Abstract
A sustainable agricultural production system is urgently required to increase food production in the face of increasing serious food shortages with rising population levels. Plant factory is a food production system that produces high-quality vegetables throughout the year by artificially controlling the environment. Many countries are becoming increasingly interested in the use of plant factory because the production system has many advantages over traditional field-based agriculture. The Research Center for Advanced Plant Factory (SU-PLAF) was set up at the Ueda campus of Shinshu University, Japan, to promote the research and development of the basic technologies used in plant factories. The main projects promoted at SU-PLAF are the development of an energy-saving container plant factory equipped with sunlight collection and light guiding devices and a year-round production system for wasabi nursery plants. It is expected that a steady supply of seedlings will provide an important service for enhancing wasabi production in Japan. SU-PLAF also promotes the collaboration with many companies and provides support for human resources development.
