We are facing global problems of food shortage and/or unstable supply, resources (land, water, fossil fuel, etc.) shortage, and environmental degradation. To solve these problems, plant production systems with less resource consumption and environmental degradation for high yield and quality plant production should be employed. Plant factories with artificial light can be considered as one of the above systems. The benefits of the plant factory include 1) high input use efficiencies; 2) clean, safe, and nutrient plant production without pesticides; 3) vertical cultivation with high plant density and annual productivity, and 4) attracting young laborers due to the comfortable and light working environment.
Current major problems to be solved in plant factories are the high initial investment and the electricity and labor costs. The electric energy consumed by plant factories with artificial light (PFAL) accounts for around 30% of the total operation cost used in a PFAL. To reduce the electric energy consumption and/or improve the economic benefits of the plant factory, advanced technologies related to energy saving, plant quality control and labor-saving, urgently need to be studied and developed.
In this Research Topic, we welcome all article types published by Frontiers in Plant Science that dissect the use of advanced technologies for energy saving, quality improvement and mechanization development, especially those that focus on:
1. LED lighting for energy-saving and quality control;
2. Nutrient solution control for improving plant yield and quality;
3. Renewable energy technologies for reducing electric energy consumption;
4. Novel technologies for improving input resources use efficiencies;
5. Models and artificial neural network for crop prediction;
6. Plant factory design;
7. Advanced mechanical equipments development.
We are facing global problems of food shortage and/or unstable supply, resources (land, water, fossil fuel, etc.) shortage, and environmental degradation. To solve these problems, plant production systems with less resource consumption and environmental degradation for high yield and quality plant production should be employed. Plant factories with artificial light can be considered as one of the above systems. The benefits of the plant factory include 1) high input use efficiencies; 2) clean, safe, and nutrient plant production without pesticides; 3) vertical cultivation with high plant density and annual productivity, and 4) attracting young laborers due to the comfortable and light working environment.
Current major problems to be solved in plant factories are the high initial investment and the electricity and labor costs. The electric energy consumed by plant factories with artificial light (PFAL) accounts for around 30% of the total operation cost used in a PFAL. To reduce the electric energy consumption and/or improve the economic benefits of the plant factory, advanced technologies related to energy saving, plant quality control and labor-saving, urgently need to be studied and developed.
In this Research Topic, we welcome all article types published by Frontiers in Plant Science that dissect the use of advanced technologies for energy saving, quality improvement and mechanization development, especially those that focus on:
1. LED lighting for energy-saving and quality control;
2. Nutrient solution control for improving plant yield and quality;
3. Renewable energy technologies for reducing electric energy consumption;
4. Novel technologies for improving input resources use efficiencies;
5. Models and artificial neural network for crop prediction;
6. Plant factory design;
7. Advanced mechanical equipments development.