Extreme weather events, from heavy rainfall to heatwaves and droughts, are increasingly threatening crop yields globally leaving new solutions needed for agriculture.
An international team from the University of Adelaide, University of Cambridge, University of Western Australia and NASA have reimagined how to grow food into the future.
The paper has been published in the journal Trends in Plant Science and has been chosen for inclusion in an upcoming 30th anniversary special issue titled ‘Big concepts – shaping the future of plant science’.
Postdoctoral researcher at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, the University of Adelaide and first author of the paper Dr Alison Gill said controlled environment agriculture allowed crops to be grown indoors under the precise control of light, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and nutrients, while reducing pest risks.
“The result is food that can be produced anywhere, year-round, with yields up to 20 times greater than traditional agriculture, with much less arable land and water required,” Ms Gill said.
“By combining decades of plant science with new technologies to track crop health and fine-tune plant growth, we can grow food that is more consistent, nutritious and tailored to our needs.
“CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) is not a platform that will replace traditional farming, but it is a powerful supplement.”
While the work was inspired by research focused on growing plants in controlled environments in space as part of a UK and Australian Space Agency funded collaboration, the greatest impacts would be on Earth.
“What began as space science, with experiments designed to grow food beyond Earth, has enabled us to create a blueprint to deliver big impacts back home,” Ms Gill said.
“In Australia, container farms could bring fresh produce to remote outback communities, cut food miles, and help supplement farmers’ incomes during drought using recycled water.
“We also envisage indoor plant-based pharmaceuticals and other high value bioproducts as a massive economic opportunity for CEA.”
To date, successful CEA production has been limited to small, pick-and-eat crops such as lettuce, herbs, cucumbers and microgreens, with considerable challenges in building and running the high-tech farms efficiently.
Plants for Space director and the paper’s senior author Professor Matthew Gilliham said they had identified specific targets which plant scientists must address as well as the routes by which it could be achieved.
“This includes a pre-breeding pipeline for traditional horticulture, broadacre agriculture and even forestry, increasing opportunities beyond pick-and-eat crops,” Mr Gilliham said.
If implemented right it is expected the development could secure food supplies locally all year round.