Novel Materials for Urban Farming

Abstract

Scarcity of natural resources, shifting demographics, climate change, and increasing waste are four major challenges in the quest to feed the exploding world population. These challenges serve as the impetus to harness novel technologies to improve agriculture, productivity, and sustainability. Urban farming has several advantages over conventional farming: higher productivity, improved sustainability, and the ability to provide fresh food all year round. Novel materials are key to accelerating the evolution of urban farming – with their ability to facilitate controlled release of nutrients and pesticides, improved seed health, substrates with better water retention capability, more efficient recycling of agricultural waste, and precise plant health monitoring. Materials science enables environmental sustainability and higher harvest yields in urban farms. Here, Singapore is used as an example of a land‐scarce city where urban farming may be the solution for future food production. Potential research directions and challenges in urban farming are highlighted, and how material optimization and innovation drive the development of urban farming to meet national and global food demands is briefly discussed. This review serves as a guide for researchers and a reference for stakeholders of urban farms, policy makers, and other interested parties.

Biomaterials Technology for AgroFood Resilience

“…[409][410][411] Moreover, biomaterials account for a key component of the novel materials used in urban farming including vertical farming, greenhouse farming, container farming, rooftop farming, and indoor farming, with their ability to serve as novel growing substrates and additives for plant cultivation in place of soil and hydroponics. [412] Applications of advanced biomaterials in agriculture have just started and will continue to advance with the development of both new materials and new fabrication strategies. In this domain, silk fibroin regenerated from Bombyx mori cocoons may serve as a good example to illustrate how an ancient material can be reinvented and engineered into various high-tech and multifunctional formats to enhance food safety and security in a sustainable way.…”

Principles of Nanoparticle Design for Genome Editing in Plants

“…Similar counterpart explorations are necessary for plant cells since they differ from mammalian cells in several ways—additional cell wall barrier, porous cuticle, and the diversity of epidermal leaf features such as stomata and trichomes. Such optimization at the nanoparticle design stage will significantly reduce runoff losses to agricultural soils, associated environmental risks (increased exposure or change in exposure routes), and resource intensity (embodied water, energy, and emissions from upstream processing) while increasing genetic transformation efficiencies ( Figures 2B,C ) ( Xi et al, 2021 ). However, conventional nanofabrication techniques do not allow the exploration of a more diverse shape and size design space.…”

Non-destructive Technologies for Plant Health Diagnosis

“…These sensors transduce plant signals into digital signals to establish direct communication between plants and growers (Qu et al, 2021 ). By tapping into plants' physiological events in real time, non-destructive sensors enable prompt adjustment of environmental conditions to augment crop productivity while minimizing resource use (Xi et al, 2021 ). In this mini-review, the focus is on sensors that detect endogenous metabolites, phytohormones and signaling molecules within the plant itself, and sensors that detect surface or air-borne volatile metabolites.…”