Development of an indoor farming cultivation process for Rhodiola rosea, using an aeroponic and deep-water irrigation method
Indoor vertical farming is a method of growing crops in a controlled system with multi-level shelfs and the use of artificial lighting, which can produce high yield and high-quality crops through the year.
For Rhodiola rosea, an important medicinal plant, a high need for domestication is seen in order to meet the rising global demand.
Due to its small height of 30 cm, valuable bioactive ingredients in roots and leaves and the possibility of fast, clean and safe soilless production, a cultivation in an indoor vertical farm could be beneficial.
Therefore, this work aims to cultivate Rhodiola rosea for the first time in a multilayer deep-water and aeroponic multilayer system, considering also the effect of different plant densities of 12.5, 25 and 50 plants m‑2. The plants were cultivated over a time period of 84 days.
The results proved the aeroponic system to be very error-prone, so that this treatment could not be evaluated.
Nevertheless, the plants started to bloom after 84 days of cultivation, which did point out the suitability of the deep-water system.
Based on a dry mass of 2.0 g plant‑1 (plant density: 50 plants m‑2) a potential dry mass of 1 t ha‑1 would be reached after 12 weeks of cultivation.
In field production a yield of 2-4 t ha‑1 root dry mass after 3 years were documented in the literature.
Based on the scope of the shown data, further trials are needed.
However, the results show the suitability and the potential of indoor farming for year-round cultivation of Rhodiola rosea at a high productivity.
Jüttner, I., Mauser, N., Wittmann, S., Itri, E. and Mempel, H. (2023). Development of an indoor farming cultivation process for Rhodiola rosea, using an aeroponic and deep-water irrigation method. Acta Hortic. 1369, 165-170
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1369.20
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1369.20
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1369.20
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1369.20
Rhodiola rosea, aeroponic, hydroponic, deep-water, indoor farming
English