#Growbot greenhouse free
Projects such as the ‘Hands Free Hectare’ have shown that barley can be grown entirely without human interference. But the extent of the progress being made may surprise farmers. We all know the robots are coming to automate farming. It does this by engineering specific plant traits and characteristics and then breeding them into the plants, so that their cultivation becomes more efficient and less energy intensive.įor example, plants that have traditionally only been grown outdoors – and therefore emitted more carbon – may have their genes modified to allow them to be farmed more efficiently inside greenhouses.īoth of these innovative companies are startups, and received funding from the Shell Livewire programme, normally focused on mainstream tech.īlockchain, the most hyped technology of our era, is seen as a potential game-changer in creating trusted and transparent supply chains Arrival of the robot arm y Phytoform Labs uses gene-editing technologies to reduce carbon emissions in the agriculture industry.
Founder Adam Dixon calls it a “jacuzzi in a bag”, and claims it uses 80 per cent less water than soil-based farming.
#Growbot greenhouse install
The grow bag is made of a flexible polymer which offers high performance, but is cheaper to transport and install than regular hydroponics systems. Phytoponics grows vine crops, such as peppers and tomatoes, in an inflatable bag filled with water, which is attached to a pump to filter in nutrients and aerate the water. Phytoponics is a Cardiff-based company looking to revolutionise the efficiency of commercial greenhouses. It will use up to 90 per cent less water and 50 per cent less fertiliser than conventional growing methods, saving on input costs.įood production needs to increase by 70 per cent to feed the nine billion population projected for 2050. This makes it ideal for the beauty and pharmaceutical industries. The facility is housed in a clean environment, so crops are grown in isolation from contamination. GE’s role is to install more than 12km of its Arize LED horticultural bar lights, which offer a balanced light spectrum that catalyses growth and shortens the growth cycle. Vertical farming has been around for a while, but recently has begun to scale dramatically.Ī new scheme based in North Lincolnshire by Jones Food Company and Current, a division of General Electric, will be the largest indoor farm in Europe, producing up to 420 tonnes of leafy greens per year across a growing area of 5,120 m² (equivalent to 26 tennis courts) arranged in racks rising to the height of 11m. And the bees, of course, are entirely unharmed.
#Growbot greenhouse trial
In a recent trial on blueberries in Nova Scotia, yield increases were recorded at 77 per cent. This fruit was independently shown to be sweeter and had a longer shelf life. In a large-scale trial in Florida it delivered comparable or improved disease protection over sprayed chemicals, as well as increasing fruit yield by between 7 and 29 per cent.
It reduces or negates the need for spraying pesticides, thus preventing chemicals entering the water supply.
The powder is a naturally occurring fungus named clonostachys rosea which, when absorbed by a plant, enables it to effectively block destructive diseases, such as botrytis, in strawberries. They brush past a powder which clings to their fur. The BVT system makes commercially reared bumblebees through a specialist tray dispenser as they leave their hive. This innovative new method uses bumblebees to distribute a naturally occurring, organic, inoculating fungus while carrying out their natural foraging cycle. Bees as micro-distributors of pesticideīee Vectoring Technologies is a Canadian startup which has developed a commercial alternative to spraying food crops with pesticide. Here are the cutting edge technologies taking farming towards this goal. Fortunately, the industry is benefiting from some radical thinking. Food production needs to increase by 70 per cent to feed the nine billion population projected for 2050.
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