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Vegetables produced from hydroponic vertical farms have been round for a few years, however the sector has lengthy had hassle shifting previous criticisms of offering ‘empty’ diet attributable to these methods being fully sterile and devoid of dietary advantages from the standard microbial exercise in soil.
In this point in time although, new precision diet know-how has enabled the sector to maneuver far previous these preliminary ‘empty’ diet points even when the farming atmosphere nonetheless stays sterile, even when the general public just isn’t but conscious of this.
“We are at a point now in scientific R&D where we know exactly what the plants need and how to give it to them,” hydroponics agency Artisan Green Founder Ray Poh instructed FoodNavigator-Asia.
“The key is utilising this knowledge to formulate the right nutrition profiles and delivering it to the vegetables correctly – without getting the nutrition right, even vegetables that are grown the traditional method in soil can also end up devoid of nutrients and tasting bland.
“Technology has really been our friend in this, as we use a specialised digital platform to deliver precise nutrients to specific plants based on farming and plant science knowledge – the benefits of which can be felt by consumers not only in terms of the nutrients consumed, but also the taste and mouthfeel of their salads.”
Precision diet right here includes not solely exact nutrient supply but in addition management of the varied environmental situations from lighting to temperature and extra.
“We also have herbs for salads and cooking, and the technology is so advanced now that we know for instance increasing the exposure of basil to blue light can greatly enhance its aromatic characteristics, which are very desirable for consumption either raw or as part of cooking,” he mentioned.
“This technology has also allowed us to make vegetables that were previously considered very premium more affordable and available – for instance baby spinach, which is something of a premium vegetable in markets like Singapore as previously only imported baby spinach was available here.
“Even in the global market, baby spinach is one of the hardest vegetables to grow as it is very sensitive and very finicky –but we now have the knowledge and technology to grow it well, and it is one of our best-sellers in supermarkets so as we gain scale, we can make it more affordable.”
This type of precision farming additionally holds benefit by way of personalised consuming experiences, based on tech large Siemens which designed the vertical farming system utilized by Artisan Green.
“On one end, you have the visual side of this sort of precision farming, which could be utilised in areas such as specific shades of red or yellow in particular fruits or vegetables, selectable based on what the consumer is looking for,” Siemens APAC Head of Digital Industries Factory Automation Sascha Maennl instructed us.
“Then there is also the quality and mouthfeel that can be made more precise, for instance increasing tomatoes to light exposure can lead to the production of redder, sweeter tomatoes which might appeal to those looking for a sweeter, juicier bite, but those who prefer a crisper, crunchier texture might opt for tomatoes cultivated differently instead.”
Food waste discount
The different main good thing about precision farming lies within the sustainability elements, each from the angles of accelerating greens within the meals provide in addition to meals waste discount.
“Being able to control many aspects of the production process means that the supply chain can be more stable and efficient,” Maennl added.
“For example, we could see FairPrice supermarket ordering more tomatoes this week and thus increase light exposure so they grow faster – but if next week the order is smaller then we decrease the light exposure so they grow slower and can stay on the vine for longer.
“This prevents the need to harvest the vegetables before the consumer demand is ready to take these, which in turn reduces the production of food waste.”
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