Although I am very excited about the prospect of vertical farms, my immediate thought is of mycorrhizal networks. How are the services (pest control, nutrient supply, root growth support etc) replaced in a vertical farm? Furthermore, is the produce from vertical farms comparable to current crops in terms of n…
Although I am very excited about the prospect of vertical farms, my immediate thought is of mycorrhizal networks. How are the services (pest control, nutrient supply, root growth support etc) replaced in a vertical farm? Furthermore, is the produce from vertical farms comparable to current crops in terms of nutritional value, or to the far superior crops from the time prior to the post Green Revolution destruction of soils? I also wonder at the lost benefit, or in fact serious detriment, to our own body’s (particularly the gut’s) biome to eating crops grown in a sterile environment.
Very good Qs! The short answer is that this is a known problem that these companies explore. One of them uses shredded insect exoskeletons as a sign of aggression, and that boosts the generation of some elements needed for defense and that turn out to be demanded for taste and nutrients in humans.
What this means is that I assume this is a current problem that I expect to be solved
As I understand it, fungal and bacterial friends are needed by plants mainly to rise the availability of nutrients, water, and information; if these are being sufficiently cared for by humans, symbionts are not necessary. Indeed, even outdoors, when plants grow at high nutrient & sufficient water conditions they emit less mycorrhiza-attracting compounds and form less connections with fungi. The fungi are not totally cheap, they have to be fed with sugar.
Excellent article, thank you.
Although I am very excited about the prospect of vertical farms, my immediate thought is of mycorrhizal networks. How are the services (pest control, nutrient supply, root growth support etc) replaced in a vertical farm? Furthermore, is the produce from vertical farms comparable to current crops in terms of nutritional value, or to the far superior crops from the time prior to the post Green Revolution destruction of soils? I also wonder at the lost benefit, or in fact serious detriment, to our own body’s (particularly the gut’s) biome to eating crops grown in a sterile environment.
Very good Qs! The short answer is that this is a known problem that these companies explore. One of them uses shredded insect exoskeletons as a sign of aggression, and that boosts the generation of some elements needed for defense and that turn out to be demanded for taste and nutrients in humans.
What this means is that I assume this is a current problem that I expect to be solved
Over the coming decades.
As I understand it, fungal and bacterial friends are needed by plants mainly to rise the availability of nutrients, water, and information; if these are being sufficiently cared for by humans, symbionts are not necessary. Indeed, even outdoors, when plants grow at high nutrient & sufficient water conditions they emit less mycorrhiza-attracting compounds and form less connections with fungi. The fungi are not totally cheap, they have to be fed with sugar.