High-efficiency production of vegetables

Katashi Kai describes: “The greatest advantage of a plant factory with artificial light is that it can produce and supply steadily throughout the year, irrespective of climate and environmental variations. Also, by completely eliminating dust, insects and foreign substances contamination through advanced cultivation management and hygiene control, we can produce very safe vegetables of high quality without using pesticides at all.”

The company has now installed about 12,000 Philips LEDs. As a result, electricity costs are around 40% lower than when fluorescent lights were used, and the growth rate of the vegetables is 20 to 30% faster. The higher growth rate means higher yields in the same facility of a given area, which in turn means that the cost of producing a vegetable of the same quality and the same size can be reduced. At the same time, there was no change at all in the taste or nutritional value of the vegetables.”