hectares farm area
(Falkenhagen location)

Salad production: a smart science of its own

The future of farming lies in CEA: Controlled Environment Agriculture. CEA is disrupting traditional agriculture and improving productivity without increasing the area under cultivation while protecting the climate and environment.

Deliscious started down this path ten years ago and has already set many technological milestones. Our lettuce production is a highly efficient process that increasingly uses smart technologies – making yield and products better.

Hydroponics

We use and recycle rainwater or reclaimed water enriched with nutrients. The technology dispenses with the use of groundwater, minimises the need of irrigation water and does not pollute the soil.

LED lights

Main light sources can be controlled throughout the growing period to emit a programmed light that is optimised for different types of crops. A high control level improves the growing process and leads to increased yield and constant product quality.

Robotics

With the integration of robots, a significant part of the value chain is automated, which results in more efficient throughput times. This means that large quantities of salads can be processed.

AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to provide the highest level of efficiency. AI systems learn how to grow the crops at a steady quality by monitoring water use, light and temperature. This helps to improve quality while reducing resource use and costs.

From seed to salad

Our smart production process

Propagation area

Seeds are planted into peat containers, which are enriched with a nutrient solution.

LED chambers

In vertically stacked layers the seeds grow under a controlled environment. LED lights “replace” the sun.

Greenhouse

The seedlings have grown into small leaves. The salads continue to grow under controlled climate conditions. For this purpose, we use hydroponic – a method of growing salad without using soil. Instead the roots are immersed in a water solvent with mineral nutrient solution.

Harvesting, packaging and distribution

After about 30 days in the indoor farm, the seedlings have become salads. In the harvest area, the salad is packed and made ready for distribution.