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In recent years, a new urban environment in the large metropolitan areas, the so-called “megacities”, has emerged. It is estimated that more than five billion people will be located in urban areas by 2030. Many projects have been initiated in the megacities to support the new ecosystem services in providing the most sustainable and efficient food supply solutions, as well as for transporting fresh and clean vegetables. One of the most important focus areas is research on energy sustainability, including how to optimize energy efficiency to meet the needs of citizens and companies. Indoor urban vertical farming (IUVF) is one of the greatest achievements of our time in agriculture, as it is entirely focused on meeting the food needs of people living in urban areas with the lowest environmental and energy costs. IUVF creates a new foundation in the urban food production system, providing opportunities for many other sustainable activities, such as energy and grey water recycling, but beyond all, it helps citizens to have access in fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables and to become more creative building up their skills regarding sustainable food production. In this study, the internal rate of return (IRR) and the net present value (NPV) indexes were used to compare IUVF and greenhouse (GH) facilities under various financing schemes. Consistent with similar studies, this research also confirms that IUVF is much more profitable for investors, saving significant resources compared to GHs.
Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki; George Xydis. Indoor Vertical Farming in the Urban Nexus Context: Business Growth and Resource Savings. Sustainability 2020, 12, 1965 .
AMA StyleDafni Despoina Avgoustaki, George Xydis. Indoor Vertical Farming in the Urban Nexus Context: Business Growth and Resource Savings. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (5):1965.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDafni Despoina Avgoustaki; George Xydis. 2020. "Indoor Vertical Farming in the Urban Nexus Context: Business Growth and Resource Savings." Sustainability 12, no. 5: 1965.
Vertical farming is a novel type of food production in indoor environments with artificial lighting and controlled cultivation conditions. In this context, sustainability in small-scale indoor cultivation systems is crucial. Sustainability can be achieved by optimizing all the cultivation factors involved in the production process. The effects of different photoperiod conditions under different timing during plant development—from sowing to germination and maturity—have been studied in a small-scale indoor cultivation area. The main objective of this research was to investigate the possibilities of an optimized photoperiod for basil plants to reduce the energy demand cost of the cultivation unit. Three different photoperiod treatments (P8D16L, P10D14L, and P11D13L) were applied to basil plants with stable light intensity. Furthermore, the photoperiod was shortened to test the reaction of the biomass from the plants in a reduced energy demand system. The dry biomass produced was measured along with the energy consumed in each treatment. The basil quality was assessed by measuring different physiological indices, such as chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), total chlorophyll (Chl tot), the fraction of photosynthetically active irradiance absorbed by the leaf, and leaf temperature. The results of the study showed that a shorter photoperiod did not negatively affect the quantity and quality of the basil plants. Continuously, the evaluation of the energy demand variation under the different photoperiod treatments can provide a significant positive impact on the energetic, ecological, and economic aspects of small-scale food production.
Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki. Optimization of Photoperiod and Quality Assessment of Basil Plants Grown in a Small-Scale Indoor Cultivation System for Reduction of Energy Demand. Energies 2019, 12, 3980 .
AMA StyleDafni Despoina Avgoustaki. Optimization of Photoperiod and Quality Assessment of Basil Plants Grown in a Small-Scale Indoor Cultivation System for Reduction of Energy Demand. Energies. 2019; 12 (20):3980.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDafni Despoina Avgoustaki. 2019. "Optimization of Photoperiod and Quality Assessment of Basil Plants Grown in a Small-Scale Indoor Cultivation System for Reduction of Energy Demand." Energies 12, no. 20: 3980.
Early detection of nitrogen deficit stress is essential to effectively and precisely manage crop production under greenhouse conditions. This article demonstrates the use of hyperspectral machine vision as a non-contact technique for detecting crop nitrogen deficit in a soilless tomato crop. Three different levels of nitrogen concentration were applied in tomato plants grown in a growth chamber under controlled environment conditions. The results demonstrate that crop reflectance increased due to nitrogen deficiency, mostly in the wavelength bands between 775 nm–850 nm and 910 nm–960 nm. Based on the reflectance measurements several reflectance indices were calculated and correlated with the tomato leaf chlorophyll or nitrogen content and with the leaf photosynthesis rate (As). The results showed that when the As and the chlorophyll content values changed more than 0.5 μmol m−2 s−1 and 2.8 μg cm−2, respectively, the photochemical reflectance index (PRI) and the transformed chlorophyll absorption in reflectance index (TCARI) values varied more than 0.05 and 2.8, respectively. In addition, the results showed that for N changes higher than 0.20%, the optimised soil adjusted vegetation index (OSAVI) and the modified soil adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI) values varied more than 0.05 and 0.25, respectively. A new spectral index (background adjustment nitrogen index – BANI) was developed and validated under experimental conditions for the estimation of tomato plant nitrogen concentration.
A. Elvanidi; N. Katsoulas; D. Augoustaki; I. Loulou; C. Kittas. Crop reflectance measurements for nitrogen deficiency detection in a soilless tomato crop. Biosystems Engineering 2018, 176, 1 -11.
AMA StyleA. Elvanidi, N. Katsoulas, D. Augoustaki, I. Loulou, C. Kittas. Crop reflectance measurements for nitrogen deficiency detection in a soilless tomato crop. Biosystems Engineering. 2018; 176 ():1-11.
Chicago/Turabian StyleA. Elvanidi; N. Katsoulas; D. Augoustaki; I. Loulou; C. Kittas. 2018. "Crop reflectance measurements for nitrogen deficiency detection in a soilless tomato crop." Biosystems Engineering 176, no. : 1-11.