Plant Nutrients and Food Quality in Vertical Farming

by Kristian Holst Laursen, University of Copenhagen, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences

In vertical farming, plants are often grown hydroponically or aeroponically under rigidly controlled conditions. This allows for complete control of plant nutrient supply and potentially delivers optimal plant growth, harvest yield and food quality. It is, however, vital that fertilization strategies are carefully designed to match plant demands of all 14 essential plant nutrients throughout the whole growth period. This does represent a major challenge when nutrient solutions are recirculated – not least in systems relying on organic fertilizers.

This talk discusses the link between plant nutrients and food quality in vertical farming systems with focus on fertilizer types and nutrient levels. Analytical methods to evaluate plant nutritional status during the growth season will also be discussed.

Kristian was a speaker at the 2020 edition of the Vertical Farming Conference

About Kristian Holst Laursen

Leader of the Plant Nutrients and Food Quality Research Group

My scientific focus areas are plant nutrition, food quality, analytical chemistry and chemometrics. I have contributed to several studies aimed at unravelling the functional roles of nutrients in plant metabolism. I have also utilized my background in fundamental plant science for investigating the quality and authenticity of plant based food products. In these studies analytical methods have been developed for authenticating the geographical and agricultural origin of plants.

I have extensive experience with development of analytical methods for multi-element and stable isotope analysis of biological material. During the past decade I have gained major experience with ICP-OES, ICP-MS and IR-MS (also compound-specific IR-MS) and some experience with HPLC and MC-ICP-MS. I am a skilled user of various chemometric tools for multivariate data analysis. I have major experience with planning, conducting and evaluating rigidly controlled plant experiments under field conditions, in greenhouses and climate chambers.

I am leading the Plant Nutrients and Food Quality research group where we aim to bridge plant and food science using advanced analytical chemistry. Food quality is a complex trait covering a wide array of characteristics including nutrient content and bioavailability, protein level, amino acid composition and the presence of potentially toxic compounds such as heavy metals. We develop analytical methods that enable us to investigate key factors controlling the quality of plant based food and feed. Our goal is to provide new knowledge and recommendations regarding sustainable and resource efficient plant production that simultaneously delivers safe, authentic and nutritious food.

About University of Copenhagen, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences

The mission of the department is to stimulate fundamental research and the synergy between basic and applied research in biology and environmental science. The focus is on plants, microorganisms, animals and the environment as a basis for sustainable production of food and other biological products. Research and teaching cover natural resources, agriculture, biotechnology and synthetic biology from the molecular level to the ecosystem scale.

About Plant Nutrients and Food Quality Research Group

The research group in Plant Nutrients and Food Quality bridges plant and food science using advanced analytical chemistry.

Food quality is a complex trait covering a wide array of characteristics including nutrient content and bioavailability, protein level, amino acid composition and the presence of potentially toxic compounds such as heavy metals. We develop analytical methods that enable us to investigate key factors controlling the quality of plant based food and feed. Our goal is to provide new knowledge and recommendations regarding sustainable and resource efficient plant production that simultaneously delivers safe, authentic and nutritious food.