Improving Production Efficiency in Controlled Environment Agriculture By Utilizing Remote Sensing Technologies

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems for specialty crops (floriculture and vegetables) use high amounts of inputs (including light, water and nutrients) and cost more per unit growing space than other production systems. Improving production efficiency is crucial for the economic viability and sustainability of CEA systems. One approach to improving production efficiency in CEA systems is to optimize input use by precisely monitoring and adjusting the input supply based on ‘plant needs’. However, this is challenging given the high plant density per unit growing space in CEA systems. Advanced sensing technologies interfaced to automation may provide solution to this challenge. Input adjustment based on ‘remote sensing’ of plant responses (i.e., precision agriculture) is being successfully used by farmers under conventional agriculture in the US. Although advanced sensing technologies are more suitable in CEA than conventional agriculture, their use has been very limited in CEA. This presentation will explore how remote sensing can be used to monitor crop growth, water and nitrogen status of plants in CEA production systems.