Vertical Farming

This Working Group focuses on applied and basic research as well as outreach activities related to vertical farming. Vertical farms are also called plant factories, or indoor farms. Vertical farms are high-tech production systems where plants are grown in stacked layers or on vertical walls in buildings. All or most of the light is provided by lamps, which are typically LEDs. In these production systems all the growth conditions can be precisely controlled. It allows for standardized production of plants. The precise control of light (intensity, spectrum, profile, and daylength), CO2 concentration, temperature, air humidity, air flow, plant density, water and nutrient availability makes it so that very high crop yields as well as premium quality can be achieved.

Technically almost all crops can be grown in vertical farms, but it is most suitable for crops with high added value such as fresh vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and pharmaceutical or nutraceutical crops. Vertical farming is also very suitable for raising young plants or speed breeding of a wide variety of crops, including field-grown crops.

There are a number of similarities and differences with growing crops in greenhouses. These two systems should not be seen as competitors, but systems that can learn from each other. Furthermore, many hybrid forms between greenhouses and vertical farms are being developed.

Vertical farms can be highly sustainable with respect to water, nutrient, land, and pesticide use. However, energy use and costs can be very high. Vertical farming is still a very new way of growing plants, which implies that many improvements can be made.

This Working Group has a distinct multidisciplinary nature, and considers all aspects of vertical farming, ranging from plant physiology to social sustainability of vertical farms. It encompasses expertise on plant breeding, molecular biology, plant physiology, simulation modelling, plant sensing, digital twins, AI, automation & robotics, engineering, economics, and environmental and social sustainability (including life cycle assessments). The Working Group also fosters co-creation by academia and industry partners and supports connecting researchers from universities and research institutes with private industries.

Related: Check the following thematic issues published in the ISHS journal eJHS:

VertiFarm2024: III International Workshop on Vertical Farming, January 16-19, 2024, Bologna, Italy, Conveners: Francesco Orsini and Giuseppina Pennisi https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/toc/ejhs/89/5
VertiFarm2023: II International Workshop on Vertical Farming, May 22-24, 2023, Chengdu, China, Convener: Qichang Yang https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/toc/ejhs/89/4
VertiFarm2019: I International Workshop on Vertical Farming, 13-15 October 2019, Wageningen, Netherlands, Conveners: Francesco Orsini, Leo Marcelis and Murat Kacira https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/toc/ejhs/85/5