THE END OF ‘SPRAY & PRAY’

1 TOTAL CONTROL

Autonomous greenhouses and vertical farms are part of what’s known as agriculture.

In the greenhouses, huge indoor gardens come equipped with sensors that tell their managers what their leafy inhabitants need. The warehouses’ sensors collect data about the plants – growth rate, water uptake and transpiration, shape, number, reaction to light – which can all then be acted upon.

Once the greenhouses’ algorithms have been given all the data collected by the sensors, they can respond with more precise fertigation or chemigation – that is, a very calculated injection of fertilisers or chemicals into, for example, soil or water.

Elevate boasts that it has grown a million tonnes of leafy greens in just 465 square metres.

Staple crops will likely continue to be produced outdoors but leafy green produce, berries and traditional medical plants will move indoors into