by Klaus-D. Ahrens
Indoor farming is a new form of plant cultivation that requires less space and no arable land. Rapid population growth is forcing us worldwide to use more and more landscape space for the cultivation of food. In doing so, we harm the soil: fertilizers, pesticides and monocultures make many land areas infertile. The clearing of forests and their conversion into usable land is harmful to the climate and destroys the habitat of many plant and animal species. In order to solve these problems, alternative forms of cultivation of crops are being sought worldwide. Indoor farming is such a solution. What is indoor farming? In indoor farming, the crops are not grown outdoors, but in a closed system - i.e. in a hall or a greenhouse. The plants do not receive sunlight, wind and precipitation. LEDs are used instead of the sun. Although these cannot exactly replace sunlight, the intensity and color of the lighting can be largely adapted to the needs of the plants.
In addition, temperature, humidity and irrigation are regulated by automated systems. For irrigation, the operators of such farms use nutrient solutions that contain all the important nutrients in addition to the water. These are also adapted exactly to the needs of the cultivated plants.
Indoor farming is often carried out in the form of vertical farming. The plants are grown in several layers on top of each other. This is done with the help of so-called shelf beds. Such a concept is
almost suitable for indoor farming: The area of the hall is optimally used. Automated systems ensure that the plants receive enough LED light. For example, shelf beds can rotate - this ensures that the plants are provided with the required amount of light alternately. There are already a large number of indoor farming companies worldwide. Everyone is faced with the task of creating the conditions listed above in their halls and greenhouses in such a way that an optimal harvest is achieved. This cannot be achieved without IT systems.
The founders of Tensora have decided to set up a new business area called "Tensora Greentech" in their own company: In cooperation with the large indoor farming company Kalera, the software already available there will be further developed and offered on the market. This is done either in the form of the provision of software licenses or in the form of SaaS (Software as a Service).
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