The first ground has been broken for a research facility near the Wageningen University & Research in the Dutch town of Bleiswijk. The research facility, which will focus on cultivation without using daylight, will be unique in the Netherlands. The project, Vertical Farming in the horticultural industry, started at the end of 2018 with large-scale research, in which the opportunities for vertical farming for commercial purposes in rooms without daylight were explored. About half a year later, the contract needed to realize a new research facility was signed.
The building is set to be ready for use in the first quartal of 2020. From then on, the first few researchers can start their studies in crop response in conditions without daylight. This would involve cultivation systems for high rising crops and multi-layered cultivation of crops that remain relatively low.
The research facility is located on the grounds of the business unit Greenhouse Horticulture & Flower Bulbs of the Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Dutch Bleiswijk. The facility consists of four fully controllable spaces. The new growing rooms without daylight are unique in their light level, dynamic control of light, and measurements of both crop and climate.
Read more in the Dossier Vertical Agriculture
Source: Wageningen University & Research