ArticleFrontiers in plant science2025
Think sink, not source: how vertical farming's potential is limited by crop breeding.
Article in Frontiers in plant science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Comprehensive phenomics and vegetative yield analysis of global kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) germplasm in controlled environment agriculture.BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- Modern approaches and future prospects in lettuce breeding for controlled environment agriculture.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
Vertical farming (VF) could play a role in addressing some global food challenges, yet it requires higher crop yields and lower costs to become viable at large scales. While reductions in capital intensity are required, the need for new cultivars has been largely overlooked. This is partially a result of common crop dynamic models: Energy Cascade Models (ECMs). ECMs derive yield estimates based on assimilate production from incoming energy only, neglecting a plant's limitations in storing and transporting assimilates. However, VF crops often experience sink-limited as opposed to source-limited conditions. Here, we adapt the ECM into a Plant Balance Model (PBM) that includes sink-limited conditions and show that current VF crop yields for lettuce and tomato are already close to sink-limited conditions. Further improvements in VF lettuce yields from the literature (700 kg m
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Registered trials
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