A review on effect of ambient environment factors and monitoring technology for plant factory

Sumaiya  Islam1   Md Nasim  Reza1,2   Milon  Chowdhury1,2   Sun-Ok  Chung1,2   Il-Su  Choi3,*   

1Department of Smart Agricultural System, Graduate School, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
2Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Graduate School, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
3National Institute of Agricultural Science, RDA, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea

Abstract

In a plant factory, plants are grown and produced in a controlled environment. Temperature, humidity, light, air velocity, and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration are the major ambient environmental variables that affect plant growth and development in plant factories. The objectives of this paper were to review the effect of ambient environmental factors and monitoring technology for the plant factories. Light is the major energy source for the plants. The findings suggest that optimum light intensities for plant development and increased production range was 150 to 250 µmolm−2s−1. A greater understanding of plant development and quality may be gained by using the alternating light sources. There is a significant increase in photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate when air velocity is between 0.3 and 0.7 ms−1 and a constant horizontal air flow application was shown to be more effective. With the increase of temperature, plant growth and development accelerates linearly. The temperature ranged from 15 to 35°C and humidity from 60 to 70% were the best suited for the plant in the plant factory. The net photosynthesis rate can be increased from 62 to 76%, if the air circulation rises from 0.3 to 1.0 ms−1 or CO2 concentration rises from 273 to 545 µmolmol−1. Different photoresistors, resistance temperature detector, nondispersive infrared sensor, and velocity sensors are most common for light, temperature, humidity, CO2 and air velocity monitor and control for plant factory ambient environment. The review would provide an opportunity for automatic control and monitoring of the ambient environment based on plant conditions.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Ambient environment factors in a plant factory (modified from horiba.com).