Smart vertical farming takes off in Chengdu

Smart Vertical Farming China | PENG CHAO |

IMAGE: A 100-square-meter automated vertical plant factory in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is capable of producing 50 metric tons of lettuce per year. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Smart vertical farming technology is redefining agricultural production with remarkable efficiency in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province. A 100-square-meter automated vertical plant factory here is capable of producing 50 metric tons of lettuce per year.

“Standing 8.8 meters tall with 20 layers, the factory enables full control over light, temperature, water, nutrients and air. The entire production process, from seeding and transplanting to harvesting and packaging, is handled by robots,” said Shi Xianglian, a staff member at Sichuan Zhongnong Yixiang Agricultural Technology Co, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ Institute of Urban Agriculture.

“The growth cycle of lettuce in the vertical plant factory is only 30-to-35 days, half the time required for traditional open-field cultivation,” Shi said, adding that the yield per unit area can reach up to 120 times that of conventional farming.

Beyond lettuce, the plant factory can cultivate over 300 varieties of crops, including root and leafy vegetables, melons, fruits and medicinal herbs, she added.

The technology behind this facility is now entering commercial application. In September, a strawberry vertical in the Wenjiang district of Chengdu began commercial operations. Covering 2,300 square meters with 11 layers, the vertical farm’s annual output can reach 73 metric tons, 30 to 40 times that of conventional open-field strawberry farming.

“Traditionally, strawberries are only grown from winter to spring in Chengdu, but this factory enables year-round production of high-quality strawberries,” Shi said.

This smart vertical farming technology is also being promoted and implemented in other regions, including Chengdu’s Pidu district and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, she added.

Original Article: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202512/29/WS69526fb9a310d6866eb310cb_4.html