Greenhouse farming: Hydroponic vertical farming- Internet of Things (IOT) Technologies: An updated review

Abstract

This review paper of literature highlights the importance of greenhouse urban farming technology, hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, vertical farming and applications of Internet of Things (IOT) technologies. The greenhouse farming is a well known modern agriculture technology for optimal plant growth. Hydroponics, a soilless cultivation technique using nutrient solutions under controlled conditions, is used for growing vegetables, high-value crops, and flowers. Vertical farming is a popular trend in hydroponics that involves stacking multiple layers of plants in a vertical arrangement. This farming method saves space, reduces water usage, and increases yields per square foot of growing area. In comparison to conventional greenhouse cultivation, hydroponics requires less fertilizer, pesticides, and water due to the precise control over their distribution. The term “Internet of Things (IOT)” is a system of interconnected computing devices, sensors, objects, microcontrollers, and cloud servers that can transmit data across a network and control other devices remotely without human intervention. A better management of nutrient solution in hydroponic systems requires optimum pH, electrical conductivity (EC), or ions concentration. The three main greenhouse farming gases (GHGs) emissions in hydroponics hi-tech urban farming are nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide (CO2). To measure the levels of CO2 in hydroponics, the more intermediate to advanced grower can use a CO2 monitoring and controllers system. Hydroponic vertical farming is in infancy in India. Although hydroponic vertical farming units for production of crops like strawberry, lettuce and other leafy vegetables, foliage and flowers are functioning in major metros of India. However, the organized hydroponic vertical farms for production of food crops are not available in India. Therefore, only a few successful hydroponic vertical farms have been built in India mainly due to the initial high price tag on construction and the cost of maintaining them afterwards. Another disadvantage is carbon footprint of hydroponic vertical farming is very high, and discourages its applications.