Necessary Parameters of Vertically Mounted Textile Substrates for Successful Cultivation of Cress for Low-Budget Vertical Farming

A growing population needs an expansion of agriculture to ensure a reliable supply of nutritious food. As a variable concept, vertical farming, becoming increasingly popular, can allow plant growth for local food produc­tion in the vertical sense on, e.g. facades in addition to the classical layere...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elise Diestelhorst, Jan Lukas Storck, Bennet Brockhagen, Timo Grothe, Inken Blanca Post, Thorsten Bache, Rumen Korchev, Anke Rattenholl, Frank Gudermann, Andrea Ehrmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) 2021-11-01
Series:Tekstilec
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Online Access:https://journals.uni-lj.si/tekstilec/article/view/11986
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Summary:A growing population needs an expansion of agriculture to ensure a reliable supply of nutritious food. As a variable concept, vertical farming, becoming increasingly popular, can allow plant growth for local food produc­tion in the vertical sense on, e.g. facades in addition to the classical layered structure in buildings. As substrates, textile fabrics can be used as a sustainable approach in terms of reusability. In our experiment, we investigated which properties a textile should possess in order to be suitable for an application in vertical farming by the example of cress seeds. To determine the best-fitted fabric, four different textiles were mounted vertically, and were provided with controlled irrigation and illumination. Our results showed that a hairy textile surface as provided by weft-knitted plush is advantageous. There, the rooting of cress plants used in this experiment is easier and less complicated than along tightly meshed, flat surfaces, as for woven linen fabrics.
ISSN:0351-3386
2350-3696