Feasibility Study of Rice Growth in Plant Factories

Wataru Yamori, Geng Zhang, Mic

Abstract

Global food production will need to increase more than 50% before 2050 to satisfy the food demands of an increasing human population. To solve this food crisis, an increase in rice production will be necessary as rice is especially vital for the nutrition of much of the population in many countries. One solution to the future food shortage worldwide would be to cultivate crops in places where plants to do typically grow (e.g., desert and Antarctic). The technology for “plant factories”, a new facility to grow plants under a controlled environment that would enable high yield and high quality production year-round, is progressing. Through the computer-based, automated control of environmental conditions for optimal rice growth, the external environmental conditions would have little effect on the plants growing inside the plant factory. In the near future, the plant factory could play an important role in areas where field productions are difficult or impossible. Moreover, since producing biopharmaceuticals in plants through genetic engineering technologies has many economic and qualitative benefits, the trial to produce useful materials in transgenic plants is examined in the plant factory. Transgenic plants might therefore expand the usefulness of plant factories. In this review article, feasibility of rice growth in plant factories is summarized.