scholarly journals Greenhouse Requirements for Soilless Crop Production: Challenges and Prospects for Plant Factories

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliyu Idris Muhammad ◽  
Abubakar Shitu ◽  
Umar Abdulbaki Danhassan ◽  
Muhammad Hilal Kabir ◽  
Musa Abubakar Tadda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Safe Food ◽  
Control And Management ◽  
Greenhouse Environmental Control

This chapter discussed the greenhouse requirement for soilless crop production. It further introduced soilless crop production and elucidated the equipment required for an efficient production system covering greenhouse environmental control and management of temperature, humidity, lighting, and nutrients using innovative strategies. Also, the energy required for the control of the greenhouse environmental conditions during the crop production cycle was explained. Identification and management of pests and diseases using wireless network sensors and the Internet of Things for efficient and safe food production were also highlighted. Finally, the challenges facing greenhouse crop production itemized, and the prospects of greenhouse technology for sustainable healthy food production were proposed.

Predict indoor environment of greenhouses for automatic greenhouse environmental control using machine learning techniques

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Hui Hsu ◽  
Angela Huang ◽  
Fi-John Chang
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Estimation Model ◽  
Food Energy ◽  
Greenhouse Environmental Control

<p>Maintaining stable crop production is the main benefit of greenhouses, which, however, would consume additional resources to control the indoor environment, as compared to open field cultivation. In consideration of Water-Food-Energy Nexus (WFE Nexus) management, it’s important to build an integrated methodology to estimate and optimize the crop production and resources consumption of greenhouses. Since the crop production of greenhouses is predictable if the indoor environment is well controlled, the main thing we should consider is how to reduce the water and energy consumption as much as possible during the environmental control process for greenhouses. For this purpose, we first build a machine learning-based model to predict indoor environment, including air temperature, relative humidity (RH), and soil water content, for a greenhouse that grows crops. Then according to the suitability criteria of the crop, the predicted values are utilized for environmental control if the values violate the criteria. Under such circumstance, an estimation model is established to determine which type and level of control mechanisms upon water and energy should be activated for meeting the suitability criteria to maintain stable crop production. The study area is a cherry tomato greenhouse located at the farm in Changhua County, Taiwan, where a total of 44,310 datasets were recorded by Internet of Things (IoT) from 2018 to 2019 at a 10-minute temporal resolution. This study also evaluates the efficiency of greenhouses under different scenarios of climatic conditions. The results are expected to contribute to the automatic greenhouse environmental control for stimulating the synergies of the WEF Nexus management toward sustainable development.</p><p>Keywords: Water-Food-Energy Nexus (WFE Nexus); Greenhouse; Machine learning; Internet of Things (IoT)</p>

scholarly journals MANAGING ENVIRONMENT TO OPTIMIZE PRODUCTION AND MINIMIZE COSTS

HortScience ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1182b-1182
Author(s):  
Maynard E. Bates
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Canopy Temperature ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Plant Weight ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Technology

Increased production and reduced costs are goals of all plant growers. As a rule, introduction of computer-based control of the plant environment in a well-designed greenhouse will result in yield increases of thirty percent (30%) over other control techniques. A simple model will show how these changes impact profitability.New technologies in sensors, interfaces, computers, software, and plant growth knowledge are being applied to management of the crop environment. Examples of direct canopy temperature measurement, online plant weight measurement, integration and control of photosynthetic photon flux, and nutrition control will be presented. Integrated process control is replacing setpoint maintenance. Models are being developed for incorporation into environmental control systems. Examples for solar irradiance and crop growth will be demonstrated.Ultimately expert systems based on artificial intelligence technology will manage crop production in controlled environments. These systems will incorporate information on crop genome, local climate, cultural practices, pests and diseases, economics, and markets, in addition to environmental control. A possible configuration of the hardware and software for such a system will be discussed.

Evaluation of Zeolite-based Soilless Root Media for Potted Chrysanthemum Production

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 465e-465
Author(s):  
Janet L. Carlino ◽  
Kimberly A. Williams ◽  
Earl R. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Nutrient Leaching ◽  
Fresh Mass ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Control Medium ◽  
Fertilizer Rate ◽  
Innovative Technologies ◽  
Root Media ◽  
Soluble Fertilizer

Chrysanthemum growth and nutrient leaching of three clinoptilolite-based root media, which were formulated and provided by Boulder Innovative Technologies, Inc. and ZeoponiX, Inc., were compared to the performance of control plants grown in Sunshine Mix #2 (3 peat: 1 perlite, v/v). The control received 210 mg·L–1 N from an 18N–4P–15K soluble fertilizer at each irrigation. The experimental zeolite-based medium NZ, which contained untreated zeolite and received the same soluble fertilizer as the control, leached lower concentrations of NH4-N, K, and PO4-P for most of the production cycle compared to the control. Medium EZ1 was formulated to provide N, P, and K as fertilizer nutrients and produced plants similar to the control based on ratings, height, width, and dry mass, but not fresh mass, at harvest when the fertilizer rate was half of that applied to the control, 105 mg·L–1 N. Medium EZ2, which did not receive P or K from soluble fertilizer, produced plants similar to the control based on rating, height, and dry mass, but not width or fresh mass, with soluble fertilizer input reduced to only N. Tissue N, P, and K concentrations of plants grown in media EZ1 and EZ2 were lower than those of control plants. With further refinements, these zeolite-based products show promise for decreasing nutrient leaching during crop production and allowing for application of lower rates of soluble fertilizers.

scholarly journals AI-Enabled Efficient and Safe Food Supply Chain

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1223
Author(s):  
Ilianna Kollia ◽  
Jack Stevenson ◽  
Stefanos Kollias
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Domain Adaptation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Food Supply Chain ◽  
Food Retail ◽  
Expiry Date ◽  
Safe Food

This paper provides a review of an emerging field in the food processing sector, referring to efficient and safe food supply chains, ’from farm to fork’, as enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The field is of great significance from economic, food safety and public health points of views. The paper focuses on effective food production, food maintenance energy management and food retail packaging labeling control, using recent advances in machine learning. Appropriate deep neural architectures are adopted and used for this purpose, including Fully Convolutional Networks, Long Short-Term Memories and Recurrent Neural Networks, Auto-Encoders and Attention mechanisms, Latent Variable extraction and clustering, as well as Domain Adaptation. Three experimental studies are presented, illustrating the ability of these AI methodologies to produce state-of-the-art performance in the whole food supply chain. In particular, these concern: (i) predicting plant growth and tomato yield in greenhouses, thus matching food production to market needs and reducing food waste or food unavailability; (ii) optimizing energy consumption across large networks of food retail refrigeration systems, through optimal selection of systems that can be shut-down and through prediction of the respective food de-freezing times, during peaks of power demand load; (iii) optical recognition and verification of food consumption expiry date in automatic inspection of retail packaged food, thus ensuring safety of food and people’s health.

scholarly journals Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1011
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Bajan ◽  
Joanna Łukasiewicz ◽  
Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda ◽  
Walenty Poczta
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Energy Return On Investment

The projected increase in the world’s population requires an increase in the production of edible energy that would meet the associated increased demand for food. However, food production is strongly dependent on the use of energy, mainly from fossil fuels, the extraction of which requires increasing input due to the depletion of the most easily accessible deposits. According to numerous estimations, the world’s energy production will be dependent on fossil fuels at least to 2050. Therefore, it is vital to increase the energy efficiency of production, including food production. One method to measure energy efficiency is the energy return on investment (EROI), which is the ratio of the amount of energy produced to the amount of energy consumed in the production process. The literature lacks comparable EROI calculations concerning global food production and the existing studies only include crop production. The aim of this study was to calculate the EROI of edible crop and animal production in the long term worldwide and to indicate the relationships resulting from its changes. The research takes into account edible crop and animal production in agriculture and the direct consumption of fossil fuels and electricity. The analysis showed that although the most underdeveloped regions have the highest EROI, the production of edible energy there is usually insufficient to meet the food needs of the population. On the other hand, the lowest EROI was observed in highly developed regions, where production ensures food self-sufficiency. However, the changes that have taken place in Europe since the 1990s indicate an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the direct use of energy in agriculture and increase the production of edible energy, thus improving the EROI.

scholarly journals (A343) Rebuilding Post Conflict Food Security in Liberia

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s96-s97
Author(s):  
T.W. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Safe Food ◽  
Domestic Food

Liberia's 14 year civil war destroyed domestic agricultural production, veterinary and agricultural education, extension services and domestic food security. These losses severely limited domestic food production, and basic hygiene and sanitation: potable water, abattoirs, cold chain and food storage were greatly diminished. The average Liberian life expectancy fell from 45.8 in 1990 to 41.8 years presently. The population birth and death rate are two of the highest globally with a resulting population growth rate, of 2.7% per annum; this growth rate requires an immediate and concerted focus on domestic food production to alleviate nutritional inadequacy and hunger, trade imbalances and loss of foreign exchange credits. Food supply nationally is presumed adequate because of importation, though domestic production is inadequate. Unequal distribution precludes food security for all Liberians. Value chain augmentation, enhancing food availability across all sectors of Liberian society and ensuring distribution of a safe food supply needs critical development. Infant mortality remains one of the highest in the world (approximately 160/1000 births), much of which is attributed to food insecurity, food contamination and lack of uniformly available potable water. Recreation of Liberia's public health and food security requires redevelopment of disease monitoring and laboratory diagnostic capability to re-establish safe food production and handling practices across all sectors. This will allow determination of endemic disease burden for the principal livestock species: poultry, sheep, goats, cattle and swine. Creation of a national disease surveillance/monitoring system allows for targeted disease intervention, ensuring vaccination for correct serotypes and most critically prevalent diseases. Creation of community level training and support will target intervention of local diseases, but also allow for national prioritization of diseases. Targeting which are most prevalent or most likely to cause production limiting effects will require periodic surveillance, targeted vaccination, and chemotherapeutic intervention and evaluation of therapeutic success.

Irrigation.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Plant Life ◽  
Total Food ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Growing Medium ◽  
Increasing Demand

Abstract Crop production in many regions has been reliant on irrigation for almost as long as man has been cultivating plant life. For 6000 years, irrigation has ranked among the most powerful tools of human advancement (Postel, 1999), and by the start of the 21st century no less than 75% of the world's fresh water was in use for agricultural production (Levy and Coleman, 2014). In 2012, twenty percent of total cultivated land was under irrigation, contributing forty percent of the total food production worldwide, this represented 275 million hectares under actual irrigation with a total of 324 million hectares equipped for irrigation (FAO, 2016). Irrigation, which can be defined as 'the artificial application of water to land, soil or other growing medium for the purposes of crop growth', has become a global issue in more recent times as the increasing demand for fresh water has seen problems develop with water scarcity, quality issues and conflict over usage.

scholarly journals Peach Brown Rot: Still in Search of an Ideal Management Option

Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitus Ikechukwu Obi ◽  
Juan José Barriuso ◽  
Yolanda Gogorcena
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Brown Rot ◽  
Management Option ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Resistant Varieties ◽  
Rot Disease ◽  
Post Harvest Loss

The peach is one of the most important global tree crops within the economically important Rosaceae family. The crop is threatened by numerous pests and diseases, especially fungal pathogens, in the field, in transit, and in the store. More than 50% of the global post-harvest loss has been ascribed to brown rot disease, especially in peach late-ripening varieties. In recent years, the disease has been so manifest in the orchards that some stone fruits were abandoned before harvest. In Spain, particularly, the disease has been associated with well over 60% of fruit loss after harvest. The most common management options available for the control of this disease involve agronomical, chemical, biological, and physical approaches. However, the effects of biochemical fungicides (biological and conventional fungicides), on the environment, human health, and strain fungicide resistance, tend to revise these control strategies. This review aims to comprehensively compile the information currently available on the species of the fungus Monilinia, which causes brown rot in peach, and the available options to control the disease. The breeding for brown rot-resistant varieties remains an ideal management option for brown rot disease control, considering the uniqueness of its sustainability in the chain of crop production.

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