid problems encountered by other vertical farms. For the time being, the company will raise only as much fish as necessary for the salad side, a ratio of 1 pound of seafood for every 10 pounds of produce, until it’s satisfied with the greens business. Automation will restrain labor costs; new farms will use renewable energy technology.
Edenworks is experimenting with plant-based feed and plans to adopt fish-free feed when it becomes globally available in the next year or so, Green says. Jacqueline Claudia, CEO of aquaculture-based company Love the Wild, says increasingly sustainable feeds options are already available at reasonable prices. Still, she adds, Edenworks is likely ahead of most of the seafood industry. “Anytime you can grow more food, in the space you have, close to market, it’s a win,” she says. “What you’re really talking about is splitting hairs.”
Gordon-Smith is also confident in the company. “I’m optimistic they’re going to be able to navigate the challenges,” he says. While the obstacles are real and not every crop can be grown this way, farms like these are a piece of more sustainable future. “As the climate gets worse, we will need adaptation strategies.”
Soilless Agriculture: An In-Depth Overview
Everything you need to know about soilless agriculture. Agriculture without soil? It sounds like another hipster trend that pops up in places like Berkeley and San Francisco. In reality, soilless agriculture is an agricultural method that enables a stable and sustainable food supply
February 11, 2019
Everything you need to know about soilless agriculture
Agriculture without soil? It sounds like another hipster trend that pops up in places like Berkeley and San Francisco. In reality, soilless agriculture is an agricultural method that enables a stable and sustainable food supply. It allows us to run high-yield grow operations in completely controlled indoor environments. So, why does that matter? Well, there are a few very important reasons that may enlighten you to the real potential in soilless agriculture.
No need to use pesticides (less poison sprinkled on plants means healthier food and less cost).
Extreme decrease in water use (you need 90% less than soil-based methods).
Flexibility in use (use it indoors or outdoors, and if indoors you can grow whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever).
Now, I want to focus on the flexibility of soilless agriculture and why this is so important in today’s world. As you know, people around the world are getting used to buying whatever kinds of produce they want — even if it’s not in season. This means importing a lot of produce from other countries. That’s a decent solution, but it has many side effects. First, it costs more money to buy food and have it shipped to your country than just growing it locally (you’re outsourcing taxable labor and covering transportation costs). Second, the emissions from whatever vehicles that are shipping the produce pollute the earth and bring us closer to climate catastrophe. Third, if a natural disaster occurs in the other country, you can’t import food from there for a while. If your country heavily depends on the damaged country for food, you may have a nationwide food shortage. Just think about what would happen to the world’s wheat supply if a disaster occured in North America. In summary, the extreme interconnectedness of the global food system creates an unsustainable and potentially unstable situation. Soilless agriculture helps to address this issue because it’s a perfect method for localizing agriculture and bringing food production closer to the consumer. This localization of food production stabilizes the food system and improves the freshness of the food.
Since we know the benefits of soilless agriculture, how did it come about? I thought it was invented by a Silicon Valley genius in midst of the current technological explosion, but it’s roots go much deeper than that. Primitive examples of soilless techniques were discovered at the Floating Gardens in China and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon! Ancient wisdom at work. <Image of either Chinese or hanging gardens>
Although soilless agriculture has been utilized throughout human history, the modern introduction to the technology was lead by William Frederick Gericke when he grew 25 foot high tomato vines without soil, using a nutrient rich water solution. This grand achievement drove more and more research to the technology, and its advantages were discovered on a mainstream level.
So, how do you actually implement hydroponics? Let’s start with the definition. According to Google, hydroponics is “the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil.”. So basically hydroponics is the sciency way of saying soilless agriculture. Simple, right? Well… not so much when you get into the implementation details.
There are quite a few ways to implement hydroponics. The simplest way is to put a plant in a pot with a growing medium — a substance that doesn’t supply nutrients to the plants but supports the roots — and hand water it with a solution infused with the needed nutrients. This is the essence of soilless agriculture. All the plant needs is oxygen, a variety of nutrients, light, and it will grow. No need for soil or the constraints that come with it. While this may seem simple, getting an optimal yield requires knowing the intricacies of plant growth and applying this knowledge to each aspect of the hydroponic environment. For clarity, I’ll break down the different complexities associated with each part of hydroponic growth: The Solution, The Growing Medium, The Lighting, and The System.
The Solution
The solution is the lifeblood of your hydroponic system. The yield, health, and resilience of the crops you grow depends on a well-crafted solution. Sometimes it’s difficult to create a perfect solution, however, because the exact amount of specific nutrients in the solution depends on the plant you’re growing.
What are the steps to creating a balanced and fruitful solution for your system? It all starts with the water. Whether you’re using tap, filtered, or water from rain buckets (not recommended — I would filter it first) you should get a laboratory analysis of your water. In this analysis, pay close attention to the alkalinity of your base water — it will give you a good indication of how to devise your fertilizer strategy. If you have high alkalinity, the pH of your end solution will tend to be higher. The pH of your solution is one of the key factors in determining the health of your plants, and you want to keep it in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 for most plants.
After you have your water source figured out, you need to gather all the needed nutrients. The types of nutrients in your solution are primary and secondary nutrients (nutrients that plants need a lot of) and micronutrients (trace amounts of specific materials).
The primary nutrients are Potassium, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus. Without the a healthy dosage of these, your plants won’t grow correctly and will be more susceptible to disease. The role of each nutrient is as follows:
Nitrogen (N): Assists in protein manufacture, promotes plant strength, and makes use of the plant’s carbohydrates.
Phosphorus(P): Facilitates photosynthesis, controls cell division, and regulates use of sugars within the plant.
Potassium(K): Enforces disease resistance, helps metabolize nutrients, and regulates water usage.
Each primary nutrient plays an essential role in the health and yield of the plants, so make sure there is a balance of each one in your solution.
Secondary nutrients include Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur. These nutrients are needed in only moderate volume by plants, but are also essential for healthy growth. They play the following roles:
Calcium(Ca): Regulates internal pH, facilitates disease resistance, fuels cell division and cell wall formation.
Magnesium(Mg): Assists internal oil, sugar, and fat formation, boosts photosynthesis.
Sulfur(S): Assists seed production, adds flavor, is building block for proteins and amino acids.
Micronutrients are a bit different from primary and secondary nutrients in that they’re optional and applied in trace amounts. Usually you would only add extra micronutrients if your plants were showing signs of deficiency (discoloration, hollow fruits, limited growth, etc). There are quite a few micronutrients but the main players you’ll want to know about are zinc, copper, iron, manganese, chlorine, molybdenum, and boron. The cool thing with micronutrients is that they can boost absorption of other nutrients.
For the ongoing maintenance and fine-tuning of your solution, the two measurements to pay attention to are pH and electrical conductivity (EC). The pH should fall into the range of 5.5–6.5, and the electrical conductivity should be between 1.5 and 2.5. A high EC rating means your solution is too nutrient dense, so in this case add water until it comes under 2.5. Here’s a great article that gives a step-by-step breakdown on how to make your own solution.
The Growing Medium
Since hydroponics are systems without soil, you may need a static substance to support the roots of the plants. The vast variety of growing mediums and different mixes can overwhelm and confuse so i’ll just talk about the characteristics of different types of mediums and the circumstances in which you want them.
The key characteristics in your growing medium are water retention, aeration, and pH neutrality.
Water retention describes how slowly it takes for solution to filter through the medium, and how long it stays available to the plant. Use mediums with high water retention in drip systems, and lower water retention mediums in flood-and-drain type systems.
Aeration is an indicator of how much oxygen is getting to the roots of the plant. Roots need oxygen to convert their stored energy into growth, so it’s a super important characteristic. You can increase aeration by making the medium more porous, with cracks and slivers for oxygen to seep through. Aeration to the roots also makes them more effective at uptaking water, so if they don’t have space to breathe, the plant may show signs of water shortage.
pH neutrality tells you how the growing medium may affect the pH of a plant’s growing environment. Grow mediums should normally be neutral so they don’t have side effects on the solution or the environment
Common Growing Mediums
Coco Coir (The discarded husks of coconut) protects seedlings from harmful fungi and salt damage, has high water retention, and is biodegradable and cheap. These advantages make it perfect to use in drip or wick hydroponic systems, where water comes little by little. You won’t want to use it in flood systems though — it can have poor aeration if irrigated poorly. It also can draw down some of the calcium in the nutrient solution. To mitigate it’s high water retention, you can mix the fibers with a chunkier medium to create some drainage.
Best Use Case: When you want a cheap and sustainable medium with good water retention.
Expanded Clay Pellets are a great medium to use if you want fast drainage and an infinitely reusable medium. They also don’t affect the solution’s nutrient balance. They also have great aeration, although this can mean a plant’s roots dry out quickly. Another issue with clay pellets is that they’re sourced from strip mines, so the environment may have been harmed in their creation.
Best Use Case: When you’re worried about overwatering or nutrient disruption.
I decided to pair Perlite and Vermeculite together because they’re almost always mixed in use. Perlite is superheated volcanic rock. It’s a lightweight, neutral medium that will sometimes float on water when flooded. A downside of perlite is that it leaches nutrients easily, disrupting the delicate balance of solution. Vermiculite is very similar to perlite, a lightweight mineral that draws nutrients upwards and retains water at a high rate. When combined, these make a soil — like mixture with great oxygen and water retention. One thing you must be careful of is the particles of this mixture that can infiltrate your solution without a great filtration system.
Best Use Case: Same as Coco Coir, but will be a little bit more expensive.
Wood Chips are a simple, cheap (probably free), and organic growing medium. Wood chips are a great way to grow hydroponics, and will leave your environmental conscience clean too! There are a few downsides, as wood chips can degrade over time and aren’t the most reusable medium. It also might not be sterile, and attract pests.
Best Use Case: When you want to save money, and are running an indoor grow operation where pests and diseases won’t be as much of an issue.
Those are some tried-and-true growing mediums that you can use in your systems. When selecting growing mediums, keep in mind the requirements and orientation of your system(see: The System). You need to customize a combination of mediums based on the irrigation methods, types of plants, and environment (inside or outside).
If you want to go into more depth on growing mediums read this article, this article, and this article.
The Lighting
There are a few different types of lighting for your hydroponic system with their own advantages and disadvantages. In lighting, you want to find the right balance of intensity, spectrum, and cost. The most useful types of lighting for hydroponics are Fluorescents, High intensity Discharge Lamps (HID lamps) and Light Emitting Diodes.
Fluorescents are great for the growers that are just starting out. They’re efficient, widely available, and produce a spectrum of light that is conducive to plant growth. But, they emit weaker intensity light — which makes them sub-optimal for larger plants and grow operations.
One type of fluorescent lamp is the Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL). This type of lamp is cheap, easy to install (just screw it in), and efficient. One downside of CFL’s is that they emit light in all directions, so you’ll have to use a reflector to make sure you’re not wasting light and energy.
Another type of fluorescent light is the regular Fluorescent lamp. These are a larger version of the CFL’s and they emit more focused but weaker intensity light — which makes it sub-optimal for larger plants. The advantages are the same as CFL’s, but they might require a little more set-up to get working properly. A disadvantage with these and the CFL’s is the life span. To keep the system working optimally, these lamps should be changed out every year. This increases costs overtime and brings upon the question of disposal, as fluorescent lights contain mercury and other harmful chemicals.
The final type of fluorescent is an induction fluorescent. These have the same advantages (efficiency, spectrum) and disadvantages (intensity) as the other fluorescents with one catch: the lifespan is 10X longer than the previous two lights!
High Intensity Discharge Lights are great for experienced growers with large operations. The frequency of their light closest matches sunlight compared to the other types. The high intensity characteristic makes them the go-to choice for growing large plants indoors. This high intensity also leads to higher heat production, which can be mitigated by putting them in an open space where the heat can dissipate
Metal halide (MH) HID’s emit a bluish light that benefits leafy and vegetative plants while high pressure sodium (HPS) lights emit an orange light that work best for flowering plants and fruits.
Light Emitting Diodes are the newest option out of the three. They are also the most expensive. However, this upfront cost will be paid off in the long run because of their industry leading efficiency (they use around ⅓ the energy of fluorescents) and lifespan. If you don’t have tight upfront budget constraints, I recommend these because of the long-term savings (around $5,000 a year in recouped energy spending). The spectrum is a bit less optimal than fluorescents, but the difference isn’t very significant.
As you can see, the correct lighting setup will be determined by your budget, the plants you’re growing, and the size of your operation. As we look to the future, LED costs will go down and this will drive adoption of them over fluorescents.
The System
Whew, I just went through A LOT of stuff (don’t worry, we’re almost done :) ). Now, let’s put it all together! All the different types of growing mediums, solutions, and lighting setups can be put together in different ways. It all depends on your circumstances, budget, and expertise. Here are all the different types of systems, what they look like, and which situations they work for.
Hand Watering
Use this system if: You are a beginner in hydroponics or growing in general who doesn’t have extra time or money to spend on setting up a complicated hydroponics system with a lot of equipment.
Setup: Mix together your growing medium and nutrient solution, then put the plants/seeds in the medium and start watering!
Best medium: A mix of vermeculite/perlite and coco coir.
Best Practices: Make sure your nutrient solution is stored in a stable place where levels of nutrients wont fluctuate and other living things can’t get into it. Also, remember to water the plants!
Deep Water Culture
Use This system If: You want a relatively simple hydroponic system that is more intricate than hand watering — and you have a small budget to get started.
Setup: As It would be incredibly tedious for me to write words about how to setup this system, a video would do a much better job. So watch this for setup instructions!
Best Medium: Expanded clay pellets, or a similar medium with ph neutrality
Best Practices: Make sure the nutrients in your solution are very accurately measured, as a little mistake can go a long way in this system. Check the ph and electrical conductivity of the solution thoroughly before setup.
Ebb and Flow
Use This system If: You want a lower cost, flexible homemade hydroponics system and want to put the time in to a more complex setup.
Setup: Epic Gardening on youtube does a great job making these hydroponic system setup tutorials. So watch this for setup instructions!
Best Medium: The exact medium depends on how often you want to flood your plants, but a heavier medium like coco coir or expanded clay pellets is highly recommended.
Best Practices: This method requires more attention after setup than the previous two. Make sure you’re flooding the plants at different intervals throughout the year to match the change in light exposure and temperature, as the water will evaporate at different rates. Also, make sure the grow tray (see diagram/setup video) is level so all the plants get the same level of nutrients.
Drip System
Image From: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/54887689187136114/
Use This system If: You want to grow larger, greedier plants with a simple setup but don’t want to use a lot of water doing it.
Setup: Epic Gardening on youtube does a great job making these hydroponic system setup tutorials. So watch this for setup instructions!
Best Medium: The exact medium depends on how often you want to flood your plants, but a heavier medium like coco coir or expanded clay pellets is highly recommended.
Best Practices: This method requires more attention after setup than the previous two. Make sure you’re flooding the plants at different intervals throughout the year to match the change in light exposure and temperature, as the water will evaporate at different rates. Also, make sure the grow tray (see diagram/setup video) is level so all the plants get the same level of nutrients.
Wick System
Use This system If: You are going to grow a relatively low-water plant (like rosemary or a fast-growing lettuce), and want to build the system quickly and simply.
Setup: Here’s a nice tutorial on wikibooks that explains what materials you need and how to put it all together!
Best Medium: With a wicking system, choose a medium that absorbs and retains water well, like coco coir, perlite, or vermeculite.
Best Practices: Make sure there are multiple wicks when you set this system up so you’re sure the plants get enough water and nutrients. Keep the water levels in the reservoir high and wash growing mediums frequently to prevent nutrient buildup.
Aeroponics
Note: Aeroponics is not hydroponics. It differs because it uses a spray to diffuse the mineral-rich water onto exposed roots instead of a model where the roots are submerged in water or a growing medium.
Use This system If: You’re an experienced with hydroponic or diy projects with hands-on and technical knowledge that’s ready to build a more complex system with some automated parts. Another good reason to use this system is if you need to grow stuff quickly, for commercial sale or to feed your family.
Setup: Check out this video series by Peter Stanley for a step-by-step instruction on how to set up a cheap aeroponics system.
Best Medium: No medium needed!
Best Practices: Since the roots are exposed, aeroponic growing presents a large opportunity for disease and nutrients clogging the root system. Make sure the roots stay clean on a daily basis. Also, the misters tend to clog as well, so keeping them clear of debris with frequent maintenance can mitigate that risk. Just be sure to keep close tabs on the most vulnerable parts of the system.
There you have it! Hopefully all of this knowledge on hydroponics helps you get started with your own growing operation or helps you transition to a new growing method that fits. I enjoyed learning about all the complexity and the advantages of unique technology, and I’m excited to see what advancements may be made in the future! Thanks for reading :)
Adam French
I love learning and writing about programming, agricultural innovation, and design.
Video: Australian Gardener Harvests Over 400 Kilos of Food From Her Gardens
The garden is maintained with approximately half a day each week, though this is unevenly distributed throughout the season. Surplus is preserved using bottling, drying, freezing and fermenting to supply the kitchen during the leaner months
Kat Lavers describes her approach to gardening, including vertical and biointensive growing, and how important it is – and possible! – for city dwellers to be food resilient in the face of natural, financial and social crises.
Happen Films
Feb 22, 2019
(Must see film. Mike)
Excerpt:
In response to space constraints, Kat trades homegrown persimmons for an annual supply of pumpkins, and buys a bag of potatoes every year. Almost all other herbs, veg and fruit are grown onsite. Gifting and swapping with family and friends adds extra variety to the diet. The garden emphasizes highly productive, resilient fruit trees and perennial vegetables like wild rocket, perennial leeks and bunching onions that thrive with minimal maintenance.
In 2018 the site recorded 428 kg of fresh produce, a figure which the household believes could ultimately grow to around 500kg when the full design is implemented. About half this produce is from the 20m² kitchen garden (30m² including paths).
The garden is maintained with approximately half a day each week, though this is unevenly distributed throughout the season. Surplus is preserved using bottling, drying, freezing and fermenting to supply the kitchen during the leaner months.
A covey of Japanese quails provides the household with eggs and occasional meat. The small aviary has trigger feeders and waterers for easy maintenance, as well as a deep litter floor of thick wood chips and autumn leaves that eventually breaks down into compost for the kitchen garden.
Read the complete article here.
Spectrum King LED Granted US Patent For Proprietary Plant Spectrum
Spectrum King LED is proud to announce that we have been granted US Patent No. 10238043 for our proven proprietary plant spectrum.
This gives us exclusive rights to the full spectrum technology used in all of our grow lights. The result of over 10 years of detailed research, plant studies and multiple prototypes has brought us to this great day. This new patent reinforces our claim of being the leaders and founders of full spectrum horticultural lighting technology.
Want To Grow Plants in Space? Go To The Coldest Place On Earth
A land of unrelenting wind and ice, Antarctica is about as far from verdant as any place can get. Yet cucumbers are growing on the continent’s coast. Next to them, bunches of leafy Swiss chard, fresh herbs, and peppery arugula thrive.
These greenhouse vegetables are the stars of one of several scientific projects underway at Neumayer Station III, the third iteration of a German research facility run by the polar science-focused Alfred Wegener Institute.
The greenhouse’s primary purpose is pretty lofty: It’s a laboratory for studying how to grow food in outer space. Specifically, the researchers working there want to know whether astronauts can make fresh produce part of their diets if humans finally make it to Mars.
Read more at National Geographic (Catherine Zuckerman)
Publication date : 3/19/2019
Aquaponix, The Evolution of Aquaponic Crops
264 Thousand Lettuce Heads a Year Every 1000 sq m
Aquaponix (registered trademark) was one of the innovations presented at Novel Farm in Pordenone (click here for the photo gallery). It enables to grow vegetables, aromatic plants and flowers using aquaculture with fish swimming in the same tank. Promoters ensure it is a revolutionary system that can be adopted for 'urban farming' on a professional level by specialized producers as well as by hobbyists."
"We developed this system together with SEI from Piossasco in the Turin province. It is not a traditional aquaculture system using different tanks for vegetables and fish, as we create a symbiosis - fish eat roots, so plants keep producing root hairs considerably increasing their efficiency and growth," explains agronomist Alessandro Arioli.
Compared to a traditional system, the lettuce cycle is around ten days shorter. There is no drain: water regenerates thanks to its own biodiversity can also regulate the temperature.
"Fish eat the roots, which therefore keep growing day after day so no root disease develops and a bacterial balance is established thanks to the fish."
"The first systems were put in place three years ago and tests show that the vegetables grown this way have more flavor than those cultivated using the hydroponic system. 10-15 dish per cubic meter of water are needed. The system is integrated and fish can be bred to be sold."
As regards yields, we are talking about 264 heads a year per square meter, i.e. 264 thousand heads/year every 1000 sq meters. Considering 200 grams of saleable weight per head, we are talking about 52 tons a year of lettuce very 1000 sq m.
Contacts:
SEI srl
Aquaponix
Via Roma 16, 10040
Rivalta (Torino)
Tel.: (+39) 011/9042821
Tel.: (+39) 335/7356357
Email: seisrlto@gmail.com
Publication date : 2/22/2019
© HortiDaily.com
Hydroponic Indoor Farming is the Future of Local Food
Polly Campbell Cincinnati Enquirer
March 6, 2019
CEO Mike Zelkind poses inside a room of vertically grown tomatoes under grow lights at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Sam Greene, The Enquirer
Farms don't often get funding from venture capitalists.
But 80 Acres Farm in Winton Place just got a big financing round from a private equity group from California.
And BrightFarms, an advanced greenhouse operation in various locations, got $55 million in investments in June, and $9 million of that is going toward expanding their operations in Wilmington.
These indoor farming operations, which mostly grow greens, herbs and lettuce, are part of a wave of a new kind of farming that is building capacity all over the country. The sector more than tripled from 2015-2017 and has now come to the Cincinnati area.
80 Acres is an indoor farm with a completely controlled indoor environment without soil, rain or sunlight. At BrightFarms, a hydroponic greenhouse, there's no soil, and sunlight is supplemented with artificial light. Another indoor farming company, Waterfields, has been growing microgreens for restaurants in both greenhouses and warehouses for years.
Labeled containers are stacked before filling and shipping at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Sam Greene, The Enquirer
Ironically, not far from 80 Acres and one of Waterfields' locations, there used to be a cluster of thriving tomato greenhouses. They went into a long fatal decline as agriculture consolidated in California and Florida, and there wasn't a place left for local producers. But the pendulum has swung back.
Now many consumers want locally grown food, and these farms are a natural response. They may not be the small, organic, diversified operations that local food advocates first had in mind. But they aim to address problems that have been pointed out in the current agricultural system, particularly the long delivery chain that brings most produce to market. But this is a difficult business to get into; quite a few operations have gone out of business. And while technology solves some problems, it has its own drawbacks.
Mike Zelkind, the CEO of 80 Acres, has worked for 40 years in the food industry, moving from frozen to canned to fresh food. He knows food supply chains. He likes to show graphics that detail the typical route of a bag of greens from farm to consumer. From field to packer to cold storage to trucks and distribution centers and warehouses, there is a multitude of steps. At each stop, the produce gets older, less nutritious and a little more is wasted. The lettuce and cherry tomatoes from 80 Acres need none of that to get to local customers. "The technology we use replaces all that steel on the supply chain," he said.
Seed germinating media is laid out before being filled with seeds at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Sam Greene, The Enquirer
The tech is impressive. The facility in Winton Place is as far from an earthy, muddy traditional farm as you can imagine. You have to wipe your feet before you enter the farm. The 1/4 acre building that replaces 80 acres of land is a series of grow zones, rooms with environments perfect for one crop.
There is an herb room, a lettuce and greens room, a place to grow cherry tomatoes and baby cucumbers on vines that climb on single wires. They are experimenting with table grapes and strawberries.
Basic is in various states of growth under grow lights that appear pink at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Sam Greene, The Enquirer
It's all eerily lit by purple LED lights. The plants are rooted in a soil-less grow mat and fed a liquid solution that is the right recipe for that plant and its stage of growth. They have air moving over them to stress them in just the right way. The air is condensed, the water analyzed, so that the growers know what the plants have taken in and what they need. They do not use pesticides. "We grow food in a clean, consistent way," said Zelkind.
One of the advantages of indoor farming is that it eliminates some kinds of risks. An extended tour Zelkind took to talk to farmers was one inspiration for 80 Acres. "They were constantly struggling to do well in bad years," he said. Weather and other uncontrollable factors are a constant unknown factor in farming. That risk is another thing the technology seeks to replace.
Bright Farms has many of the same benefits of a vertical farm without quite as much technological control. They grow greens in huge glass houses. "When we don't have sun for heat, we use a boiler system," said Paul Lightfoot, CEO. "When the sun doesn't have enough light, we use supplemental lighting. We use a lot less water. We don't use pesticides and we're herbicide-free."
Shipping labels are rolled in a packaging area at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Sam Greene, The Enquirer
He also points out that localized growers are able to build a product for flavor, not transport durability. "The product is grown for customers, not the supply chain." The greenhouse in Wilmington offers good year-round jobs – badly needed in Wilmington – in harvesting, packaging and maintenance. They pay a living wage and offer benefits.
The critiques of indoor farming have to do with the practice's energy use and the limitations on what can be grown.
First, there's the irony of paying for energy that contributes to global warming instead of using free sunlight. 80 Acres is working on lowering their energy use. LEDs are becoming more efficient, they're experimenting with using an anaerobic digester to convert waste into energy, and they buy renewable energy from Duke.
It's very expensive to build and maintain a indoor farm facility, (hence the venture capital) and the end product is more expensive. So only crops that can command a premium price make sense. The pristine freshness and flavor of 80 Acre or Bright Farms' local lettuce, greens and herbs do offer a value some might pay extra for. Plus they grow quickly for frequent harvests. But when it comes to "feeding the planet," it would be very difficult to grow and sell more nutrient-dense foods like potatoes or beans this way because you can't charge a premium for a fresh potato.
Byrd has found her mission at Waterfields. Byron McCauley
"For everyone who's started (in this sector), someone has failed," said Daniel Klemens of Waterfields. "There's so much price pressure from retailers, it's hard to get it right." Waterfields' goal when they started out was idealistic, but in a different way. It was to create agricultural jobs in the city. So they decided on high-margin crops that take a short time to produce. They grow microgreens and some specialty salad mixes. "We are focused on quality and consistency for our customers," said Klemens. Those are mostly chefs who want the decoration and pop of flavor that pretty tiny leaves can add to a dish.
Working with nonprofits like the Urban League and Santa Maria Community Services, they have hired 12 hard-to-employ people and given them good jobs and promotions. And their pretty little red-veined leaves show up on a lot of beautiful photos of Cincinnati restaurant food. They make no claims about feeding the hungry or changing the food systems.
But Zelkind has a lofty vision that includes fresh food in places that don't have it and contributing to a better way of distributing food. He says their precision technology has driven down costs. Their next step is a new facility in Hamilton that will be completely automated. In a competitive field, he thinks their investment in technology will make local food more easily available.
Waitrose Brings Hanging Vegetable Gardens to the Supermarket
Published in Foodon 04-03-2019
Is the end of the packed salad in sight? By the end of this year, British supermarkets, under the direction of Waitrose , want to have their own picking gardens and vertical farms in their stores.
Save in an old railway tunnel
Bio-engineers have unveiled plans to set up hanging vegetable gardens in supermarkets. The systems do not use earth, are portable and can be placed in urban environments such as shops and supermarkets. Crops are grown vertically: with their roots suspended in a cylinder, where they are fed with a nutrient-rich spray.
Retail group John Lewis , which includes premium supermarket chain Waitrose, has confirmed to The Telegraph that it is currently in talks with bio-engineering firm LettUs Grow, which grows many types of vegetables in a disused railway tunnel in Bristol.
"No choice but surprising customers"
John Lewis wants to use the cylinders to grow lettuce on the shop floor, so that customers can choose their own fresh salad. They look at whether the introduction is still possible in 2019, otherwise it will be 2020. "You really come into contact with the food system and the origin of our food", explains the beautifully fitting named Jack Farmer, co-founder of LettUs.
"I think it really has to do with the way people see the shopping experience in the future, with the rise of Amazon and other online retailers, and the retail experience needs to become much more experiential," he said in Farming Today on the BBC. "In recent years, seismic changes have occurred in our sector, with a new measure of customer expectations every time they shop. Stores simply have no choice but to inspire and surprise customers - with fantastic products as well as personal, seamless experiences ", confirms Peter Cross, customer experience at John Lewis.
Dramatic Rainfall Changes For Key Crops Expected Even With Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by CIAT Comunicaciones | Mar 11, 2019
By 2040, rainfall on wheat, soybean, rice and maize will have changed, even if Paris Agreement emissions targets are met. Projections show parts of Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australia will be drier, while the tropics and north will be wetter.
Even if humans radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, important crop-growing regions of the world can expect changes to rainfall patterns by 2040. In fact, some regions are already experiencing new climatic regimes compared with just a generation ago. The study, published March 11 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warns that up to 14 percent of land dedicated to wheat, maize, rice and soybean will be drier, while up to 31 percent will be wetter.
The study uses four emissions scenarios from low to high to predict time of emergence (TOE) of permanent precipitation changes, meaning the year by which precipitation changes remain permanently outside their historical variation in a specific location. The research shows that quick action on emissions – in line with 2015’s Paris Agreement – would push TOE projections deeper into the future or reduce the size of affected areas.
Drier regions include Southwestern Australia, Southern Africa, southwestern South America, and the Mediterranean, according to the study. Wheat cropland in Central Mexico is also headed for a drier future. Wetter areas include Canada, Russia, India and the Eastern United States.
The four crops in the study represent about 40 percent of global caloric intake and the authors say that, regardless of how much mitigation is achieved, all regions – both wetter and drier – need to invest in adaptation, and do so urgently in areas expected to see major changes in the next couple of decades. However, in the scenarios with low greenhouse gas emissions, most regions have two-three decades more to adapt than under high-emission scenarios.
Low-emission scenarios, the authors stressed, likely imply less need for potentially costly adaptation to new rainfall regimes.
Wheat under heat
Drier conditions are expected for many major wheat producers. In Australia, about 27 percent of wheat-growing land will see less precipitation, under a mid-emissions scenario. Algeria (100 percent), Morocco (91 percent), South Africa (79 percent), Mexico (74 percent), Spain (55 percent), Chile (40 percent), Turkey (28 percent), Italy (20 percent) and Egypt (15 percent) are other major producers that will be affected. Higher emissions mean a larger amount of land will become dry sooner, the study found.
“These are definitely countries that will need to think rather quickly what they’d like to do with their wheat production,” said Maisa Rojas, the study’s lead author and climatologist at Universidad de Chile. Colleagues at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, the University of Leeds, Chile’s Center for Climate and Resilience Research, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) co-authored the study.
“What we’re predicting are probably conservative years for time of emergence,” said Rojas. “Detectable precipitation changes are of course not only important for agriculture, but for water resource management more in general, so our results are relevant for other sectors as well.”
Speed of change
One stunning aspect of the study is how quickly global precipitation is changing. The baseline for comparison is 20 years spanning 1986-2005. A handful of regions already have crossed that “historical” average into an entirely new rainfall regime, including Russia, Norway, Canada and the parts of the East Coast of the United States. The study projects that up to 36 percent of all land area will be wetter or drier under a high-emission scenario.
“Farmers growing crops in those areas are going to experience significantly different conditions than what they are used to,” said Julian Ramirez-Villegas, a scientist with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). “They’re going to be completely outside their normal historical environments and many farmers are already struggling with historic variability.”
Areas not reflected in the study are likely to have precipitation changes as well, said Rojas. But because natural variation in those areas is high, extreme change is needed before researchers can detect their times of emergence.
“Other studies have examined time of emergence in global temperature and precipitation,” said Fabrice Lambert, a UC professor and co-author. “The interesting thing about this study is that we overlay the climatic results with spatial cropland distribution and growing seasons to show which agricultural production regions will be impacted by precipitation changes, and how much time they have to prepare.”
The world’s most populous countries – China and India – are among those that will have much wetter fields for the four crops included in the study, under any emission scenario. Percentage of cropland that will extend into high double-digits. Asia’s other big rice producers, including Japan, Korea and the Philippines will have TOEs for increased rainfall.
Wheat fields northern Europe, the United States, Canada and Russia will have higher precipitation.
More precipitation may mean higher production, but when coupled with rising sea levels, higher temperatures and increased potential for flooding, higher production is not assured, said the authors.
“The precise nature of the changes is impossible to predict,” said Andy Challinor, a co-author and Professor at the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds. “What this study tells us is that adaptation needs to be agile. For the first time, we can tell what changes to be ready for – and when they are expected – in our major crop-growing regions. Prior to this study, the rainfall changes experienced by crops were thought to be so unpredictable that no real advice could be given.”
Major crops facing drier conditions without reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
Major crops facing wetter conditions without reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
This infographic shows a selection of areas and crops that will be affected by reduced rainfall in coming decades due to climate change, according to a 2019 study in PNAS. Percentages refer to the area of land currently dedicated to cultivation of the specified crops.
CREDIT: Lucelly Anaconas / International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
Funding and partners
The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) contributed funding to this project, which is carried out with support from CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. For details, please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors.
The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is a CGIAR research center. CIAT develops technologies, innovative methods and knowledge that enable farmers, especially smallholders, to make agriculture more competitive, profitable, sustainable and resilient. Headquartered in Cali, Colombia, CIAT conducts research for development in tropical regions of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. https://ciat.cgiar.org
CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partners across the globe. https://www.cgiar.org
Funding was also provided by the Center for Climate and Resilience Research, (CR2), a center of excellence of the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) of Chile. Its objective is to deepen the understanding of the processes and impacts of the climate system in Chile and globally from an interdisciplinary perspective. It also aims at contributing to the definition of adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change that contribute to social resilience. www.cr2.cl
The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, with more than 38,000 students from more than 150 different countries, and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. The University plays a significant role in the Turing, Rosalind Franklin and Royce Institutes. www.leeds.ac.uk
iFarm's Urban Greenhouses Deliver Organic Revolution
IFarm continues to carve out more real estate in the agtech space following an investment from Gagarin Capital. The technology will allow automated vegetable production in cities.
The project has raised $1 million to develops modular automated farms. iFarm makes it possible to produce natural vegetables, salads, and berries year-round.
VC fund Gagarin Capital is the project’s leading investor. JSergey Ryzhikov, CEO of 1C-Bitrix, Russian Association of Franchising board member Sergey Ambrosov, Atlas clinics co-founder Artem Rudi, and the Uniscan Research company made investments as well.
The purpose is to develop an innovative technology to grow produce in a fully controlled automated environment. Farmers will be able to harvest natural salads, berries and vegetables the entire year, including off-seasons.
MEET THE LEAD INVESTOR
Venture capital firm Gagarin Capital Partners (GCP) invests in AI-based products and services. The firm has 20 years of experience in VC, PE, and M&A to facilitate portfolio companies in wide spectrum of vital activities.
Gagarin uses a hands-on approach in its ventures from corporate governance to mastering new markets. GCP is known for building and supporting a strong community of AI experts and top-in-class engineers. The firm’s exits include Facebook’s MSQRD and Google’s AIMatter.
ABOUT IFARM
iFarm was founded by entrepreneurs Alexander Lystovsky, Maxim Chizhov, and Konstantin Ulyanov in June 2017. Their goal is to create a single engineering platform for food cultivation. The company launched its first urban greenhouses and vertical farms in the same year.
iFarm creates a technology where it is possible to plant vertical farms on year-round greenhouses. Urban crop production is now possible thanks to easy-to-use plug-and-play modules.
The company has formed a team of over 30 professionals by the end of 2018. Experts in agriculture, IT, engineering and sales teamed up to build five greenhouses and vertical farms. The team then opened its own shop, and set up partnerships with restaurants and food retail.
Founder and CEO Alexander Lyskovsky said that “the investments from this round will be used to develop technology and expand our team, including our engineering, construction and agro projects teams.”
Lyskovsky came up with the idea after living in Paris for a month. “One day I started to ask sellers about the delivery system of these products to the city, I was interested in how it works. As it turned out, the customers regulate it themselves,” he said.
iFarm plans to enter the international market in 2019. They also plan to add further development of iFarm technology if funding will allow. Lyskovsky looks to pilot the technology on the European market as well.
HOW IFARM WORKS
Indoor farming makes production convenient. Empty warehouses, workshops, basements, roofs of buildings etc. can accommodate farming units.
Each farm is connected to a cloud-based management system. The system sets growing conditions as well as a unified network of sales distribution. Crops are all treated organically without the use of pesticides or preserving chemicals.
iFarm assures fresh produce as crops are delivered to sales outlets within an hour of harvest.
WHY IFARM?
Companies do not need to study agriculture to go into farming. All they have to do is take modules on seeds, fertilizers, and electronics. Plantations will then be optimized for an urban environment. The process also requires less electricity, water, and fertilizer.
Small and medium enterprises can now download growing recipes from a centralized database. Enterprises can grow foods as easy as a press of a button.
Disrupting Big Agriculture Means Taking Your Crops Indoors: West Mich. Growers Show Us How
BY LAUREN FAY CARLSON, MANAGING EDITOR | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019
Here in Michigan, “[We are] forced into a controlled agriculture environment,” says Revolution Farms co-founder/master grower Ben Kant. Kent refers to the both fertile and challenging growing conditions of the West Michigan climate, which produces beautiful crops—and unpredictable weather.
And here in the upper midwest, we take advantage of a bounty of local crops—when they’re in season. Of course, summer produce like blueberries, cherries, and asparagus, and fall staples like pumpkins and apples supply our thirst for local produce. But Michiganders — like those in many other states that experience the four seasons — are often left sourcing produce from states like California and Arizona in the cold weather months and beyond, increasing the time and distance our food spends traveling from farm to plate, and also decreasing our choices.
To combat this downside in big agriculture, West Michigan farmers are bringing their crops indoors, taking advantage of new technologies to harvest a variety of produce year-round. With new techniques like hydroponics and aquaponics — as well as carefully curated hoop houses — these futuristic farmers are closing the gap for fresh, home-grown, diverse produce, and redefining farm-to-fork for a new generation.
Ben Kant
In Caledonia, produce and fish live in harmony. At Revolution Farms, Kant and his staff utilize aquaponics, or “Creating a living, healthy, harmonious ecosystem that produces amazing quality food,” he says. In a 50,000 square foot green house, Revolution staff grow tilapia naturally—without hormones or antibiotics—and allow them to do what fish do: swim, eat, and excrete. “Ultimately the fish are creating nutrients,” says Kant, who then utilizes a mechanical filtration system to break down the fertilizer into a nutrient-rich solution for the farm’s four different types of greens.
Using this method, Kant and his team are harvesting both fish and greens daily, delivering their products to Spartan Stores and local VanEerden food distributors on a daily basis. “We provide this amazing value of being able to harvest fresh and send out this product to our customer within 24 hours … from the farm to the plate,” says Kant. “It’s really a miracle.”
While Kant has scaled aquaponics to a large operation off a country road, produce is also growing in the heart of Grand Rapids’ Westside, in a humble shipping container labeled “Green Collar Farms.”
After selling his stake in his steel business, Brian Harris semi-retired and became entranced with hydroponics. After getting a great deal on a vacant lot across from Rockford Construction, Harris began experimenting with vertical growing that requires zero soil.
Utilizing a nutrient-rich solution and taking advantage of the dense, cubed (versus linear, on a traditional farm) squares in the shipping container, Harris grows greens like arugula, salanova, and wasabina, and harvests every seven to eight weeks. Starting off small with uncommon varieties, Harris enjoys introducing locals to the diversity of Green Collar's produce.
Most of all, “For me the most fascinating aspect [of hydroponics] … is to disrupt the food distribution system,” says Harris. He notes that the U.S.’s current agriculture system relies on shipped produce from only a handful of popular locations, forcing the market to rely on just a few, hardy plants that can survive the journey. “[Most people] can’t name more than two types of lettuce,” says Harris. “What bothers me most about our distribution system is it’s built for food, not for people,” he adds.
By sourcing to local restaurants like Reserve and The Sovengard who ascribe to seasonal menu items, Green Wagon Farm and CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) in Ada is also disrupting the nationwide food distribution system. “I don't see many cons about agriculture in West Michigan,” says Farm Manager Heather Anderson, who co-founded Green Wagon in 2010 with her husband Chad Anderson. “We actually enjoy the slightly slower winter months, but still appreciate that we have work that we like to do during that time," she adds.
Carefully cultivating their crops in specially-designed structures, the Andersons and their staff are able to shelter their crops year-round from harsh winds, ice, and rain, as well as trap and regulate heat, much like in a greenhouse.
We grow different crops in different areas according to how cold tolerant they are," says Anderson. "Our most cold-tolerant vegetables like collards and asian greens are grown in what we call caterpillar tunnels. These are unheated 15-foot wide hoops covered with plastic. We have the same type of structure, but larger called hoop houses. These are also unheated, except for the sunshine, and house our more tender salad mixes and lettuces," she adds.
“Our produce in the winter is made up of roots and greens,” says Anderson. “The roots are common and many farms have them throughout the winter. It's the greens that are less common to find. You may see kale and spinach here and there, but the lettuce mixes, asian greens, and herbs are what we do differently.”
It’s this dedication to doing things a little bit differently that inspires these West Michigan growers to produce crops for their communities all year long. Instead of romaine from California, Grand Rapidians can sample arugula or spinach from their own backyard (or parking lot), reinvesting in their community and ultimately consuming a healthier, more sustainable meal. For Harris and others, this is the future of American agriculture.
Hoping to someday scale his hydroponic operation to a 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse in the downtown area, Harris has decided to slow down his business for the next year to focus on research and the next step. “Crops will only grow as fast as crops will grow,” he says.
For all of these growers, the effort to cultivate this local produce, even in the harsh, West Michigan winter, is worth it. "It's a lot more work growing vegetables in the winter, but allows us to employ people and feed people year-round," says Anderson.
Photos courtesy of Revolution Farms.
Simple DIY Aquaponic System For The Home
Aquaponics is the art of growing plants in a system where fish and plants co-exist.
Mother nature has been doing this for as long as plants and fish have existed, humans
have been doing this since the beginning of farming and cultivation, but only recently
has it been brought back into the light with hydroponics. Gaining in popularity, this
technique has been proven to have many benefits for crops while being very eco-friendly.
So why should you add aquaponics to your hydroponic garden? Fish and plants have been working
together for a very long time, their practically soul mates. Bacteria from plants breaks down
the fish waste and feed, then converts it into plant food and nutrient. Organic matter contained
in fish feces and feed are also used for the conversion of fish generated ammonia to nitrate.
The plants consuming the dissolved waste nutrients filter the water for the fish. While
dedicated bio-filters and settlers can be added as precautionary measures, this system is
very self correcting, taking away the need for chemical usage such as fertilizers. Even PH levels are adjusted correctly assuming the fish tank and hydroponic setup is contaminant free.
Quick overview of the benefits
-No nutrients required
-PH balance is adjusted correctly on its own
-water is filtered on its own and recycled
-no chemical usage such as fertilizers and pesticides
-fish can be harvested as a second food source
-crops have a higher turn-around and higher yield
What you will need
This technique isn't just for large commercial agriculture companies, setups small enough to add in
your kitchen as a centerpiece or on a teachers desk for educational use can be easily created. With
all the benefits already known, why not add it in to any size of a hydroponic setup. If you already have
a hydroponic setup, all you will need to do is add in an aquarium/tank with the proper fish and you have a fully functional aquaponic system
Items required for indoor aquaponics
- Hydroponic system including plant bed, medium and tubes connecting to tank
- Grow light depending on where your hydroponic system is setup
- Aquarium or fish tank
- Water pump
- Power source for pump and grow light
- Ceramisite
- Fish
- Plants
Lets build!
Step 1 - Fill the black bottom tank to the water mark with clean uncontaminated water.
Step 2 - Find the small transparent tube and connect it to the water pump.
Step 3 - Connect the water pump to the transparent fish tank.
Step 4 - Place the buoy through the transparent tank into the black bottom tank.
Step 5 - Place the transparent tank on the black bottom tank then attach the pumps power
box onto the bottom tanks notch.
Step 6 - Attach the isolation plug to the solid tube at the top of the fish tank then fill
the tank with water up to the isolation plug.
Step 7 - Stack the top plant tray in alignment with the mountain tube.
Step 8 - Install the clear syphon tube into the flow adjustment switch.
step 9 - Add in your ceramisite until it fills the tray about an inch thick.
Step 10 - Add in your fish and plants!
What fish should you use?
Deciding on what type of fish you should use entirely depends on your setup. Large scale
with the purpose of farming and sustainability should have larger fish to produce more
waste and to carry the benefit of being able to harvest the fish for food. Small scale,
like the setup we just built will require smaller fish. Small also gives you the option
of choosing fish based on your perception of attractiveness. Decorative fish that can be
used in small setups like this are guppies, fancy goldfish, angelfish and swordfish. Some
people have taken is as far as creating environments for turtles, crayfish and even shrimp.
What plants should you use?
Most plants will thrive in an aquaponic environment, especially those commonly used for
agricultural purposes. Large scale operations will grow all kinds of vegetables such as
lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, spinach or anything grown on a farm. But since this setup is
small and more so decorative, smaller vegetable and herb plants can be used such as basil,
mint, watercress, chives, parsley, lemon grass, oregano, thyme, succulents and many more.
Get started!
Although the idea of aquaponics can be daunting and seem complicated, it's not as big
of a task as it seems. Whether it's for a green solution to growing crops naturally or
a hobby that can double as decoration, everyone can find a reason to jump on the wagon.
As you have read above, with minimal equipment and time, you can create your own little
Eco-system that provides you with food, education and a wonderful conversation starter.
AUTHOR: Luis Rivera has 20+ years of experience in global market expansion, business development, mergers and acquisitions, business re-engineering, finance and investor relations of software companies. He is passionate about technology, spectral science, indoor farming, food production, automation, and more.
Since 2015 he is the president of Advanced LED Lights, a leading LED grow lights manufacturer based in Hiwasse, Arkansas. When not at work, Luis enjoys swimming, yoga, as well as growing grapes and flowers in Sonoma, California.
German Tunnel Cultivation Is Developing At a Rapid Pace
Domestic strawberries from mid-April and into October; this can only be thanks to modern cultivation methods in film tunnels
About 20% of German strawberries already from protected cultivation
Domestic strawberries from mid-April and into October; this can only be thanks to modern cultivation methods in film tunnels. Until about 15 years ago, the season for strawberries was relatively short. The weather had to cooperate, so that the fruits in the fields would be ripe in the spring. Foil covers helped to speed up the process a bit. If it was too warm and sunny, the harvest was over. Therefore, at the beginning of the 1990s, German farmers began to build dams where they planted the plants and subsequently roofed them with traveling tunnels. But still the planted areas had to be changed regularly. This is because strawberries thrive best on fresh soil. For example, soil where potatoes or vegetables were grown the year before.
Not in the soil anymore
Such fields are not available to every strawberry grower. Therefore, more and more of them rely on vertical cultivation. The strawberries no longer grow in the soil, but above the floor in substrate-filled boxes, which are attached to metal structures. Fertilization takes place through automatic irrigation. This has a number of advantages: picking becomes more comfortable, easier on the back and more effective. A surface can be used for years with consistently high berry quality. And fertilizing and watering is only as environmentally friendly as the plants need. In addition, the ripeness of the fruits can be better controlled. Less and less is left to chance or the whims of Mother Nature.
Protection against the vagaries of nature
About 20% of German strawberries are already grown through protected cultivation. Experts estimate that this proportion will be 50% within ten years. The permanently installed tunnels are becoming increasingly similar to the greenhouses in their technical equipment and can be equipped, for example, with automatic ventilation.
There is another big bonus of this modern strawberry culture: It reduces leaf and fruit diseases. Furthermore, pests can be controlled more easily with biological opponents, so-called 'beneficials'. This can greatly reduce the use of pesticides. Plant protection measures are only carried out if there is a clear diagnosis. Plant protection consultants act like doctors - and only prescribe 'medicine' when it is needed.
Supporting regional cultivation
However, investing in the scaffolds and film tunnels also means that fruit growers have to be able to sell their fruits at stable prices for years, until they have recovered the production costs. Buying from a local strawberry producer not only guarantees fresh, ripe fruits with an excellent taste, but also helps support regional cultivation under sustainable conditions.
Even berry bushes thrive better in the film tunnel
In Germany, not only strawberries, but berry bushes as well are grown increasingly in tunnels. Blueberries can be harvested about three weeks earlier and the end of the season is pushed back. With raspberries, the protection of the fruit and thus their durability are in the foreground, as well as more reliable harvest timing. According to official figures, there are already 250 hectares of covered raspberry cultivation in Germany, and around 50 hectares of blackberries - and the trend is rising. The first German blackcurrants, cultivated under film, are already on the market.
Source: Gabot.de
Publication date : 2/22/2019