Beining, China
December 16, 2010
On Dec. 5, Beijing IEDA Protected Horticulture Co., Ltd., subordinate company of the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, unveiled its latest R&D results, home-based plant factory and a series of home-based horticulture products, and signed strategic cooperation agreements with a number of world-known companies, such as Philips Lighting, Mitsubishi Chemical, Panasonic China, Everlight Electronics, Yangzi Electrical Appliances and OULIN Group, at the Press Conference on Fruits of Plant Factory Innovation. This marked the birth of the first home-based plant factory in China, the formation of a strategic alliance for R&D in plant factory, and the immediate introduction of digital plant factories with the most sophisticated technologies of protected horticulture into homes.
This home-based plant factory is a refrigerator-sized device composed of over 10 digital intelligent systems. These systems are divided into vegetable production section, seedling production section and edible fungi section through drawer-like structures. The vegetable production section is a three-layer cubic cultivation structure, where 45 plants of leaf vegetables can be planted for one cropping, with an annual output of 60-80 kg; the seedling production section is a single-layer structure, where 70-100 seedlings can be produced for one cropping; and the edible fungi section is a four-layer structure, where 4-8 fungus sticks can be placed for one cropping. The artificial light source of white LED is applied for the growth of all vegetables, saving energy by over 60% compared with ordinary light sources; all the environmental factors in the systems, such as temperature, humidity, light, wind speed and nutrient fluid, are intelligently controlled by the PLC system through simple operations; the gaseous fertilizer of carbon dioxide necessary for crops is supplied through the breathing of family members and edible fungi in the devise, a true manifestation of low-carbon and eco-friendliness. In addition, this device adopts the technology of the Internet of Things. Therefore people can check the growth of vegetables, adjust the control parameters and realize on-line management and remote control anywhere through mobile phone, laptop, PDA and other network terminals.
As introduced by Ge Yifeng, one of the developers of this home-based plant factory, this set of systems could be used to grow all kinds of leaf vegetables, spice crops and edible fungi. It required no application of agrochemicals, and thus produced safe and contamination-free vegetables. It could not only satisfy families’ demand for safe and green vegetables as well as the joy of being close to nature, but also create a natural oxygen bar for homes and offices by absorbing carbon dioxide in humans’ living environment and releasing a great amount of oxygen, bringing great pleasure to the city life.
According to the introduction, this plant factory integrated a series of high technologies, including modern biotechnology, information technology, new-type materials, mechanical engineering, and artificial environment control; its output was dozens of times, or even hundreds of times of that of land cultivation; and it could work in gobi, deserts, islands, water surface, polar regions, outer space and even skyscrapers in cities. Therefore it was globally recognized as the highest development stage of protected agriculture and the most effective technical means to solve issues related to population, resources and environment. Currently only a few developed countries, such as Japan, USA and the Netherlands, had mastered relevant technologies.
It was learnt that Beijing IEDA Protected Horticulture Co., Ltd., which held the belief that “science and technology lead agricultural development and values create future”, and shouldered the task of scientific and technical innovation and commercialization of research results in the field of protected horticulture, had acquired the core technologies of plant factory and obtained over 30 items of national patents through over 8 years’ unremitting efforts. Furthermore, their home-based plant factory gained high reputation from all social sectors at various high-end expositions, such as Shanghai Expo 2010, Tokyo Horticulture Expo and China Import and Export Fair.
Experts and company representatives present at the press conference considered that promotion of this home-based plant factory could not only make a major impact on the city life, but also catalyze a huge industry.
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