Prof.  Toyoki  Kozai
Japan Plant Factory Association,  Japan

Title: Design Principles of sustainable plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs)

Abstract:

This presentation discusses the basic design principles of the cultivation room of a plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL), mainly based on its material and energy balance and the eco-physiological characteristics of the plant community. In an airtight and thermally insulated cultivation room, the rates of resource supply, product and waste outputs, and environmental factors can be accurately measured. Then, hourly rates of net photosynthesis and transpiration of plants can be accurately estimated. Further, resource use efficiency (RUE) and resource productivity (PR) can be calculated online for each resource element, such as electricity, water, CO2, working hours, and cultivation area. The above features of PFAL are beneficial to improving the RUE and PR successively. The RUE and PR can be further improved by introducing nondestructive plant phenotyping (trait measurements) using various types of multiple cameras (sensitive to ultraviolet, visible, far-red, near infra-red, and/or infrared radiation), simulation using artificial intelligence (AI), statistical, and mechanistic models, and three-dimensionally uniform distribution of environmental factors inside the plant community. Then, energy-autonomous PFAL operated by electricity generated by local natural energy only can be realized.

References
1)Kozai, T., Fujiwara, K. and Runkle, E. (eds.) (2016) LED lighting for urban horticulture, Springer, 453 pages
2)Kozai, T. (ed.) (2018) Smart Plant Factory, Springer, 456 pages.
3)Kozai, T., Niu, G. and Takagaki, M. (eds.) (2020) Plant Factory: An indoor vertical farming system for efficient quality food production, Elsevier Press, 487 pages.
4)Kozai, T., Niu, G. and Masabni, G. (eds.) (2021) Plant Factory: Basics, applications and advances. Elsevier, 449 pages.
5)Kozai, T. and Hayashi, E.(eds.) (2022) Advances in Plant Factories: New Technologies in Indoor Vertical Farming. Burleigh Dodds Scientific Publishing (in press)

Biography:

Obtained a Ph.D. degree from the University of Tokyo. Worked on greenhouse light environments, energy savings, ventilation, computer control, knowledge engineering, in vitro environment control, autotrophic micropropagation, closed transplant production systems, and plant factory with artificial lighting or vertical farming. After serving as Dean of the Faculty of Horticulture, served as the president of Chiba University. After retirement, worked as a professor emeritus on medicinal plant production. From 2010 to 2017, worked at the Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA). Since 2017, he has been the honorary president of JPFA. Selected awards: Friendship award from the Chinese Government (2002). Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of In Vitro Biology. The Purple Ribbon Award from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports. Japan Prize of Agricultural Sciences from the Association of Japanese Agricultural Scientific Societies. The Award ‘The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold, and Silver Star’ from the Japanese Government. Publications in English: Published more than 300 refereed papers, about 100 book chapters, and twenty books, including “Plant Factory: an indoor vertical farming system for efficient quality food production’ published in 2015 by Academic Press, ‘LED lighting for urban agriculture in 2016, and ‘Smart plant factory’ in 2018 by Springer. “Plant Factory: Basics, applications and advances” in 2021.