WHICH TOWER REIGNS SUPREME? CONTRASTING HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS FOR LETTUCE

Abstract

As the global population burgeons and available farmland diminishes, the imperative to enhance food production efficiency becomes increasingly pressing (Fedoroff, 2015). Within this context, indoor and urban farming methodologies have emerged as viable solutions to augment agricultural output (Specht et al., 2014). A Market Analysis Report (2019) assessing the hydroponic market size underscores the sector's anticipated robust growth, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 20.7% from 2021 to 2028. This trend finds manifestation in urban landscapes, where disused structures are being repurposed into controlled environment facilities for food production through hydroponics and advanced LED lighting systems. Illustrative instances include the transformation of an abandoned steel mill into Aero Farms in Newark, New Jersey (Aerofarms, 2022), and the conversion of an erstwhile meat packaging plant into The Plant in Chicago, Illinois (Chance et al., 2017). While large-scale controlled environment hydroponic farming promises substantially higher yields on markedly reduced land footprints, the environmental ramifications and sustainability of these systems, encompassing factors like electricity consumption, necessitate careful consideration (Martin and Molin, 2019).