Abstract
Indoor vertical farming is a potential solution to address the high food production demands generated by the increased global population and urbanization. However, the maximum potential of indoor farms can only be achieved when optimal cropping systems are used. There is a lack of information concerning vertical farms in the Southeast U.S. since this technology is new and in constant development. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of airflow rates and nutrient concentrations for lettuce ‘Rex’ (Lactuca sativa) and spinach ‘Lizard’ (Spinacia oleracea) production in a deep water culture system inside an indoor vertical farm. We tested four airflow rates (0.4, 0.7, 1.0, and 1.3 m s−1), two fertilizer solution recipes with different nutrient concentrations (Mattson and Resh), and three levels of calcium (Ca) concentration (regular with 90 and 200 mg L−1 Ca for Mattson and Resh, low with 40–50 mg L−1 Ca lower than regular, and high with 40–50 mg L−1 Ca higher than regular). Results showed that a high airflow rate (1.3 m s−1) significantly increased plant water use and solution electrical conductivity (P < 0.01), negatively affected lettuce P, K, and Mg concentrations (P < 0.05) while having no significant effects on spinach growth performance and mineral concentrations. Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe. High Ca concentrations in the solution further accelerated these improvements, with additional benefits on increasing tissue Ca concentrations (P < 0.01). No tipburn symptoms were found, indicating no Ca deficiency induced by low Ca availability, and reduced plant transpiration was presented using these airflow rates and solution Ca concentrations. Overall, slow airflow rates (0.4–0.7 m s−1) and a Resh recipe with high Ca concentration can be used for lettuce and spinach production in vertical farms to increase yield.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
High airflow rate (1.3 m s−1) significantly increased plant water use and solution electrical conductivity in an indoor vertical farm (P < 0.01).
- Taxon
- lettuce and spinach
Spinacia oleracea
Lactuca sativae4 - Treatment
- high airflow rate (1.3 m s−1)e1
- Outcome
- plant water use and solution electrical conductivitye1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Qualifier
- P < 0.01e1
- Setting
- indoor vertical farme0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of airflow rates and nutrient concentrations for lettuce ‘Rex’ (Lactuca sativa) and spinach ‘Lizard’ (Spinacia oleracea) production in a deep water culture system inside an indoor vertical farm”
e1“a high airflow rate (1.3 m s−1) significantly increased plant water use and solution electrical conductivity (P < 0.01)”
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
Claim · model-written summary
High airflow rate (1.3 m s−1) negatively affected lettuce P, K and Mg concentrations (P < 0.05).
- Taxon
- lettuceLactuca sativae2
- Treatment
- high airflow rate (1.3 m s−1)e1
- Outcome
- P, K, and Mg concentrationse2
- Direction
- negatively affectede2
- Qualifier
- P < 0.05e2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“a high airflow rate (1.3 m s−1) significantly increased plant water use and solution electrical conductivity (P < 0.01)”
e2“negatively affected lettuce P, K, and Mg concentrations (P < 0.05)”
Claim · model-written summary
High airflow rate (1.3 m s−1) had no significant effect on spinach growth performance or mineral concentrations.
- Taxon
- spinachSpinacia oleraceae3
- Treatment
- high airflow rate (1.3 m s−1)e1
- Outcome
- growth performance and mineral concentrationse3
- Direction
- no significant effectse3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“a high airflow rate (1.3 m s−1) significantly increased plant water use and solution electrical conductivity (P < 0.01)”
e3“while having no significant effects on spinach growth performance and mineral concentrations”
Claim · model-written summary
Lettuce and spinach grown with the Resh recipe had higher leaf area than with the Mattson recipe.
- Taxon
- Lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae4
- Treatment
- Resh recipee4
- Outcome
- leaf areae4
- Direction
- highere4
- Comparator
- Mattson recipee4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
Claim · model-written summary
Lettuce and spinach grown with the Resh recipe had higher yield than with the Mattson recipe.
- Taxon
- Lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae4
- Treatment
- Resh recipee4
- Outcome
- yielde4
- Direction
- highere4
- Comparator
- Mattson recipee4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
Claim · model-written summary
Lettuce and spinach grown with the Resh recipe had higher shoot and root biomass than with the Mattson recipe.
- Taxon
- Lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae4
- Treatment
- Resh recipee4
- Outcome
- shoot, and root biomasse4
- Direction
- highere4
- Comparator
- Mattson recipee4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
Claim · model-written summary
High Ca concentrations in the solution further accelerated the growth improvements of the Resh recipe.
- Taxon
- Lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae4
- Treatment
- High Ca concentrationse5
- Outcome
- these improvementse5
- Direction
- further acceleratede5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
e5“High Ca concentrations in the solution further accelerated these improvements, with additional benefits on increasing tissue Ca concentrations (P < 0.01)”
Claim · model-written summary
High Ca concentrations in the solution increased tissue Ca concentrations (P < 0.01).
- Taxon
- Lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae4
- Treatment
- High Ca concentrationse5
- Outcome
- tissue Ca concentrationse5
- Direction
- increasinge5
- Qualifier
- P < 0.01e5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
e5“High Ca concentrations in the solution further accelerated these improvements, with additional benefits on increasing tissue Ca concentrations (P < 0.01)”
Claim · model-written summary
No tipburn symptoms were found in lettuce and spinach.
- Taxon
- Lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae4
- Outcome
- tipburn symptomse6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
e6“No tipburn symptoms were found, indicating no Ca deficiency induced by low Ca availability”
Claim · model-written summary
Reduced plant transpiration was presented with the slow and fast airflow rates and solution Ca concentrations tested.
- Taxon
- Lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae4
- Treatment
- these airflow rates and solution Ca concentrationse6
- Outcome
- plant transpiratione6
- Direction
- reducede6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Lettuce and spinach plants grown using the Resh recipe had higher leaf area, yield, shoot, and root biomass than the Mattson recipe”
e6“reduced plant transpiration was presented using these airflow rates and solution Ca concentrations”
Claim · model-written summary
Slow airflow rates (0.4–0.7 m s−1) and a Resh recipe with high Ca concentration can be used for lettuce and spinach production in vertical farms to increase yield.
- Taxon
- lettuce and spinachSpinacia oleraceaLactuca sativae7
- Treatment
- slow airflow rates (0.4–0.7 m s−1) and a Resh recipe with high Ca concentratione7
- Outcome
- yielde7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“slow airflow rates (0.4–0.7 m s−1) and a Resh recipe with high Ca concentration can be used for lettuce and spinach production in vertical farms to increase yield”
The same questions in other papers
calcium atom · nutrient: content · Spinacia oleracea (spinach)Positive and negative results
2 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- negative
- positive
1 paper more in this group
See all 5 papers →calcium atom · nutrient: content · Lactuca sativa (garden lettuce)Positive and negative results
11 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- negative
- negative
10 papers more in this group
See all 14 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.