A controlled environment can be simply described
as any space or environment that is controlled. It can be a space for
people, like a house, or a space for non-living objects, like a warehouse.
The CEAC facilities
offer an environment friendly to crop growth, hydroponics
and plant research in a controlled environment.
In agriculture the
space may be for the growth of plants, like a greenhouse, or a space for
storage of harvested crops, such as a cold storage facility or
refrigerator. Each space may have specific factors that are controlled,
such as the:
• air temperature & humidity
• sunlight intensity
• gasses in the air such as carbon dioxide [CO2] or ethylene [CH4]
• plant nutrients & water
• and even insects & diseases.
What specific factors are controlled, and to what value they are
controlled to will depend on what 'product' is being produced within the
controlled environment. Each type of product, for example, a growing green
plant, or a cut, long-stem rose, or a frozen package of peas will require
different factors to be controlled at different values.
CEA or
Controlled Environment Agriculture is a high technology industry for the
production of food crops, flowers, houseplants, and medicinals within
greenhouses. The greenhouse is the controlled environment structure. It
may have many shapes and sizes, but it will always be covered with a
material transparent to sunlight. Sunlight is required by the plants to
grow healthy, and to reach maturity to produce a nutritious edible
product, or a beautiful, fragrant flower. The plants must also receive
water and nutrients (fertilizer). One technology that can successfully
provide water and nutrients is a hydroponic growing
system. |
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