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Vertical farming systems bring new considerations for pest and disease management
Author(s) -
Roberts Joe M.,
Bruce Toby J. A.,
Monaghan James M.,
Pope Tom W.,
Leather Simon R.,
Beacham Andrew M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/aab.12587
Subject(s) - agriculture , integrated pest management , sustainable agriculture , integrated farming , production (economics) , biology , pest analysis , agroforestry , agricultural engineering , pest control , yield (engineering) , agronomy , ecology , engineering , economics , botany , materials science , metallurgy , macroeconomics
Vertical farming is an emerging area of food production that aims to provide sustainable intensification of agriculture by maximising the obtainable yield per unit area of land. This approach commonly utilises stacked horizontal levels of crop growth in glasshouse or controlled environment (CE) facilities. Vertical farming has, however, received relatively little scientific investigation to date. Consequently, important factors such as economic feasibility, system design and optimisation of production methods are still being evaluated. Vertical farming methods bring additional considerations for the effective management of pests and diseases compared with conventional protected horticulture, such as movement of both pest and beneficial insects between growth levels. This article aims to provide a perspective on the positive and negative issues facing pest and disease control in Vertical farming systems. We highlight important considerations for system optimisation and areas for future investigation.