Improving the Fertigation of Soilless Urban Vertical Agriculture Through the Combination of Struvite and Rhizobia Inoculation in Phaseolus vulgaris

Soilless crop production is a viable way to promote vertical agriculture in urban areas, but it relies extensively on the use of mineral fertilizer. Thus, the benefits of fresher, local food and avoiding the transportation and packaging associated with food import could be counteracted by an increase in nutrient-rich wastewater, which could contribute to freshwater and marine eutrophication. The present study aimed to explore the use of mineral fertilizer substitutes in soilless agriculture. Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) was fertilized with a combination of slow-releasing fertilizer struvite (a source of N, P, and Mg), which is a byproduct of wastewater treatment plants, and inoculation with Rhizobium (a N2-fixing soil bacteria). The experiment included three bean-production lines: (A) 2 g/plant of struvite and rhizobial inoculation; (B) 5 g/plant of struvite and rhizobial inoculation, both irrigated with a Mg-, P-, and N-free nutrient solution; and (C) a control treatment that consisted of irrigation with a full nutrient solution and no inoculation. Plant growth, development, yields, and nutrient contents were determined at 35, 62, and 84 days after transplanting as well as biological N2 fixation, which was determined using the 15N natural abundance method. Treatments A and B resulted in lower total yields per plant than the control C treatment (e.g., 59.35 ± 26.4 g plant–1 for A, 74.2 ± 23.0 g plant–1 for B, and 147.71 ± 45.3 g plant–1 for C). For A and B, the nodulation and N2 fixation capacities appeared to increase with the amount of initially available struvite, but, over time, deficient levels of Mg were reached as well as nearly deficient levels of P, which could explain the lower yields. Nevertheless, we conclude that the combination of struvite and N2-fixing bacteria covered the N needs of plants throughout the growth cycle. However, further studies are needed to determine the optimal struvite quantities for vertical agriculture systems that can meet the P and Mg requirements throughout the lifetime of the plants.

Urbanization and development of vertical agriculture in Russia

This paper discusses new technologies for the production of high-quality agricultural products, which are environmentally friendly and the production of which is now associating not only to rural areas. According to the authors, the concept of a digital city is now widening; it includes new trends, when agricultural production extends its boundaries, including vertical agriculture and farming urbanization.

Vegetable and Gardening Tower of Othmar Ruthner in the Voivodeship Park of Culture and Recreation in Chorzów—The First Example of Vertical Farming in Poland

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the possibility of introducing urban vertical agriculture in Poland through the example of the only comprehensively implemented facility of this type so far. Through the example of Othmar Ruthner’s no longer existing vegetable and gardening tower in Chorzów, the benefits and damages resulting from an attempt to construct such facilities are presented. The paper also contains an analysis and an attempt to critically assess the phenomenon of the vertical greenhouse that was built in Poland, along with an attempt to assess the real causes of its failure. Based on source material analysis, examples of implementation, and available literature on the subject, an analysis of the possibilities of transforming the facility at the time of its demolition and now was made. The phenomenon of the vertical farm in Chorzów, as a trace of the contemporary architectural heritage of Upper Silesia, is a topic for a broader discussion about the architectural heritage created by buildings which are not so much industrial as technical, with a role so far only secondary to what we call the main architectural functions.

Mechanical Stimulation Modifies Canopy Architecture and Improves Volume Utilization Efficiency in Bell Pepper: Implications for Bioregenerative Life-support and Vertical Farming

Mechanical stimuli or stress has been shown to induce characteristic morphogenic responses (thigmomorphogenesis) in a range of crop species. The typical mechanically stimulated phenotype is shorter and more compact than non-mechanically stimulated plants. This dwarfing effect can be employed to help conform crop plants to the constraints of spaceflight and vertical agriculture crop production systems. Capsicum annum (cv. California Wonder) plants were grown in controlled environment chambers and subjected to mechanical stimulation in the form of firm but gentle daily rubbing of internode tissue with a tightly wrapped cotton swab. Two studies were conducted, the first being a vegetative growth phase study in which plants were mechanically stimulated until anthesis. The second study carried the mechanical stimulation through to fruit set. The response during the vegetative growth experiment was consistent with other results in the literature, with a general reduction in all plant growth metrics and an increase in relative chlorophyll (SPAD) content under mechanical stimulation. In the fruiting phase study, only height and stem thickness differed from the control plants. Using the data from the fruiting study, a rudimentary calculation of volume use efficiency (VUE) improvements was conducted. Results suggest that VUE can be improved, particularly in terrestrial vertical agriculture systems that can take advantage of moderate height reductions by exploiting much greater vertical capacity in the production system. Mechanical stimulation can also improve VUE in spaceflight applications by reducing vertical system requirements or by expanding the species range that can be grown in a fixed production volume. Mechanical stimulation is also discussed as a microgravity countermeasure for crop plants.