November 10, 2022 7:28 AM
Vertical-farming company Infarm has grown wheat on an indoor farm, using no soil or chemical pesticides, and much less water when compared to open-field farming.
It claims to be the first vertical-farming company to produce a staple crop in a controlled environment.
Based on the first phase of trials, Infarm has projected an annual yield of 11.7 kilograms per square metre.
This is the equivalent of 117 tonnes per hectare per year, or 26 times that of open-field farming yields, Infarm noted.
‘Controlled-Environment Agriculture’
The CTO and co-founder of Infarm, Guy Galonska, said, “To continue to feed the world’s growing population, we need to achieve higher crop yields, which we have now proven to be possible for wheat, through indoor, controlled-environment agriculture.
“Our results are significant when compared to the average yield of outdoor wheat production, which is about 4.5 tonnes per hectare per year and heavily dependent on weather and seasons.”
Galonska added that Infarm could potentially boost its wheat output by a further 50% in the coming years, using a combination of improved genetics, hardware, and optimised growth environments.
The method implemented by the company is climate resilient, as external climatic conditions do not impact production.
Wheat accounts for almost 40% of the daily protein intake in some regions, and it is grown over a larger area than any other crop, Infarm noted.
‘A Milestone For Infarm’
Erez Galonska, CEO and co-founder of Infarm, commented, “Being able to grow wheat indoors is a milestone for Infarm, and of significant importance for global food security, as wheat is a calorie-dense but resource-intense crop that is a core component of diets worldwide.
“We started Infarm to find new ways of producing food to feed the world’s growing population, and the results show that we are a big step closer to achieving this goal.”
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest technology news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
https://www.esmmagazine.com/technology/after-herbs-and-salads-infarm-grows-wheat-indoors-225903
