BiomicAgritech

BiomicAgritech is an Israeli agritech company based in Haifa. It grows trellised vegetables downward from rotatable tubes, which removes the need for trellising and for leaning and lowering the plants. The site names Dr Eliezer Edelstein as initiator and Ronit Edelstein as chief technology officer, an agronomist. The method is shown for tomatoes and cucumbers.

The tube growing method

• Gravity trellising: plants grow down from the tube, so gravity keeps them in place.
• Rotating tubes: stems are wound onto the tube by rotating it at the push of a button, replacing leaning and lowering.
• App control: the tube rotation is controlled through an app.
• Fewer materials: no plastic wires or accessory parts for trellising, and the plant material is organic after uprooting.

The site says that preparing, trellising, leaning and lowering account for more than 40% of greenhouse labour. It adds that the method reduces stem damage and virus spread from human handling, leaves a clean floor for conveyors and suits vertical and urban farms.

Robotic greenhouse

The company presents its method as a step toward a fully robotic greenhouse. In its vision, cameras and cable-mounted robotic arms would harvest fruit and remove leaves and suckers, with the harvest conveyed to packing. The site claims that no other company works on robotic trellising.

Results and recognition

The site says the method pays back its investment in less than four years, mainly through labour savings. It presents the tube rotation as taking about two minutes for a seven-month tomato crop or a three-month cucumber crop. The company says it has appeared on an economic TV broadcast, at GreenTech Amsterdam 2023, and in Fruitnet and Eurofruit coverage.

Key facts

• Based in: Haifa, Israel
• Products: Rotatable growing tubes with app-controlled rotation
• Markets: Greenhouse, vertical and urban growers of tomatoes and cucumbers