Fresh vegetables thanks to hanging roots

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Roots are hanging in the air

The world's largest aeroponics facility is being built in Kuwait with the help of  Swiss technology.

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Fresh vegetables and fruit are essential for a healthy lifestyle. However, producing nutritious food is anything but easy, especially in countries with extreme temperatures.

Hanging roots

With the help of Clean Green Solutions from Switzerland, a new type of production facility is currently under construction in Kuwait. A greenhouse spanning more than 24,000 square metres is being built, and it comes with a very special feature: the roots of the plants are neither in soil nor in water. They hang in the air.

This technology is known as aeroponics. It has also been extensively studied by NASA, which explored its application as a highly efficient method for growing plants in space. Aeroponics is particularly effective in conserving nutrients and water, which makes it ideal for extreme environments.

Up to 96% less water consumption

Thanks to the Swiss technology, an existing test facility covering 7,500m² in Kuwait is set to triple in size by next year. According to the manufacturers of the aeroponics system, this method saves up to 96% of water usage compared to traditional cultivation, as the water is sprayed directly and precisely onto the roots and remains in a closed-loop system.

Many advantages over conventional cultivation methods

But that's not the only benefit of hanging roots. The freely suspended roots receive more oxygen, which can significantly accelerate plant growth. Thanks to this high-tech solution, many steps in the cultivation process are automated, made possible by Clean Green Solutions’ own planning app. And because the environment is completely controlled and the nutrient solution is not shared between plants, significantly more vegetable varieties can be grown than with vertical farming, for example.

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Visualisation of the planned expansion in Kuwait. Source: GreenLife

Visualisation of the planned expansion in Kuwait. 

Larger harvests, less water

The project in the Middle East is considered a showcase initiative. According to the project website, it can operate year-round – 365 days a year – and enables up to 40 times greater yields compared to conventional methods. In traditional agriculture, around 3kg of lettuce can be harvested per square metre of arable land. According to an interview with Clean Green Solutions’ Commercial and Marketing Director, Kai Valkama (available only in French), aeroponics technology makes it possible to harvest between 80 and 100kg from the same area.

The difference in water consumption is also striking. The aeroponics system requires only around 15 litres of water, compared to nearly 200 litres in open-field farming. Moreover, no pesticides or herbicides are used.

More than 10 years of development

Clean Green Solutions has been developing the future of greenhouse farming since 2011 at the Swiss agro-food research centre Agropôle in the canton of Vaud. Since 2013, the company has been operating a 600m² research greenhouse to further advance its patented aeroponics technology. Today, various greenhouses in France, Switzerland and Kuwait are already equipped with this Swiss innovation.

Source
Website of Clean Green Solutions
https://www.cleangreens-aeroponics.com/

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