The world's first unmanned vertical LED plant factory is put into use in Chengdu

Rows of LED lights are arranged on the cultivation racks, providing precise light to different crops. Under the soft halo, crops get rid of the constraints of natural solar terms and grow freely... The Institute of Urban Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences presents a vibrant scene, which also shows a vivid picture of Chengdu's simultaneous efforts in scientific and technological innovation and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

Recently, reporters learned from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Science and Technology that the world’s first unmanned vertical plant factory independently developed by the Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has been put into use in Chengdu. This innovative achievement will provide a new solution for urban green planting.

Crops achieve “super growth”

Vertical farming technology is the current advanced development stage of facility agriculture and an important area of ​​cutting-edge scientific and technological exploration in the world’s agriculture. "Customizing" the optimal growing environment for different crops is one of the advantages of vertical farming. The research and development team of the institute created a theoretical method for plant light formula and light efficiency improvement, overcame the problem of "low light efficiency and high energy consumption" in plant factories, and analyzed the coupling of "light-temperature-nutrition" to regulate crop speed. Using key technologies for rapid breeding, we have established a 20-story vertical plant factory with the highest number of cultivation layers in the world, the first of its kind in the world.

"The current entire automated production system should be at the leading level in the world. The number of layers produced by a single facility is also the highest in the world." said the relevant person in charge of the institute.

This vertical plant factory with up to 20 cultivation floors achieves stable production in the vertical space by using self-cultivated new crop varieties, a vertical three-dimensional cultivation system, an automatic nutrient solution supply system, artificial simulated energy-saving light sources, and an AI-based smart management and control system. Not affected by climate and region, a crop of lettuce can be harvested in 35 days under environmentally controlled conditions. In addition to lettuce, other leafy vegetables, fruit vegetables, and edible fungi can be produced on a large scale in vertical plant factories.

"Under the conditions of the breeding accelerator, the growth period of crops has been shortened from the original 120 days to 50-60 days, and the breeding efficiency has been greatly improved." Yang Qichang, chief scientist of the intelligent gardening equipment innovation team of the Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told reporters that the test results show , the nutritional content of crops produced by vertical plant factories is basically the same as that of field crops, and there are no problems with pests and diseases of traditional crops.

To achieve "super growth" of crops, it is necessary to precisely control temperature, humidity, light, carbon dioxide and basic nutrients, and no longer "depend on the weather". In the vertical plant factory, the crops are densely covered with LED light sources, which are artificial light sources with different "formulas". "These artificial light sources simulate and replace natural light. Accelerating the crop development and breeding process is achieved by precisely controlling the brightness and color of light." Wang Sen, a researcher at the institute, explained that the LED lights currently used are called solid-state cold light sources, and the color of the light can be accurately matched.

Image source: Chengdu Daily Jinguan News

The transformation of scientific and technological achievements is surging

Whether it is the automation system of the plant factory or the use of "light formula" to achieve super growth of crops, the successful transformation and application of each scientific and technological achievement shows that Chengdu is using high-quality innovative research and development, and efficient transformation and application to lead the city to continuously move towards high-quality development.

In the past year, Chengdu’s technological innovation and achievement transformation have been booming. Data show that the number of national enterprise technology centers in Chengdu has increased to 62, ranking 4th among cities in the country; the global innovation index ranking has improved by 5 places to 24th; 7 new national-level science and technology innovation platforms have been added, and the total has increased to 146; 28 policies and measures for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements have been introduced, and 114 key core technology research projects have been implemented through "unveiling the list" and "horse racing"...

While achieving remarkable results, Chengdu is also working hard to accelerate technological breakthroughs and innovations and industrial upgrading and quality improvement, shaping new productive forces and providing new momentum for high-quality development. “This year, we will accelerate the cultivation of new productive forces and turn more scientific research results from samples into products.” said the relevant person in charge of the Chengdu Municipal Science and Technology Bureau. We will build the Western (Chengdu) Science City and the Chengyu (Xinglong Lake) Comprehensive Science Center with high quality to create an innovation highland in the western region and an innovation source to serve the strategic rear area construction. Promote the cross-regional "innovation source + achievement transformation" of the Western (Chengdu) Science City, and plan and layout the application and transformation bases for the results of major innovation platforms such as the National Laboratory and Tianfu Laboratory.