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The following 16 elements are considered essential to the growth of higher plants [84,
p.194].
* Element
Atomic
Atomic
% of dry
Symbol
Weight
plant tissue
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Carbon
C
12.01
45
Oxygen
O
16.00
45
Hydrogen
H
1.01
6
Nitrogen
N
14.01
1.5
Potassium
K
39.10
1.0
Calcium
Ca
40.08
0.5
Magnesium
Mg
24.30
0.2
Phosphorus
P
30.97
0.2
Sulfur
S
32.06
0.1
Chlorine
Cl
35.45
0.01
Iron
Fe
55.85
0.01
Manganese
Mn
54.94
0.005
Boron
B
10.81
0.002
Zinc
Zn
65.38
0.002
Copper
Cu
63.55
0.0006
Molybdenum
Mo
95.94
0.00001
Sources:
* [84] F.B. Salisbury, C.Ross, "Plant Physiology",Wadsworth, 1969, p.194. ( except atomic
weights )
* [70] "The 1990 Information Please Almanac", 1990,p.532-533. ( atomic weights )
.
2.1 Factors which effect yields
Naturally one is curious as to why the yields are so much greater for hydroponic or
greenhouse produce than for field crops. We shall review some of the most important
factors individually.
The most important factor is plant spacing or plant density. Plant density is increased in one
or more of the following ways:
(1) grow plants closer together,
(2) eliminate extra walk space between rows,
(3) train plants to grow vertically instead of horizontally, and
(4) grow plants in layers.
It appears that Whittaker Corp has employed methods (1),(2), and (4). They tested up to 5
layers but settled on two [57, p.147]. They do not use articifial light so that means the
density could be increased without limit through the use of artificial light and more layers.
Given that an acre contains 43,560 square feet, it is clear that a field yield of 30,000 heads
per crop (which is only about 2/3 of the crop planted) is about one head per square foot.
That is a spacing of 12 inches in each direction. By reducing the spacing to6 inches in each
direction you multiply the density by four. And by adding a second layer you multiply the
density by eight.
Gurney's gives the spacing for cucumbers as 6 feet between rows and 4 feet between plants
[78, p.4]. Greenhouse crops of cucumbers are trained to grow vertically thus taking much
less space per plant. How much less? A spacing of 24 inches in each direction gives an
increase in density of 3 times 2 or a factor of 6.
Gurney's gives the spacing for tomatoes as 4 feet between rows and 4 feet between plants
[78, p.4]. Tomatoes grown in greenhouses in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere are trained to grow
vertically. A spacing of 24 inches in each direction gives an increase in density of 2 times 2
or a factor of 4.
Gurney's gives the spacing for squash as 8 feet between rows and 8 feet between plants
[78, p.4]. Again by training them to grow vertically and using a spacing of 24 inches in each
direction, the density increase factor is 4 times 4 or a factor of 16.
Let us summarize these results.
* Crop
Density increase factor
--------------------------------------------------------Bibb lettuce
8
Cucumbers
6
Tomatoes
4
Squash
16
.
The second most important factor in increasing yields is the number of crops per year. Many
field crops have only one harvest per year. A few crops have two harvests per year, such as
broccoli or carrots, but rare is the crop with more than two harvests per year (radishes 3 to
4 or bean sprouts - many).
The obvious reason for this is the weather. Frost either late in the spring or early in the fall
will kill most fruits and vegetables. Since greenhouse and hydroponic crops are grown
indoors, their crops can be grown all year long. This means that you can have four 90 day
crops per year or five 70 day crops or twelve one-month crops etc.
Let us summarize these results.
* Crop
Crops per year
Yield factor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bean sprouts
26.0
2-3
Radishes
12.0
2-3
Bibb lettuce
8.0
4-8
Beets
6.0
3-6
Peppers
5.0
2-5
Tomatoes
4.0
2-4
Parsnips
3.0
2-3
Thus, depending upon your local growing season, this can mean an increase in the yield by a
factor of from two to eight or perhaps more.
The third most important factor in increasing yields is the particular variety of crop you
plant.
This has at least three effects:
(1) the amount of produce per plant per crop,
(2) the number of crops per year (i.e. faster maturing crops allow more crops per year), and
(3) the space required by each plant.
Clearly these effects may not all work in your favor in the same crop. For example, Gurney's
1990 catalog offers over a dozen varieties of tomatoes [78, p.16-17]. The time to maturity
varies from 45 to 90 days.
Obviously this means twice as many crops per year with the former variety. One variety is
claimed to produce 50 pounds of tomatoes per plant! That
variety grows 10 to 15 feet tall.
Together these effects may produce a yield multiplier of two to four. Future research
may double the yields again by producing higher yielding crop varieties.
The next most important factor is the carbon dioxide concentration in the air around your
crops. Resh suggests twice to five times the normal amount may be optimal [57, p.297].
He further states that tomato yields were increased by 20 to 30% and cucumber yields were
increased by up to 40% [57, p.297].
Carbon dioxide enrichment also produced faster growth rates in lettuce and thus permitted
an extra crop each year [57, p.297]. Propane or fuel oil can be burned to provide both
carbon dioxide and heat. Dry ice may also suffice.
Since the carbon dioxide in the air is the plants only source of carbon, which as we saw
above amounts to 45% of the plant's dry weight, it is not surprising that this factor is so
important.
Research in Canada has also shown that carbon dioxide enrichment produces a 15 to 20%
increase in plant growth [83, p.7]. Thus we conclude that the carbon dioxide multiplier will
be in the range of 1.2 to 2.
The temperature of the plant and its surroundings are quite important to plant growth.
Table 2.1-1 given below was produced by J.F. Harrington of the Department of Vegetable
Crops at the University of California at Davis.
It shows the very significant effects of temperature on the germination time of various
seeds.
You can see that the germination time is weeks faster at the optimal temperature. Each
crop has its preferred growing temperature and that temperature also varies depending
upon what growth phase the plant is in.
Most plants prefer 75F to 85F for optimal growth - and that applies to their roots as well!
"Growing Greenhouse Vegetables" states that the increase in leaf and flower initiation is
about 10% for each degree Centigrade increase [83, p.4].
* Table 2.1-1
Crop
Asparagus
Bean,lima
Bean,snap
Beet
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celery
Corn
Cucumber
Eggplant
Lettuce
Muskmelon
Okra
Onion
Parsley
Parsnip
Pea
Pepper
Radish
Spinach
Tomato
Turnip
Watermelon
40
28.4
6.7
-
Source:
J.F.Harrington, Dept of Vegetable Crops, UC Davis, Agricultural Extension Leaflet, 1954.
Light itself is also a very important factor. We assume that the grower exposes his crops to
sunlight whenever possible even though it may be diminished by passing through plastic or
tinted glass.
Obviously cutting off the light to your crops will reduce your yield to zero (unless you are
growing mushrooms or bean sprouts). In multi-layered greenhouses artificial light may be
needed. In space we may have unlimited sunlight although it may
require some cleverly placed mirrors to utilize it.
A graph is given in [89, p.235] which shows the effect of light level on the growth of corn,
tomatoes, and collards. It shows that a reduction in the ambient light level to about half of
the normal noonday level of 10000 foot candles reduces the plant growth by about 20%.
Further reductions below that amount of light cause a dramatic drop off in plant growth.
Plants prefer light of wavelengths in the range of 360 - 760 nm (nanometers) [89, p.237].
Plant photosynthesis is especially responsive to blue light (around 430 nm) and red
light (around 660 nm).
Plant germination, flower growth, and stem growth are especially responsive to red light
(around 660 nm) and far red light (around 735 nm) [89, p.237].
Cool white flourescent lights provide a light spectrum which covers these perferred
wavelengths [89, p.237].
Clearly ample water is critical. This is not generally a problem in greenhouses, but in the
fields drought can be devastating. Plants can also be drowned in too much water in as little
as a few hours. Generally more than 90% by weight of your vegetable crop is water [79].
Fruits average about 86% water [79].
Another very important factor is fertilizer. In greenhouse and hydroponic operations the
fertilizer is dissolved in the water to create a nutrient solution and then pumped to the
plants. Clearly if the plants don't get the nutrients they need, they will either die or grow
sub-optimally.
In either case your yield will be less than it could have been.
Other factors which effect plant growth include: relative humidity, the PH of the nutrient
solution, the amount of oxygen the plant roots receive, nighttime temperature, number of
hours of illumination per day, pollination considerations, and believe it or not, the sounds
your plants "hear".
The impact of each of these factors is not easy to pin down, but they are still very important.
What happens if your plants are not pollinated?
Obviously you get no harvest unless you are using selfpollinating crops or crops which don't
require pollination. Crop yields are also effected by plant diseases, pest damage,
and bad weather.
The latter two problems can be nearly eliminated by indoor growing and this is truly a
fundamental advantage of greenhouse or hydroponically grown crops.
The losses in field cropsdue to insects, birds, mammals, weeds, and pathogens is about 33%
[90, p.25] and rises to 40% without pesticides [90, p.25].
Even greenhouse growers must fight off pests. In space or at a lunar base we don't
anticipate any pest problems because we will simply insure that none is taken with us. Bad
weather won't stop either of course, but unless your buildings are damaged or destroyed,
the only impact on you will be higher bills for heating or cooling.
Plant diseases are another story. This is one area where indoor crops can be devastated. In
hydroponic operations, the same nutrient solution is used to nurish bed after bed of crops.
If that water contains some kind of water-borne disease, you can lose a whole crop. In
nearly all indoor operations, the growing medium is sterilized after each crop to try to
eliminate carryover of diseases from one crop to the next.
In many places around the world, human waste is used to fertilize crops. This often leads
to dysentery in the consumers.
Clearly this problem is completely eliminated through the use of nutrient solutions in
hydroponic growing facilities.
There are probably many more factors of which I am unaware, but this list should give you
an idea of how yields can be improved.
Now let us give a grand summary of these factors.
* Factor
Yield multiplier
---------------Plant density
4-16
Crops per year
2-8
Crop variety
2-4
Carbon dioxide level
1-2
Fertilizer
1-2
Light level
1-2
Pollination
1-2
Temperature
1-2
Water
1-2
Others
1-2 each
.
If you multiply all these factors together, you can easily exceed 100 times the field yield.
Again, where the data were not broken down by variety, they were simply duplicted. One
major problem with this data is the following. Many crops such as tomatoes, squash,
cantaloupes, and (snap) pole beans take a long time to grow to maturity and then they
produce continuously until they are killed by frost. In the case of indoor crops there will be
no frost so what then will be their yield? And also how many crops will you get per year?
Crop heights and crop consumption information came from references 80 and 81 which are
"Fruit and Vegetable Facts & Pointers" and "Supply Guide" both published by United Fresh
Fruit and Vegetable Association of Alexandria Va.
It is clear that if we have no meat in space, then we will have vegetarian diets. This will
obviously change our consumption figures drastically. We anticipate that people will desire
as much variety as possible so that even those crops which presently show low consumption
figures will become popular.
* Table 2.2-1
Vegetable
Vegetable
9
10
These data were read in by one of my programs and used to calculate the data presented in
table 2.2-2. These data are my projections of expected yields and income from the various
crops if they were grown in greenhouses or hydroponically.
This table shows vividly the vast potential of greenhouse or hydroponically grown crops.
The second column shows the number of plants per acre in thousands. Remembering that
one acre has 43,560 square feet, it can be seen that "44" means one plant per square foot
and "174" means 4 plants per square foot and so on.
Clearly the very high density crops are radishes, carrots, green onions, and highest of all bean sprouts. The number in this column is for each crop. The third column shows the
expected harvest in tons per acre per crop. This was calculated by scaling up the expected
harvest of 100 feet of each crop (table 2.2-1 column 7) to a whole acre.
It was then divided by 2000 pounds per ton to give the answer.
The fourth column is the retail value of each crop in thousands of dollars. This is basically
the product of the yield in pounds times the value per pound. The fifth column is the
number of crops per year. This was calculated by dividing 365 by the sum of the ermination
time and the time to maturity. The sixth columnis the yield per acre per year which is simply
the product of the yield per crop and the number of crops per year. The seventh column is
the growers share of the total retail value of the crop. It represents the growers "gross"
income per acre per year for each crop. Clearly the percent of retail that the grower
receives will vary from crop to crop, but we have used 30% throughout.
Reference 80 gives figures varying from 34% to 37% for the growers share, but those figures
are from the early 1970's. The last column shows the number of grams of edible food
product which is grown per square meter per day. This is the same data as in column six,
but in different units. We give this data because it is of special interest in space grown rops.
From it you can estimate the growing area required to support the crew of your spaceship.
* Table 2.2-2 Projected Yields from Hydroponic Crops at Minimum Spacing
Vegetable
Vegetable
Column Notes:
2
P/A
plants per acre (in 1000s)
3
T/A/C tons per acre per crop
4
$/A/C retail dollars per acre per crop (in 1000s)
5
C/YR number of crops per year
6
Y/A/YR total yield per acre per year in tons
7
$/A/YR farmer's gross share = 30%
(in 1000s)
8
G/D
edible plant growth in grams/sq meter/day
.
2.3 Are these numbers for real?
The reader is probably wondering if these projections are really possible. The answer is that
they definitely are! Look at table 2.3-1. This table compares the normal field yields of some
selected crops (those for which I could find the data) with the projected greenhouse or
hydroponic yields and also with actual yields of several greenhouse or hydroponic perations
for which I was able to find data.
Most of the "actual" data comes from the Abu Dhabi operation as reported by Resh [57,
p.219-222].
The field yields come from references 80 and 82. These yields are significantly lower than
the yields given by Gurney [78, p.4]. A small backyard garden receives more TLC than the
average field crop. The projected yields are from table 2.2-2 column 3. The yield of 20 tons
per acre of bush beans came from reference 80 and appeared in October 1976 in the report
NRP 20020 of the Agricultural Research Service.
Notice that some of the actual yields are much higher than the projected yields. Resh gives
a yield of 300 tons per acre per year for a tomato crop [57, p.29], but he states that the yield
per plant was 18 to 20 pounds [57, p.28]. Perhaps if they used the variety offered by
Gurney [78, p.16] which yields 50 pounds per plant, they could do twice as well.
The leaf lettuce result was the Whittaker Corp in Somis, CA. [57, p.150].
The head lettuce result was from Hidroponias Venezolanes, S.A., Caracus, Venezuela [57,
p.248-9].
*
Hydroponic Yields
Vegetable
Vegetable
The primary reason for this is the simple fact that most fruits grow on trees and those trees
are fairly tall. This makes it quite expensive to grow them indoors. There are several fruits
which could be grown indoors including: cantaloupes, honeydews, grapes, kiwis, pineapples,
strawberries, and possibly raspberries.
The first four are vine crops whereas the latter three are individual plants as opposed to
trees. Unfortunately raspberries do not lend themselves well to greenhouse operations
because of their thorns and heavy labor requirements.
Too bad, they are one of my favorites. The crew of a spaceship will want fruit in as wide a
variety as possible.
They will desire it not only for its taste but also to fight the boredom of constant vegetarian
meals. Gurney's offers some dwarf fruit trees which are one half to one third of the height
of ordinary fruit trees [78, p.36-41].
Of course the yield is one half to one third as well. Significant additional research needs to
be done to determine the optimal growing conditions for each of these fruits and to
discover which ones we could economically raise in space.
The following table [2.4-1] shows the nutrient value of some of the more common fruits.
* Table 2.4-1
Fruit
water
E
Prot Carb Na
K
P
Ca
Fe
Cost %
cal
gm
gm
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Apples
79
84
131
0
35
0
261 16
16
0.3
Apricot
79
86
107 2
26
2
672 43
32
1.3
Bananas
37
74
209 2
54
2
897 46
14
0.8
Cantaloupe -169 90
81
2
19
20
701 38
25
0.5
Cherry
99
81
167 3
37
0
507 43
33
1.0
Coconuts
-57
47
806 5
35
45
806 257 30
5.5
Grapes
129 81
159 0
41
5
422 32
27
0.5
Grapefruit
40
91
76
2
19
0
316 19
26
0.2
Honeydew
69
90
79
2
21
23
615 23
14
0.2
Kiwi
-24
83
134 3
33
12
752 90
60
0.9
Lemon
-25
91
56
1
5
1
74
8
14
0.3
Lime(juice)
-25
90
60
1
20
2
247 16
20
0.1
Oranges
-25
87
104 2
26
0
410 31
90
0.2
Peaches
99
88
91
3
26
0
446 26
10
0.3
Pears(Anjou) 79
84
136 1
34
0
283 25
25
0.6
Pears(Bosc) 89
84
137 2
34
0
283 26
26
0.6
Pineapple
-177 87
110 1
28
3
256 16
16
0.9
Plums
129
85
120 3
31
0
392 24
10
0.3
Raspberries 400
87
111 2
26
0
345 28
50
1.3
Strawberries 169 92
68
2
15
2
376 43
32
0.9
Tangerines
-33
88
94
3
24
3
356 22
32
0.3
Watermelon 39
92
73
1
16
5
263 20
18
0.4
Fruits have no cholesterol and less than 1 gram of fat.
Sources: Column 2 (Author's research) retail cost in cents per pound; A negative cost means
price per piece.
Remainder of table from:
[79] "Nutritive Value of Foods", by S.E. Gebhardt, R.H. Mattews, USDA Home and Garden
Bulletin #72,USGPO, 1981.
Notes:
Na - Sodium
K - Potassium
P - Phosphorus
Ca - Calcium
Fe - Iron
Carb - carbohydrate
E - energy in calories
gm - grams
mg - milligrams
% - percent by weight of water
Prot - protein
.
2.5 Nutrient value of vegetables
Table 2.5-1 shows the nutrient value of some of the more common vegetables. The data
were extracted from "Nutrient Value of Foods" by S.E. Gebhardt and R.H. Mattews, USDA
Home and GardenBulletin #72, 1981.
All data were scaled up to 1/2 pound servings.
* Table 2.5-1
Vegetable
water
E
Prot Carb Na
K
P
Ca
Fe
Cost %
cal
gm
gm
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Artichoke
67
87
104 6
23
149 597 136 89
3.0
Asparagus
149 92
57
8
11
8
703 140
53
1.5
Beans,snap-bush
69
89
82
4
18
7
679 89
105 2.9
Beans,sprouts
133 90
65
7
13
13
338 122 31
2.0
Beets
-20
91
68
7
16
111 708 70
25
1.4
Bok-choy
89
96
27
4
4
77
842 65
211
2.4
Broccoli
-79
91
60
6
12
62
737 150 108 2.0
Brussel sprouts
172 87
88
6
19
48
718 127 82
2.8
Cabbage,-green
29
93
49
3
13
42
557 52
107 1.3
Cabbage,-red
39
92
65
3
13
26
467 94
117 1.0
Carrots
35
88
94
3
22
79
734 101 60
1.3
Cauliflower
-99
92
57
5
11
34
805 104 66
1.4
Celery
-69
95
28
0
6
198 646
57
79
1.1
Collards
69
96
30
2
6
43
211 23
177 1.0
Corn, sweet
-15 70
250 9
56
38
566 233 6
1.5
Cucumbers
33
96
40
0
8
8
340 40
32
0.8
Eggplant
59
92
59
2
14
7
562 50
14
0.7
Endive
59
94
45
5
9
50
712 64
118 1.8
Kale
59
91
70
3
12
52
516 63
164 2.1
Vegetable
water
E
Prot Carb Na
K
P
Ca
Fe
Cost %
cal
gm
gm
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Leeks
149 83
140
4
31
44
410 79
131 4.8
Lettuce,iceberg
69
96
29
2
5
21
359
45
43
1.1
Lettuce,romaine
59
96
40
4
8
20
599 57
154 3.2
Mushrooms
109 92
65
3
10
10
839 237 13
2.9
Onions,-green
133 92
76
8
15
8
582 76
136 4.5
Onions,-white
59
91
78
3
17
4
352 65
57
0.9
Parsnips
99
78
182 3
44
23
833 157 84
1.3
Peas
369 89
92
7
16
9
544 125 95
4.5
Peppers,green
59
93
61
3
12
6
441 49
12
2.8
Peppers,hot
89
88
101 5
20
15
771 106 40
2.5
Potatoes
28
71
247 6
57
18
948 129 22
3.0
Potatoes,sweet
49
73
229 4
56
22
790 125 64
1.0
Radishes
49
95
63
0
13
50
529 38
50
1.3
Snow peas
169 89
92
7
16
9
544 125 95
4.5
Spinach
79
92
41
8
8
177 1266 111 223 6.2
Squash,-winter
49
89
89
2
20
2
991 45
32
0.8
Squash,-summer
69
94
44
3
10
3
436
88
62
0.8
Tomatoes
49
94
46
2
9
18
470 52
17
1.1
Turnips
29
94
44
1
12
113 307 44
49
0.4
Vegetables have no cholesterol and less than 1 gram of fat.
Sources:
Column 2 (Author's research) retail cost in cents per pound; A negative cost means price per
piece.
Remainder of table from:
[79] "Nutritive Value of Foods", by S.E. Gebhardt, R.H. Mattews, USDA Home and Garden
Bulletin #72, USGPO, 1981.
Notes :
Na - Sodium
K - Potassium
P - Phosphorus
Ca - Calcium
Fe - Iron
Carb - carbohydrate
E - energy in calories
gm - grams
mg - milligrams
% - percent by weight of water
Prot - protein
.
2.6 Financial considerations
According to the "Greenhouse Vegetable Guide" published by Texas A&M [Ref 120], the cost
of building a greenhouse varied from $1.90 per square foot to over $30 per square foot with
the weighted average at $6 per square foot [120, p.105].
That works out to $261,360 per acre - obviously beyond the means of the average
person - and that doesn't include the cost of the land. Including other necessary equipment,
the total average cost was $6.52 per square foot or $284,011 per acre [120, p.106].
In addition the average yearly production costs (for growing tomatoes) was about $3.92 per
square foot or $170,755 per acre [120, p.107]. About half ($1.95 psf) of this cost is interest
and depreciation.
The cost of labor is included in the remainder and 25% of that is assumed to be paid to the
owner/operator for his labor. On the other hand, total revenue was $4.77 per square foot
or $207,781 per acre [120, p.108].
This yields a net profit of $0.85 per square foot or $37,026 per acre. Not counting interest
and depreciation, the profit would be $2.80 per square foot or about $122,000 per acre.
This analysis is based on a yield of 20 pounds of top grade tomatoes (at $0.80 per pound)
and 7 pounds of salable culls (at $0.40 per pound) or 27 pounds per plant ($18.80 per plant)
- which is only about half of what they could be getting according to Gurney's [78, p.16].
Another detailed cost outline was given in "Florida Greenhouse Vegetable Production
Handbook", published by the University of Florida's cooperative extension service [Ref 128].
Their very detailed cost breakdown gives a total construction cost of about $298,000 per
acre or $6.84 per square foot [128, p.93]. Further (five year) fixed costs of $47,800 per acre
are given. Variable costs were estimated to be $122,460 per acre [128, p.94]. The gross
revenue was estimated to be $179,150 per acre based upon 4 square feet per plant, 22
pounds of tomatoes per plant, and a price of $0.75 per pound or $16.50 per plant [128,
p.97]. That works out to $4.11 per square foot. The expected profit was $67,295 per acre
or $1.54 per square foot, not counting interest or depreciation [128, p.97].
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food [83] gives some interesting data on Canadian
greenhouse production. They state that 450 acres of Ontario greenhouses had a grower
value of $45 - $50 million in 1986 [83, p.3]. That works out to at least $100,000 per acre or
$2.29 per square foot.
In summary we have:
* Area
Profit (psf)
Florida
$1.54
Ontario
$2.29
Texas
$2.80
.
Most people would consider that a good investment. We believe that $300,000 per acre for
construction is very high. If the cost could be brought down to $100,000 per acre, then the
facility could be doubled every two years with no additional investment. This estimate is for
tomatoes, but we can't all grow tomatoes. Other crops offer as good or better possible
returns (see table 2.2-2).