Microprecision Irrigation System for Transplant Production

Abstract

While Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture (LISA) has been losing the support of the agricultural sector, since LISA decreases profits, the implementation of Precision Agriculture (PA) has been embraced. PA has become a promising way to handle a complex system and has received significant support from both agricultural and industrial sectors. Although a plant factory is a large-scale complex system, it is much simpler than an open field system. Most of the environmental factors in a fully controlled plant factory are observable and controllable; a plant factory can be optimized more easily than an open field. Limits and optimum design concepts must be applied in order to establish economically feasible, fully controlled plant growing factories. This paper proposes Microprecision Agriculture for a fully controlled plant factory. A practical example of microprecision technology in biomechatronics is introduced.