Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production

Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production provides information on a field that is helping to offset the threats that unusual weather and shortages of land and natural resources bring to the food supply.

As alternative options are needed to ensure adequate and efficient production of food, this book represents the only available resource to take a practical approach to the planning, design, and implementation of plant factory (PF) practices to yield food crops. The PF systems described in this book are based on a plant production system with artificial (electric) lights and include case studies providing lessons learned and best practices from both industrial and crop specific programs.

With insights into the economics as well as the science of PF programs, this book is ideal for those in academic as well as industrial settings.

Provides full-scope insight on plant farm, from economics and planning to life-cycle assessmentPresents state-of-the-art plant farm science, written by global leaders in plant farm advancementsIncludes case-study examples to provide real-world insights

Part I Overview and concept of closed plant production system (CPPS) 1. Introduction 2. Role of plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL) in urban areas 3. PFAL business and R&D in the world – current status and perspectives 4. Plant factory as a resource-efficient closed plant production system 5. Micro- and mini-PFALs for improving quality of life in urban areas 6. Rooftop plant production systems in urban areas

Part II Basics of physics and physiology – Environments and their effects 7. Light 8. Physical environmental factors and their properties 9. Photosynthesis and respiration 10. Growth, development, transpiration and translocation as affected by abiotic environmental factors 11. Nutrition and nutrient uptake in hydroponic systems 12. Tip burn 13. Functional components in leafy vegetables 14. Medicinal components 15. Production of pharmaceuticals in a specially designed plant factory Part III System design, construction, cultivation and management 16. Plant production process, floor plan and layout of PFAL 17. Hydroponic systems 18. Seeding, seedling production and transplanting 19. Transplant production in closed systems 20. Photoautotrophic micropropagation 21. Biological factor management 22. Design and management of PFAL 23. Automated technology in plant factories with artificial lighting 24. Life cycle assessment 25. Education, training, intensive business forums on plant factories Part IV PFALs in operation and its perspectives 26. Selected commercial PFALs in Japan and Taiwan 27. Challenges for the next-generation PFAL 28. Conclusions: resource-saving and resource-consuming characteristics of PFALs