Article
Indoor Vegetable Production: An Alternative Approach to Increasing Cultivation
Plants
(2022)
Abstract
As the world’s population is increasing exponentially, human diets have changed to less
healthy foods resulting in detrimental health complications. Increasing vegetable intake by both
rural and urban dwellers can help address this issue. However, these communities often face the
challenge of limited vegetable supply and accessibility. More so, open field vegetable production
cannot supply all the vegetable needs because biotic and abiotic stress factors often hinder production.
Alternative approaches such as vegetable production in greenhouses, indoor farms, high tunnels,
and screenhouses can help fill the gap in the supply chain. These alternative production methods
provide opportunities to use less resources such as land space, pesticide, and water. They also make
possible the control of production factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide,
as well as extension of the growing season. Some of these production systems also make the supply
and distribution of nutrients to crops easier and more uniform to enhance crop growth and yield.
This paper reviews these alternative vegetable production approaches which include hydroponics,
aeroponics, aquaponics and soilless mixes to reveal the need for exploring them further to increase
crop production. The paper also discusses facilities used, plant growth factors, current challenges
including energy costs and prospects.
Keywords
- urban farming systems and facilities; plant growth factors; population growth; climate change; urban crop production 1. Introduction
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall October 25, 2022
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11212843
Citation Information
Peter A.Y Ampim, Eric Obeng and Ernesto Olvera-Gonzalez. "Indoor Vegetable Production: An Alternative Approach to Increasing Cultivation" Plants (2022) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/eric-obeng/6/