Think sink, not source: how vertical farming's potential is limited by crop breeding.

ABSTRACT: Vertical farming (VF) could play a role in addressing some global food challenges, yet it requires higher crop yields and lower costs to become viable at large scales. While reductions in capital intensity are required, the need for new cultivars has been largely overlooked. This is partially a result of common crop dynamic models: Energy Cascade Models (ECMs). ECMs derive yield estimates based on assimilate production from incoming energy only, neglecting a plant's limitations in storing and transporting assimilates. However, VF crops often experience sink-limited as opposed to source-limited conditions. Here, we adapt the ECM into a Plant Balance Model (PBM) that includes sink-limited conditions and show that current VF crop yields for lettuce and tomato are already close to sink-limited

SUBMITTER: Meeuws G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12533277 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature