A consortium led by Fujitsu Home & Office Services, Wakamatsu city, Japan, aims to cultivate low-potassium leaf lettuce that can be eaten raw by dialysis patients and people with chronic kidney disease.
These patients, who need to limit their potassium intake, find themselves with limited options for vegetables that can be eaten raw, making low-potassium vegetables a highly attractive option.
The project draws on expertise that Fujitsu Semiconductor developed in semiconductor fab cleanrooms for determining optimum production conditions and micro-organism control.
It will be used to precisely manage atmospheric conditions and the active ingredients in liquid fertilisers, to create the ideal growing environment for low-potassium vegetables.
Employing special cultivation techniques and knowledge of Aizufujikako and Akita Prefectural University, Fujitsu Home & Office Services will begin trial production of low-potassium leaf lettuce in October 2013, with full-scale production planned for January 2014.
The project uses Akisai – the food and agricultural cloud from Fujitsu that leverages ICT to improve dramatically the efficiency of agricultural operations.
With 2,000m2 of space for production, this is the largest plant factory in Japan for the cultivation of low-potassium vegetables.
The project is being conducted by a consortium of companies, including companies from within the Fujitsu Group, Aizufujikako Co and Fukushima Medical University.