(J.SHITA)23(2):37-43. 2011. 37 520-0531 1-13-15 Operation Should be Automated and not so in Plant Factory for Leafy Vegetables Touichi OGURA Goodgoal Inc, 1-13-15 Suimei Otsu-shi, Shiga 520-0531, Japan Abstract The first plant factory in Japan was built more than 20 years ago, and industrial stage of plant factory moves to the development stage from the earlier stage. In the meantime, various automation systems have been developed for the purpose of increasing harvests, saving labor, or decreasing the workload. In this review, we examine these subjects and the range of automation devices, and look at examples of some of the related problems that companies have faced to date. Currently, the amount of time required to produce one leafy lettuce in an artificial plant factory is estimated to be 2.2 minutes. With full mechanization, this time will be reduced to 0.3 minutes. However, the investment in equipment is limited when economic efficiency is taken into consideration. The candidates for mechanization should be carefully selected so as to be compatible with shipping operations; for example, systems that involve less leaf picking and packaging, and fewer cleaning and sterilization operations for cultivation instruments and tools used in the production of 10,000 or fewer lettuces per day. Keywords: automation system, cultivation instrument, fewer cleaning leafy lettuce, packaging production, plant factory, saving labor, sterilization operation 1985 1) 20 50 2011 1 10 2011 2 24 Corresponding author Touichi Ogura (ogura11@nike.eonet.ne.jp) 1
38 40 25 cm 2 3 cm (60 cm 90 cm) 2 ( ) 120 48 2) ( JFE ) 3) ( ) 3 ( ) 1 20 30 2 4-6) 7) 1 30 2 1995 8) 20 70 10 1 2000 M ( ) JFE 5 10 m 1F 1F 3 1 2.2 2
39 20 1,000 6 6 1,000 36 1 2.2 800 29.3 9 10) Fig. 1 Fig. 3 1,000 m 2 1,000 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 1,000 3,175 1 3.2 8 6.6 6 8.8 2.2 1 91 288 (0.3 ) 1990 1,000 1990 2000 10,000 2 10,000 1 20 25 1,000 3,000 Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of artificial type plant factory (By permission of Kyushu Electric Power Co. Inc.) 3
40 () () Fig. 2 Automatic machines and apparatuses in leafy vegetable production (By permission of Kyushu Electric Power Co. Inc.) Fig. 3 Operating hours in each process and effect of automation (By permission of Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.) 1,000 10 10,000 (600 mm 900 mm) 500 10) 4
41 3K 500 1990 5) 2 70 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 2 2 Fig. 6 Table. 1 11) Fig. 4 Schematic diagram of automated plant factory (By permission of Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd.) 5
小倉東一 42 1 2 Fig. 5 Machines and robots for automated plant factory (By permission of Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd.) Fig. 6 Machines for hydroponics produces Japanese honewort (By permission of M Hydroponic Research Co. Ltd.) Table 1 Rating of automation in each process in leafy vegetable production 工程 機械 機械化の目的 必要性 収量増 ウレタン浸水機 播種機 定植機 中間移植機 スペーシング機構 収穫装置 包装機 箱組立装置 パネル洗浄装置 パネル殺菌装置 軽作業化 補記 安定生産 6 多段化 フローティングで対応 機械化不要 多段式での上部棚パネルの移動機械化必要 規模関係なく必要 目産 1,000 株では不要 大規模生産向き 規模関係なく導入推奨
43 ( ) ( ) ( ) M 1) 1-140 1996 2) In SHITA REPORT 15 44-57 1999. 3) In SHITA REPORT 14:30-36 1998. 4) In SHITA REPORT 9 19-27 1995. 5) GA In 1995 ( ) 8 1 1-12 1995. 6) Isao Tanaka. Development of Plant Factory. In 1996 ( ) 7 23-24 158-161 1996 7) In 3 1997 ( ) 6 6-8 388-389 1997 8) In SHITA REPORT 16 55-62 2000 9) In 1995 ( ) 8 1 41-42 1995. 10) ( ) 158-161 2006 11) In SHITA REPORT 6 15-22 1993. 7