A Study of the Optimum Growth Control System Using a Microcomputer

In this paper we propose a system which will result in the growth of a plant in the shortest time possible through the control of the plant's environment by the realtime system with the aid of a microcomputer. The proposed system is to control the codition of the house so that apparent photosynthetic rate of the selected plants in the assimilatory box will be maximized. The feasibility of the system has been confirmed by the experiments such as the compound control of CO2 concentration and air temperature. In this paper, the control method using a model is also considered for an advanced control. The model which is used here is a growth model of lettuce and the example of planned production, which satisfies the required items, cost, due time of delivery and weight, is explained and finally the optimum illuminance for the plant factory which is planned by the authors is shown by case study.