The agriculture is subjecting to modernization rapidly. This mainly due to the urbanization and the industrialization of the planet. The population of the globe is also increasing and the land extent is not increasing proportionate to this. The number of mouths to feed increases with that. The Agriculture is the one and only method to feed all mouths in the world. But the lands for the agricultural purposes or the arable lands are decreasing rapidly with the increasing population. So, the world is with thirst of new technologies to overcome this huge problem. As a result of these new innovation, we have got a new concept called the vertical farming where you can grow your large extend of crops using a very small land scape. Through this post we are going to know some of the basic facts regarding this newest and the efficient concept of modern agriculture, the Vertical Farming.
What is Vertical Farming?
I am sure that you can get a brief idea about this farming method from the name itself. In here we use the vertical space or the air space effectively in our crop production mechanism.
Vertical farming simply can define as growing crops vertically in stacked layers which are inclined at most of the time.
It needs comparatively a higher technological knowledge than for the horizontal farming method. I mean than the farming in the land of inside a greenhouse only in a one horizontal layer.
This is mainly an indoor farming system where you use controlled Environment techniques. As we are doing this farming indoor the basic needs for the plants should be provide in the optimum level to have a higher yield from your crops. You have to provide the optimum soil conditions, pH, temperature, moisture content and factors like light, humidity, plant nutrition and etc. continuous inspection and controlling the factors need for the plant growth is essential here.
In here you can use different technologies when growing your crops. You can grow your crops in soil, or can use hydroponic techniques, aeroponic techniques and aquaponics too. You can try diverse farming methods under this vertical farming technology. Each method has their own pros and cons. You can select the best out of them for your vertical farm.
Pros and cons of Vertical Farming
When we are talking about this Vertical Farming method, this can identify as the most suitable method to meet our future food demand using a very small land extent.
But the initiation and the continuation of the techniques are costly than the traditional farming methods.
Plus, here as we are doing this indoor, we have to be very alert on the need of the plant. The inspection and the supply of the needed elements for the crop growth must be done regular. But you may not get any bad effect on your crops from the adverse environmental conditions like high rain, drought etc. The pollination of the crops is also becoming quite difficult due to the unavailability of the insects.
Therefore, this is becoming a very hard process to follow, equipped with more technological issues.
As well you may need to higher more labor with good technological knowledge and this labor may be costly.
The method needs less amount of water than the traditional methods of farming. The attack from the pest and diseases are also comparatively low. So, you can have a better harvest by following organic cultivation methods. Here are only some of the basic points about the Vertical Farming method. We will talk about some more details about this topic in the future.