Novel Vertical Farming Solution for High-Wire Crops by Luke
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The technology developed by Luke takes the vertical farming a leap forward by diversifying the crop range.
Challenge
Vertical farming and plant factories are suggested to be one of the key solutions to produce food for ever growing world population. Vertical farming technologies offer solutions to increasing demand for clean, sustainable and locally produced food as well as making production possible in harsh conditions, where water or arable land is limited. Profitable and scalable vertical farming systems are available mainly for leafy greens like lettuce and herbs. Modular and vertical farming solutions for high-wire crops like cucumbers, tomatoes and beans are not on the market yet.
Solution
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) is preparing the commercialization of a novel multilayer technology for high-wire crops where produce is growing horizontally.
Benefits
Luke’s solution offers 25% more cucumber fruits per plant and the quality of the fruits is improved in comparison to traditional cucumber cultivation greenhouses. In addition, the efficiency of energy and water use is enhanced while maintaining constantly optimal growth conditions. Luke’s solution reduces need for manual labour through high level of automation. Thanks to the solution’s modular design and optimized light environment, it is scalable.
The preparation of commercialization of novel multilayer solution for high-wire crops is funded by Business Finland and Natural Resources Institute Finland.
IPR status
Patent APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATION OF LONG-STEM VEGETABLE PLANTS, RELATED METHOD AND USES granted in Finland 2021 (FI129234B), International PCT-patenting process; National applications filed in EU, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea