Comparative Analysis on Facility, Environment, Growth of Cut Flower, and Management Performance in Conventional and Smart Farm of <i>Chrysanthemum</i> ‘Baekma’

Abstract

We analyzed and compared the facility status, cultivation environment, growth of flowers, and management performance of a conventional farm and a smart farm in which Chrysanthemum ‘Baekma’ was grown. The conventional farm consisted of cultivation with soil culture in a plastic film greenhouse, whereas the smart farm consisted of hydroponic cultivation in a glass greenhouse. The smart farm was equipped with sensors for measuring solar radiation, temperature, humidity, CO2, wind speed, rainfall, and pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of the nutrient solution, and was managed in real time using computers and mobile phone applications. In contrast, the conventional farm had neither sensors for environmental measurement nor pH and EC sensors for fertigation, and all systems were operated manually. The day and night temperatures in the plastic film house of the conventional farm were lower than the optimum growth temperature of Chrysanthemum ‘Baekma’. The soil EC of the conventional farm was found to be high (3.2 dS･m-1) indicating that it was not suitable for the growth of cut flowers, whereas the smart farm was properly managed at 1.1 dS･m-1. With respect to the cultivation method, no soil disinfection was performed at the conventional farm, whereas disinfection using hydrogen peroxide was performed at the smart farm. Although there were no other significant differences in cultivation methods, symptoms of damage by mites were seen at the conventional farm. The plant growth, such as length of cut flowers, flower diameter, fresh weight, and chlorophyll content were improved in the smart farm compared with the conventional farm. In terms of management performance (based on an area of 1,000 m2), the net income was -419,000 won for the conventional farm and 4,484,000 won for the smart farm, and the yield and sales price were 22% and 52% higher in smart farm than in the conventional farm, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the differences in the plant growth as well as management performance can be attributed to precise plant growth regulation by the automated facilities at the smart farm.