Dubai: Veggies and fruits from world's largest vertical farm will soon be available in stores

The future of agriculture is amidst us here in the UAE. The world's largest vertical farm in the UAE is promising to deliver one million kilograms of green leafy vegetables a year, with the plants going from seed to harvest in just six weeks while utilising 95% less water than traditional farming methods.

The farm that began operation earlier this year utilises the hydroponics method of cultivation and currently grows spinach, kale, arugula and four varieties of lettuce, namely Romaine, Ruby Sky, Lalique and Batavia.

It is recommended not to wash these leafy greens before use due to the non-contaminated, carefully controlled process in which they are grown. The harvested produce from this facility is expected to be available in retail outlets by the end of this month.

Located near Dubai World Central, Al Maktoum International Airport, the venture is a milestone for the UAE. Bustanica, which means your orchard in Arabic, is a joint venture between Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC), one of the world’s largest catering operations serving more than 100 airlines, and Crop One, an industry leader in technology-driven indoor vertical farming.

During a media tour, the team of experts at the facility walked Khaleej Times team through the process of growing crops, from planting the seed to harvesting the leaves multiple times.

Seed planting

The first stop of the tour is at the Plant Development Unit (PDU) where the seeds to be planted are carefully selected to suit the conditions. Here, they are sown into single pod-like growth material either by hand or vacuum sowing methods. "Generally, non-lettuces are hand sown because they are smaller," said Robert Fellows, Production Director, Bustanica. "The vacuum sowing method can sow 162 seeds in 40 seconds. So it is a lot quicker."

Watch this video to find out how the process of sowing takes place:

Once the seeds are sown, they are kept in the PDU for up to two weeks. Here they are wetted and subjected to dark treatment to mimic the conditions of traditional agriculture. “The purpose of this is to grow the healthiest plantlets possible,” said Robert Fellows.

Harvesting

After two weeks, the young plants are transported to one of the 27 Modular Grow Units (MGU), where they are spaced out and planted into the boards which has only water underneath it. Over 45,000 plants can be grown in one MGU.

Within six weeks, the plants are fully grown and ready to be harvested. The facility harvests all its crops multiple times to make optimum use of the resources that is put in. “The benefit of multiple harvests is that since the roots are established, the crops will go quicker each time,” said Aaron Moore, Production Manager at the facility. The facility does not use any pesticide or fertilizers and cultivates produce of the highest quality.

“We pride ourselves about our quality,” said Robert Fellows. “Irrespective of which time of the year it is, we are able to produce the same quality of crops all year round.”

Due to the controlled manner in which the crops are grown, the produce is uncontaminated and ready to be consumed without even being washed and will stay fresh for several weeks in a refrigerator.

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