Comparison of Environment, Growth, and Management Performance of the Standard Cut Chrysanthemum ‘Jinba’ in Conventional and Smart Farms

Abstract

Background and objective: This study was conducted to compare the cultivation environment, growth of cut flowers, and management performance of conventional farms and smart farms growing the standard cut chrysanthemum, 'Jinba'. Methods: Conventional and smart farms were selected, and facility information, cultivation environment, cut flower growth, and management performance were investigated. Results: The conventional and smart farms were located in Muan, Jeollanam-do, and conventional farming involved cultivating with soil culture in a plastic greenhouse, while the smart farm was cultivating with hydroponics in a plastic greenhouse. The conventional farm did not have sensors for environmental measurement such as light intensity and temperature and pH and EC sensors for fertigation, and all systems, including roof window, side window, thermal screen, and shading curtain, were operated manually. On the other hand, the smart farm was equipped with sensors for measuring the environment and nutrient solution, and was automatically controlled. The day and night mean temperatures, relative humidity, and solar radiation in the facilities of the conventional and the smart farm were managed similarly. But in the floral differentiation stage, the floral differentiation was delayed, as the night temperature of conventional farm was managed as low as 17.7℃ which was lower than smart farm. Accordingly, the harvest of cut flowers by the conventional farm was delayed to 35 days later than that of the smart farm. Also, soil moisture and EC of the conventional farm were unnecessarily kept higher than those of the smart farm in the early growth stage, and then were maintained relatively low during the period after floral differentiation, when a lot of water and nutrients were required. Therefore, growth of cut flower, cut flower length, number of leaves, flower diameter, and weight were poorer in the conventional farm than in the smart farm. In terms of management performance, yield and sales price were 10% and 38% higher for the smart farm than for the conventional farm, respectively. Also, the net income was 2,298 thousand won more for the smart farm than for the conventional farm. Conclusion: It was suggested that the improved growth of cut flowers and high management performance of the smart farm were due to precise environment management for growth by the automatic control and sensor.

Scientific analysis of cut flowers: a review of the main technical issues developed

“…In chrysanthemum production, smart farms using automation and information and communications technology (ICT) have been adopted to improve growth, reduce harvesting time and manage environmental factors such as light, temperature, humidity and CO 2 (Roh and Yoo, 2020). Intelligent systems based on thermal and visual cameras have been developed for the detection and control of plant diseases (Minaei et al, 2018).…”