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Effect of Available Solar Irradiance on Vertical Farming in Semi-open Urban Places

Md. Moniruzzaman
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Khokan Kumar Saha
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Md. Mostafizar Rahman
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Md. Moinul Hosain Oliver
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Building a vertical farm in unused residential and commercial spaces is a challenge. It is particularly hard to decide upon a space where varying degrees of lighting conditions may prevail at different times of the day. This experiment was focused on how innovative micro-irrigation technology could be coupled with vertical farms. In this regard, three-storied racks were designed to accommodate multiple one-feet-square tubs large enough to hold five Indian spinach (BARI Puishak- 2) plants at a time. Sandy loam soil was used for farming along with recommended doses of fertilizers. Different lighting conditions (2- 145 W/m² average solar irradiance) were employed on the fifth floor of an urban building. Drip emitters were coupled in the system for irrigation. The management allowed deficit was kept to a maximum of 50% of the readily available moisture below the field capacity. The results suggested that drip irrigation systems provide higher water productivity (up to 31.82 kg/m³) compared to the in-field conditions when BARI Puishak-2 is grown in vertical farming. Water productivity of spinach was improved by the optimized set-up of a drip irrigation system. The study also concluded that vertical farming is only suitable for indoor places where plenty of direct sunlight or diffused sunlight (not below 70 W/m²) is available. The economic analysis suggests that vertical farms under direct sunlight can be made profitable (BCR>1) in the long run.

Keywords: Micro-irrigation, BARI Puishak-2, Lighting conditions, Drip emitters, Vertical farming, Water productivity, Benefit Cost Ratio

Location: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University.

Start Date: 00-03-2020

End Date: 00-08-2020

Program Area: Farm Mechanization

Commodity: Adoption of technology

Objectives:

To investigate this area of concern by working with a micro-irrigation model in a vertically developed farming structure suitable for urban platforms.

Methodology:

The vertical farm was built in a semi-open place at the multi-storied BS building corridor of level 5 in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University. The experiments were carried out during the summer months of March/2020 – August/2020. A mixture of sandy loam soil and cow dung manure was used as a growing medium on the tubs. During soil preparation, the soil was fertilized with 30% well-decomposed cow dung, 1kg of Muriate of Potash (MoP) and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP). After adding some water, it was kept for 15 days for decomposition. Urea fertilizers were applied to the standing crops with irrigation water through a drip fertigation system. After obtaining the required tilth, Indian spinach (Basella alba) viz. BARI Puishak-2 seeds were sown into the square flower tubs on the shelves in a rack on the 25^th March 2020. Light drip irrigation was provided in the evening after the sowing of seeds. Three racks were constructed with Aluminum each having three shelves for planting crops. The dimensions of each shelf were 1.524 m × 0.457 m (L×W). Each rack consisted of three shelves, and each shelf contained three tubs totaling nine tubs in a rack. The soil volume in each tub was 0.265 m × 0.265 m × 0.21 m, where 5 plants at a spacing of 0.05m×0.05m were sown. The distance between the two tubs was kept at 0.152 m, and the free working space between the two shelves was 0.686 m. Solar irradiation treatments- the plants in this experiment were exposed to different lighting conditions in different semi-open urban spaces. Three different lighting conditions were employed in the experimentations. These are: L₁ = plenty of direct sunlight; L₂ = no direct sunlight but plenty of diffused sunlight, and L₃ = no sunlight but artificial lights were provided to mimic indoor conditions. To meet the need for artificial lighting, LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) sources have been suggested in the literature. LEDs that have a longer life and lower price are decent choices in this regard. To establish the treatments, three separate drip irrigation systems were set up to supply the water into the tubs. Each drip system consisted of one mainline (19 mm diameter) hoisting three laterals (12.7 mm diameter) in all the racks. Laterals were spaced 0.76 m apart, and emitters were installed at a distance of 0.45 m from each other. A 120 mesh (130 microns) disk filter was used to filter the water before its delivery to every system. A water tank was placed on the top of each rack which was the main water source for the system. The light exposure intensity (W/m²) was measured continuously at 10.00 am, 1.00 pm and 5.00 pm by a polarimeter at one day’s interval. The cost of production was analyzed to find out the most economical vertical farming in semi-open urban places. All input cost included the cost for rack preparation and interests in running capital in computing the cost of production.

Source of Information: J. Sci. Technol. Environ. Inform. 10(02): 717-726 ; (2020)

Article Link (Online Journal): https://doi.org/10.18801/jstei.100220.72

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

This study reports the results of three experiments carried out to understand how innovative micro-irrigation techniques could be coupled with vertical farms. In this regard, three-storied racks were designed to accommodate one-foot-square tubs. Each tub was large enough to hold five spinach (BARI Puishak 2) plants at a time. Different lighting conditions (2- 145 W/m² average solar irradiance) were employed as in the indoors of residential or commercial floor space. Drip emitters were coupled in the system for irrigation. The management allowed deficit was kept to a maximum of 50% of the readily available moisture below the field capacity. The results suggested that drip irrigation systems provide higher water productivity (up to 31.82 kg/m³) compared to the in-field conditions when BARI Puishak 2 is grown in vertical farming. Water productivity of Spinach was improved by the optimized set-up of the drip irrigation system. The study also concluded that vertical farming is only suitable for indoor places where plenty of direct sunlight or diffused sunlight (not below 70 W/m²) is available. It is assumed that, if such scenarios are adopted in the unused building spaces, large quantities of safe and organic vegetables could be produced from cities like Dhaka.

Knowledge Management: Journal