Hello everyone! I’m Shohei.
This time, the topic is “What about cultivating grains in plant factories?”
I would like to explain the possibility of cultivating wheat and soybeans.
Plant factories are mainly known for cultivating leafy vegetables such as lettuce.
Is it possible to cultivate grains such as wheat and soybeans? Are there any benefits to cultivating grains in plant factories?
Well, considering that there are no plant factories currently cultivating grains, we can expect some challenges.
There are some very tough reasons why grain cultivation in plant factories is difficult… I’ll explain them.
If you’re wondering why plant factories only grow leafy vegetables in the first place, please refer to the following article.
Differences Between Plant Factories and Open-Field Cultivation
First, I’ll explain the major differences between plant factories and open-field cultivation.
Plant factories are facilities that artificially control environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, light, and carbon dioxide concentration.
Environmental control is important because maintaining optimal conditions for crop growth allows for improved quality and stable production. Furthermore, because they are less susceptible to external influences, they can be produced year-round and on a planned basis, allowing for production that meets market needs.
On the other hand, open-field cultivation is a traditional form of agriculture that grows crops by utilizing natural conditions outdoors.
Open-field cultivation is widely practiced because it directly utilizes natural resources such as sunlight and soil, which allows for lower capital investment. However, it has the disadvantage of being highly susceptible to weather, making stable production difficult.
Whether these characteristics are “suitable” for cultivating grains is hidden within.
Challenges of Plant Factories in Wheat and Soybean Cultivation
Now, considering the characteristics of plant factories and open-field cultivation, let’s explain whether grains can be cultivated.
From a purely technical standpoint, it is “possible”.
However, if you try to cultivate grains in a plant factory, you will encounter the following obstacles:
1. Ensuring Light Levels and Cost
Wheat and soybeans require more light for growth than other vegetables. In particular, they require a large amount of light during the reproductive growth stage (from flowering to ripening).
However, providing the amount of light needed to cultivate grains in a plant factory using artificial light requires a huge amount of electricity. This is a major challenge in terms of cost.
2. Growth Period and Space Efficiency in Cultivation
Wheat and soybeans have a longer growth period and are taller than vegetables. For wheat, it takes about 6 months from sowing to harvesting, while soybeans take 3 to 4 months. Also, wheat can grow to over 1 meter tall, while soybeans can grow to 60 to 70 cm.
This is because they require a long growth period to produce fruit. Therefore, it is difficult to efficiently use the limited space of a plant factory. Leafy vegetables that are short, can be harvested quickly, and can maximize the use of space are better suited.
3. Balance with Selling Price
Current plant factories prioritize profitability for high-yield crops such as strawberries. This is because a high level of profitability is required to recover the high initial investment and operating costs. Also, for leafy vegetables, it is important to realize high turnover with a short growth period.
However, the market price for wheat and soybeans is lower than vegetables, and due to the possibility of mass production and the abundance of supply compared to demand, it is currently difficult to exceed the production cost in a plant factory.
Also, there is fierce price competition for plant factory vegetables, and large-scale production is required. This is because it is necessary to achieve cost reductions by leveraging economies of scale. However, since wheat and soybeans have characteristics that make them unsuitable for plant factories, even large-scale production will make efficient production difficult.
The Future of Wheat and Soybean Cultivation in Plant Factories
While it is currently economically unfeasible to cultivate wheat and soybeans in plant factories, there may be possibilities in the future.
However, in recent plant factories, even with other leafy vegetables, profitability is currently difficult.
For wheat and soybean cultivation in plant factories to become a reality, it may be a long way off.
Improving field capabilities is essential to increase profitability in plant factories, but this site provides the know-how to achieve this.
If you are interested, please check out the following content.
However, plant factory technology is constantly advancing.
If energy-saving technologies and cost-reduction technologies are developed, costs may be significantly reduced, potentially allowing for grain cultivation.
Furthermore, plant factory technologies may be utilized for food production in environments where open-field cultivation is difficult, such as space. In such environments, stable production is prioritized over costs, so the strengths of plant factories may be leveraged.
Summary
While it is currently economically unfeasible to cultivate wheat and soybeans in plant factories, there may be possibilities in the distant future.
I believe that it is important to continue pursuing the possibilities of plant factories for the future of food security.
- What can be grown in plant factories?
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Plant factories mainly cultivate leafy vegetables. Lettuce, spinach, and salad greens are typical examples. These vegetables can be harvested in a short period of time, and their unit prices are relatively high, making them suitable for plant factories.
Fruit vegetables such as tomatoes and strawberries, as well as herbs, are also being cultivated. These are high value-added items that can leverage the benefits of cultivation in plant factories.
On the other hand, grains are currently considered difficult to cultivate in plant factories due to cost and cultivation efficiency issues. However, with technological advancements in the future, grain cultivation may become possible. Plant factory technologies may be utilized for food production in special environments such as space.
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