Abstract
Towards sustainable plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) for achieving SDGs
Highlights
There has been increasing interest in plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) or vertical/indoor farms
People often complain about the high production costs of PFAL-grown vegetables, and the social role of PFALs
Since around 2016, the monetary, working hours and electricity, and cultivation area and time productivities for leaf lettuce in Japan have improved considerably in many PFALs. These recent improvements in productivity are the result of introducing LEDs, robotic/automated units, improved cultivation units with production management software and increased public acceptance
Summary
There has been increasing interest in plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) or vertical/indoor farms. Even in improved PFALs in Japan, recent advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), continuous plant traits measurement (phenotyping), solar cells with batteries, and breeding using DNA markers, etc. This paper describes the main viewpoints, challenges and opportunities for developing n-PFALs for achieving some of the SDGs, while noting that we are still at the initial technological and scientific stages of the n-PFAL. The production cost and productivity of existing PFALs in Japan are examined. Perspectives of the n-PFALs and technologies to be integrated into the n-PFALs are presented
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