Vertical farming (VF) of transplants in growth rooms with LED lights, CO2 injection, and precise control of temperature & humidity has potential to optimize the rooting environment. However, increased cost of VF (especially capital and electrical cost) needs to be offset by shorter crop time and increased rooting success compared with greenhouse (GH) production.
Dr. Paul Fisher and his Ph.D. student, George Grant are evaluating costs & benefits of VF for tissue culture transplants. George is interested in
- evaluating the production time of tissue culture transplants in VF and GH environments,
- determining optimum conditions for rooting and crop uniformity in VF for tissue culture material, and
- developing an enterprise budget for VF of tissue culture transplants that growers can use in management decisions for their own operation.
Source: Floriculture Research Alliance