Just Greens LLC, doing business as Aerofarms, received a $594,974 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program.
The award funds research into implementing ratooning, a proven technique allowing one root and stem system to produce multiple harvests, in the indoor production of leafy greens. Phase I of the project studied plant responses to ratooning; Phase II will research bioprocesses and engineering needed to apply the Phase I findings at commercial scale vertical farms. Objectives address uniformity, growth, harvesting and sanitation standards across multiple harvests from the same plant. Mechanization, machine vision, artificial intelligence, novel processes including UV light and dynamic harvest height adjustment aim to enable ratooning's economic and environmental benefits. Results will allow commercial-scale implementation of high-value ratooning processes across vertical farms.