Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXIII, Issue 2
Written by Volkan YEŞİL, Uğur ÇAKALOĞULLARI, Özgür TATAR
Considering the increase in forage requirement in livestock, lack of same quality products throughout the year, fertilizer and chemical costs, insufficient water resources and environmental restrictions caused by climate change; studies providing solutions for forage production are getting more attention. Vertical farming which is the method of growing crops in vertically stacked layers under controlled environment is one of the promising techniques to protect environmental resources, provide continuous and sustainable forage production. Effect of light intensity on dry matter accumulation and physiology of barley fodder in a vertical farming growth module was investigated in the present study. The experiment was consisted of eight micro chambers represented the growth modules of vertical farming system placed in fully controlled growth chamber. There were four different light intensity, two repetitions each of 40, 100, 160 and 220 μmol/m2 .s. Plants were sampled every day during all experimental period (8 days). Leaf area and fresh/dry weight of root and leaves were determined. Furthermore, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid contents of leaves were analyzed. Module based water use of each light treatments were calculated. In line with the results, higher light intensity was found to affect the dry matter accumulation positively; since the physiological properties of barley fodder growing under 160 and 220 μmol/m2 .s. light intensity are almost the same, it is recommended to use 160 μmol/m2 .s. light intensity in terms of energy saving. Based on the data obtained from the present micro-level lab-scale study revealed that the effect of factors such as temperature, humidity, water use and seeding density should also be examined in order to provide the best growing conditions for the future studies.
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