1. PFAL – Plant Factory with Artificial Lighting
Under Cover Farming 11/11/2016

2. Does PFAL Work?
Seedlings were transplanted into grow bags and placed under 70W LED grow lamp on the
By the 19th of August some plants had grown by 10 to 20cm except the pansies.
The control plants grown outdoors had grown on average by 3cm
Coriander – 15cm
Primula – 20cm
Beet root – 15cm
Spinach – 10cm – many new shoots
Pansies – 2cm – many flowers
Onion – 20cm

3. PFAL - Locations Canada Urban Crops Belgium Ritz Carlton Australia
Medicinal Cannabis
Urban Crops Belgium
Ritz Carlton Australia
China – 100 units in operation
Japan units in operation
South Africa 2,5 km

4. PFAL – Equipment needed
Enclosed space – Container or Building
Insulation – energy harvesting
Water harvesting
Hydroponics
Troughs
Piping
Pumps
Aerators
Growth medium – rock wool
LED Lighting
Shelf Light
Tall Plant Light
Labour

5. PFAL - Advantages
100 to 200 x more productive than open field cultivation
Growing time – extended by 30 to 50%
Protection from adverse weather and pests
No seasons
Close to market - urban
Saving on water – recycle
Saving nutrients – Urban waste reused
Saving energy – irrigation
Better yield
Toyoki, K 2014

6. PFAL – Can help reduce costs of the Horticultural sectors.
Greencape Agricultural report 2016

7. PFAL – Water Saving
PFAL – allows for 95% of input water to be saved and reused.
Greencape 2016 Water Report

8. PFAL – Water Savings Capture water Re-use water Water Saving = 2000 Kg
Evaporation and transpiration =
2058Kg
Water Saving = 2000 Kg
Plant Weight increases by 42 Kg
Input Water = 2100Kg
Water Lost = 58 Kg
Ohyama, 2002

9. PFAL – Energy Saving By converting to PFAL where possible;
Irrigation accounts for 66% of water used in SA and 62% of farmers’ electricity costs.
If 95% of input water can be reused then by extension a significant saving can be made on the electricity used in farming
Greencape agricultural report 2016

10. PFAL – Plant Characteristics
Short in height
Short time to harvest
‘Low’ light intensity
High planting density
High value of fresh produce
Transplants easily
338sqm – 10 tiers – 9 rows – leaf lettuce – 3000 heads/day

11. PFAL - What can be grown?
Fruit Vegetables – tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet pepper, egg-plant
Root Vegetables – sweet potato, radish, beet root,
Leafy Vegetables – lettuce, rocket, kale, spinach
Mushroom – baling, eryngii, hericium
Herbs – ginseng, mint, parsley, rosemary
Flowers – pansies, carnations, impatient
Seedlings – Citrus
Essential oils – Kaki-bos, lemon geranium, hemp
Algae –
Future – rice, wheat, maize
Pictures – Plants grown under LED grow lamps

12. PFAL – Costs Production Costs Cost of Capital – 25% Electricity – 25%
Building
Equipment
Electricity – 25%
Lighting
Air Conditioning
Pumps, Fans
Labour – 25%
Other %
Seeds
Substrate,
Fertilizer
Water
Packing
Toyoki, K 2014

13. PFAL – Light Spectrums LEDzShine Spectrum HPS Lighting Red/Blue Mix
Our tests show a broader spectrum with key wave lengths gives the best growth and flowering
LEDzShine Spectrum

14. PFAL – LED vs Fluorescent vs HPS
LED Fluorescent High Pressure Sodium Input power 100W 132W 450W Conversion Lm/W Temperature of Luminaire 25°C 45°C 400°C Light energy received by leaves (1) 90% 50% 50% Chemical energy fixed by plants 10% 2-3% 0,5-1% % of plant saleable 90% 70-80% 50-60% Energy conversion 5-6% 0,2-0,3% 0,1-0,2% Cost of electricity/18 hours ² R2,58 R3,33 R11,34 Cost of conversion R48-00 R R (1)– Reflector Efficiency (2) – Cost of Power (R1,40/kWh)
Toyoki, K 2014

15. PFAL – SA what next? Need to set up an R&D department to explore;
Increase light conversion rate
Horticultural sectors to reduce input costs from water and electricity
Essential oils
Medicinal plants
Crops
Other