Tech farm grows vegetables in AI-controlled pool of water instead of soil
Tech farm grows vegetables in AI-controlled pool of water instead of soil
2024-08-08
Now for a look inside a high-tech farm. A farm in Taoyuan uses a method called “deep water culture,” where vegetables grow in a carefully controlled pool of water instead of soil. The farm uses AI to keep the produce in ideal conditions and maximize harvests. Although this kind of farm might seem unfamiliar to most now, many believe it could be part of the solution for the farming crisis.
More than 10 types of lettuce are growing in this 1,800-ping greenhouse, bathing in natural light. This farm in Daxi District, Taoyuan, uses a system called “deep water culture” to grow vegetables. The lettuces aren’t growing in soil, but in water. The annual production is up to 120 tons, more than 10 times that of traditional soil-based farming.
Cheng Chu-yun
FTV reporter
Tiny seedlings like this are planted all close together in plastic foam beds, and as they grow bigger, they’re moved farther and farther back. The whole growing cycle takes four to five weeks, so there can be up to 20 harvests a year.
The greenhouse uses an AI automatic management system that can automatically adjust the temperature and humidity, as well as the balance of nutrients in the pool water, to give the vegetables the same kind of nourishment they would get from soil. It can also kill microbes and recycle them. The water only needs fully replacing once every two years. Normally, just a small amount is added each day to make up for evaporation.
Chou Ching-an
Farm CEO
At my farm in Daxi right now, we just add about 3 cubic meters of water a day, to maintain the level. In traditional soil-based farming you might need 30 to 40 cubic meters for the same surface area. We use about 10% of what they do.
This automatic foam hole punch uses laser technology to make customized beds for different types of seeds, increasing germination rates to 95%. The automatic foam planter takes just 30 seconds to plant a bed – 20 times faster than a human could.
Liu Hung-cheng
Chain convenience store marketing manager
It has high production capacity. So I think it’s very worthwhile to encourage and develop this kind of technological farming. If it provides a reliable supply and brings the price down, then consumers will be more open-minded towards it than they used to be.
Technological farms like this provide very high efficiency, without using pesticides. They not only produce safe-to-eat food, but also ease the extreme shortage of agricultural workers.
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不吃土只喝水! 深水式水耕蔬菜生長快 產能為土耕10倍
2024-08-08
科技農業安全有效率！桃園大溪一處溫室農場，斥資近1億元，發展深水式水耕蔬菜，不添加農藥，靠著AI判斷溫溼度，調整水和養液供給，就讓水耕蔬菜，獲得跟土耕一樣的營養，生長速度還更快，搭配自動化播種系統，提高發芽率到95%，整體產能比土耕多10倍。
1800坪溫室裡，10幾種萵苣，沐浴在自然光底下，桃園大溪這處農場，採用深水式栽培系統，水耕蔬菜，這裡的萵苣不吃土，只靠喝水，年產量就達到120公噸，是傳統土耕的10倍之多。
[[民視記者 鄭筑勻]]
"像這樣子小小株的幼苗，會密密麻麻放在保麗龍裡頭，當它愈長愈大，會愈往後方挪移，整個成長週期約莫4到5週，一年最多收成到20次"
整座溫室運用AI科技，打造自動化管理系統，隨時調節溫度和濕度，水池中的養液成分也能自動調整，讓水耕蔬菜獲得跟土耕一樣的營養，還能循環殺菌再利用，平均2年才需換水，每天只要因應正常蒸發，少量補充。
[[農場執行長 周慶安]]
"以我目前大溪場來說，一天大概只加大概3噸水，來補充水量就夠了，比起傳統土耕可能要30噸到40噸，相同面積之下的水，我們大概只是它們的10%而已"
自動化海綿打孔機，運用雷射技術，為不同的種子，量身打造溫床，提高發芽率到95%；自動化海綿播種機，用機器播種，每片只要30秒，比人工快上20倍。
[[連鎖超市行銷部協理 劉鴻徵]]
"整個生產力是相當高的，所以以這樣的科技農業的話，我覺得是非常值得鼓勵跟發展，可以穩定供應，然後把這個價格降下來的話，消費者接受度就會比以前來得高"
科技農業生產效率高，不添加農藥，不僅產出安全的蔬菜，也為缺工找解方。
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