Gumi City Innovates Strawberry Cultivation... Strawberries Enter the Apartment Era

Gumi-si Launches Pilot Project for 'Strawberry Vertical Cultivation Technology'
Achieves 30-40% Area Reduction Compared to Elevated Cultivation, Significantly Cutting Land and Facility Costs

Gumi-si, Gyeongbuk, a mixed urban-rural city, is intensifying efforts to expand the productivity of local farms and produce high-quality agricultural products.

On the 19th, Gumi-si announced that it has entered full-scale harvesting through the 'Strawberry Vertical Cultivation Technology' introduced last year, marking a new turning point in agricultural innovation.

Park Jong-seop, the representative of O-neul Tteot-de-i farm in Haepyeong-myeon, a vertical strawberry farm, is explaining the advantages of vertical cultivation.
[Photo by Gumi City]

This vertical cultivation was promoted as a pilot project to increase the productivity of strawberry cultivation and reduce the facility investment costs for farmers, and it is attracting attention as an innovative technology that can replace existing cultivation methods.

Unlike the existing elevated cultivation method, vertical cultivation uses vertical cultivation containers to grow strawberries. By using cultivation pots stacked 3 to 5 tiers high inside the greenhouse, space utilization is maximized, significantly reducing facility investment costs. This method can reduce the greenhouse area by 30 to 40% compared to conventional elevated cultivation, resulting in substantial savings in land and facility expenses.

Additionally, vertical cultivation can utilize the existing elevated cultivation beds as they are, allowing conversion to the vertical cultivation system without large-scale remodeling. This greatly reduces the initial investment burden for farmers.

Mr. Park Jongseop from Haepyeong-myeon, who introduced this technology, said, "Not only has the facility investment cost been reduced, but the reduction in movement during growth management and harvesting has greatly improved work efficiency." He added, "We started two-tier cultivation this year and plan to attempt three-tier cultivation next year."

Kim Younghyuk, Director of the Gumi Agricultural Technology Center, said, "The dissemination of strawberry vertical cultivation technology will be an important foundation for innovation and sustainable development of local agriculture." He added, "We will continue to expand the distribution of smart agricultural technologies to increase the income and competitiveness of local farmers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.