Abstract

Urban horticulture in vertical systems seems to be a feasible solution to supply a growing urban population with healthy, locally grown vegetables and to utilise waste products such as heat, CO2 and nutrients from cities. However, growing vegetables in such systems is somewhat different than in conventional planar greenhouse systems, with respect to climate and light interception. As part of a completely novel concept, a system for growing Asiatic vegetables (pak choi, mizuna) in a continuous, pumice-based hydroponic system was developed. Factors such as suitable nutrient solutions, cultivars and lighting strategies were evaluated with respect to their influence on production time and product quality, with the aim of producing 300 g pak choi plants within a 35 day cultivation period. The system comprised 0.75-L containers with pumice intended to be reused several times, with the seeds sown directly in the pumice. Nutrient solution was supplied via capillary uptake. Supplementary lighting (HPS/LED) was used to obtain a daily light integral of 12 mol m(-2). Biometric measurements were performed on the plants and climate parameters in the stand and nutrient uptake were monitored. It was concluded that the basic system design was feasible from a crop related perspective, with an overall cropping time of around 42 days.

Keywords

artificial lighting; light emitting diode; nutrient solution; pak choi; pumice; vertical farming

Published in

Acta Horticulturae
2014, Volume: 1034, number: 1034, pages: 149-154
Title: Proceedings of the international symposium on growing media and soilless cultivation : Leiden, the Netherlands June 17-21, 2013
ISBN: 978-94-62610-21-7
Publisher: International Society for Horticultural Science

Conference

International Symposium on Growing Media and Soilless Cultivation

SLU Authors

• Bergstrand, Karl-Johan

  • Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
SDG12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns


UKÄ Subject classification

Horticulture


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1034.17

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/56042