NFT · Leafy Greens
How to Run a 12,000 m² / 130,000 ft² Lettuce Cultivation in Polyhouse with One Employee
A commercial lettuce producer minimized crop failure and reduced its active workforce to a single employee by retrofitting an existing NFT polyhouse with GrowDirector automation, in less than 24 hours and with no facility downtime.
THE CHALLENGE
Manual labor and risk
Manual monitoring created labor pressure and left room for preventable crop failure.
Climate inconsistency
Inconsistent environmental conditions made it harder to keep the crop on target.
Preventable crop failure
The operation needed earlier visibility into the parameters that affect crop quality.
THE SOLUTION
Automated repetitive tasks
GrowDirector automation reduced the number of daily manual checks and interventions.
Precise water parameters
Connected monitoring made pH, EC and water temperature visible for faster decisions.
Minimizing crop failure
The team gained a clearer operating picture before small deviations became crop problems.
THE RESULT
The facility successfully reduced its active workforce to just one employee while securing higher process reliability.
Seamless integration with third-party equipment
GrowDirector modernized this facility in less than 24 hours. The team retrofitted the lettuce polyhouse by seamlessly integrating the client's third-party pumps and fans with the GrowDirector ecosystem, including HydroDirector, SensorDirector, DryContactDirector and SocketDirector. This rapid deployment allowed the facility to move to advanced automation without facility downtime.
Stabilizing the environment to prevent failure
Inconsistent climate control is the primary driver of crop failure in large-scale operations. By deploying SensorDirector modules with dual power-point sensors and DryContactDirector, the system can correct temperature and humidity deviations before they damage the crop.
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