Russian scientists are pushing an experimental pilot project where controllable vegetation technology was used in an automated vertical farm. In downtown Moscow, earlier this year researchers grew vermin- and virus-free potato seed grain for subsequent vegetation in field conditions.

Their vertical farm consists of a number of modular shelves with an automated system of multichannel LED lighting and watering, as well as with a number of sensors to check microclimate and parameters of a substrate from which plants get nutrition.

A competitive advantage to note is a fully customizable LED lighting system offering an array of spectra preferable for specific types of plant and various vegetation periods.

The new farm is reported to enable a user to increase yield per square meter per year by an impressive factor of ten and even more—a result of providing smart stimuli for the seed stock’s natural vegetative power within a closed farm that fears neither weather change nor infection risks.