Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center

Vertical farming systems in Virginia!

Vertical farming is taking root in Virginia! 🌱 Vertical farming systems, where plants are grown in vertical stacks, will allow producers to multiply their crop outputs without expanding their footprint.

“You’re trying to use an area more intensively. Because you’re limited by horizontal space, you want to maximize vertical space,” said Leonard Githinji, a VSU College of Agriculture professor and specialist.

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center in Danville is working on creating an innovative controlled environment agriculture ecosystem in Virginia.

Read more from the Culpeper Star-Exponent news here 👉 bit.ly/VCEVerticalFarming

U.S. Department of Agriculture | Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences | Virginia Farm Bureau Federation | Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Aerofarms broke ground in Danville, VA on what will be the largest indoor vertical farm in the world when completed. Its part of the growing controlled environment agriculture industry in Virginia. The School of Plant and Environmental Sciences will be working with Aerofarms on cooperative research and training at our nearby Controlled Environmental Agriculture Innovation Center that the School has developed in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville. Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Indoor vertical farm headed to Danville, Pittsylvania County Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that AeroFarms will invest $53 million to build an indoor vertical farm in Cane Creek Centre, a joint industrial park for the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County. AeroFarms uses proprietary aeroponic growing technology to produce highly flavorful leafy gree...

Micro-tomato production in an NFT system in a vertical production NFT system under different light levels.

-The objective of this research is to determine the effect of cultivar and light level on production of micro-tomatoes in an indoor vertical farm.

“Strawberries grown in Dutch buckets in a recirculating system have begun harvest. Daily berries are harvested, counted, weighed, and given a size grade using USDA grading criteria. Experimental variables look at photoperiod and propagation material (frigo and fresh). To control the experiment CEA staff come in daily to cover blocks of strawberry to prevent photoperiod extension for the short day plants, brought on by the lighting system activating during the night.” – This verbiage is taken from a protocol written by Dr. Mike Evans.

Dr. Emily Zhou has two of her six vertical growing systems online! Stay tuned for more exciting news from the CEA Innovation Center!

Tip burn was a predominant problem in the NFT produced lettuce during the summer months. Caused by a calcium deficiency and the fast pace growth of lettuce due to long days and high temperatures, tip burn or tip necrosis, affects the marketability of the plants. Data from the NFT trials looked at varietal tendency and severity of tip burn over a 4 week span of growth.

Last week the CEA Innovation Center saw the harvest of the second experimental varietal trail of NFT produced lettuce. Lucky staff members of both the CEA and IALR were able to take home the extra heads of lettuce for personal consumption – while the remaining systems were harvested by Dr. Carl Niedziela and laboratory associate Samantha Smith-Herndon. Data metrics were recorded to look at the plant vitality, marketability, and phenological stages of bolting.

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center (CEA-IC) is a cooperative endeavor between the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences (SPES) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech and the Institute for Advance Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville, VA. The mission of the center is to grow and support the controlled environment agriculture industry in Virginia and across the world. This includes various types of plant crops (e.g. lettuce and greens, herbs, strawberry, etc.) using various systems (e.g. NFT, deep flow, buckets, etc.) as well as aquaculture (fish) and aquaponics. The CEA-IC supports these agriculture industries through innovative research, outreach activities and training programs. In conducting these activities, the faculty and staff involved with the CEA-IC also work closely with producers, allied companies and governmental entities. This page is designed to share the results of research, teaching and extension activities of the CEA-IC. You can also learn more about the CEA-IC at our webpage.

Dr. Emily Zhou (left) and graduate student Ekene Tharpe (right), standing with our “Hokie” at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center. Dr. Zhou conducts various research projects related to indoor agriculture and Ekene Tharpe is conducting research on using beneficial bacterial endophytes in the production of hydroponic lettuce.

Dr. Carl Niedziela is conducting research at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center on growing pineberry strawberry as a greenhouse-grown berry crop.