Plant management apparatus, plant management method, and program

Abstract

A plant management apparatus may include a determination unit which determines a harvest time of a plant, based on prediction information indicating at least one of a predicted market price of the plant or a predicted amount of demand of the plant. The plant management apparatus may include an environmental control unit which controls environmental control equipment which controls environment in a plant factory where the plant is cultivated, so that the plant is able to be harvested at the harvest time. The determination unit may determine, as the harvest time of the plant, a time point when the predicted market price is highest within a target period.

Description

PLANT MANAGEMENT APPARATUS, PLANT MANAGEMENT METHOD, AND PROGRAM

[0001] The contents of the following patent application(s) are incorporated herein by reference: 　　NO. 2023-047602 filed in JP on March 24, 2023 　　The present invention relates to a plant management apparatus, a plant management method, and a program.

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes that a plant development facility, a cultivation method for plants, an LED lighting apparatus for developing plants, a shelf plate for a plant development shelf, and the plant development shelf are provided which can increase the production amount of plants. 　　(Citation List) 　　(Patent Literature) 　　PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-122672General Disclosure

[0003] (Technical Problem) 　　In a plant factory where a plant is cultivated, it is desired that the plant is harvested at an appropriate timing. (Solution to Problem)

[0004] A plant management apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention may include a determination unit which determines a harvest time of a plant, based on prediction information indicating at least one of a predicted market price of the plant or a predicted amount of demand of the plant. The plant management apparatus may include an environmental control unit which controls environmental control equipment which controls environment in a plant factory where the plant is cultivated, so that the plant is able to be harvested at the harvest time. The determination unit may determine, as the harvest time of the plant, a time point when the predicted market price is highest within a target period. The plant may be a vegetable, a fruit, or a fresh flower. The plant may be at least one of the vegetable, the fruit, or the fresh flower. The acquisition unit may acquire the prediction information predicted by using a learning model trained by supervised learning with daily weather information and event information including at least one of events as explanatory variables and with the market price and the amount of demand of the plant as objective variables. The prediction information may be information indicating a relationship between a daily predicted market price and a daily predicted amount of demand or information indicating a relationship between a weekly predicted market price and a weekly predicted amount of demand.

[0005] In the plant management apparatus, the prediction information may indicate at least the predicted market price of the plant. The determination unit may further determine a yield of the plant in the harvest time, based on the prediction information. The environmental control unit may control the environmental control equipment so that the plant of the yield is able to be harvested at the harvest time.

[0006] In any of the plant management apparatuses, the prediction information may indicate a relationship between the predicted market price and the predicted amount of demand. The determination unit may determine the yield by multiplying a predetermined rate by the predicted amount of demand in the harvest time indicated by the prediction information. The predetermined rate may be determined in advance according to a market size of the plant and a maximum yield of the plant that is able to be cultivated in the plant factory.

[0007] In any of the plant management apparatuses, the plant factory may include a plurality of cultivation racks for cultivating the plant. The determination unit may further determine the number of sets of target cultivation racks where the plant is harvested at the harvest time, based on the yield. By each of the one or more cultivation racks being installed in a separate space for the plurality of cultivation racks, and by an environment in each space being individually controlled by the environmental control equipment, the plant may be cultivated in a different environmental state for each space.

[0008] In any of the plant management apparatuses, the environmental control equipment may include am air conditioning equipment which adjusts at least one of a temperature or humidity in the plant factory. The environmental control unit may control the air conditioning equipment so that at least one of the temperature or the humidity in the plant factory satisfies a temperature / humidity condition that a harvest time of the plant matches the harvest time, based on temperature / humidity information indicating a relationship between a development period and the temperature / humidity condition.

[0009] In any of the plant management apparatuses, the temperature / humidity condition may be determined in advance in a range where a predetermined quality of the plant is able to be maintained.

[0010] In any of the plant management apparatuses, the environmental control equipment may further include air blowing equipment which controls at least one of a wind volume or a wind direction of wind supplied into the plant factory. The environmental control unit may control the air blowing equipment so that at least one of the temperature or the humidity in the plant factory satisfies the temperature / humidity condition that the harvest time of the plant matches the harvest time.

[0011] In any of the plant management apparatuses, the environmental control equipment may include light source equipment which has a light source which radiates artificial light to the plant The environmental control unit may control the light source equipment so that an amount of light of the light source satisfies a light amount condition that the harvest time of the plant matches the harvest time, based on light amount information indicating a relationship between a development period and the light amount condition.

[0012] In any of the plant management apparatuses, the light amount condition may be determined in advance in a range where a predetermined quality of the plant is able to be maintained. The environmental control unit may adjust at least one of the wind volume or the wind speed of the wind supplied to the plant by controlling the air blowing equipment to satisfy an air blowing condition predetermined in order to suppress occurrence of tip burn, according to at least one of the temperature / humidity condition or the light amount condition.

[0013] In any of the plant management apparatuses, when the prediction information is updated, the determination unit may determine an updated harvest time of the plant, based on the prediction information being updated. The environmental control unit may further control the environmental control equipment so that the harvest time of the plant matches the updated harvest time.

[0014] In any of the plant management apparatuses, when the prediction information is updated, the determination unit may further determine an updated yield of the plant, based on the prediction information being updated. When the updated yield is greater than a yield before update, the environmental control unit may control the environmental control equipment so that a development period of an increased cultivation rack is shorter than a development period of an existing control target cultivation rack, so as to perform adjustments such that the plant is able to be harvested at the same harvest time in each of the existing control target cultivation rack and the increased cultivation rack. When the updated yield is smaller than the yield before update, the environmental control unit may control the environmental control equipment so that a development period of a decreased cultivation rack is lengthened, so as to perform adjustments such that the harvest time of the plant of the decreased cultivation rack matches a next harvest time.

[0015] A plant management method according to one aspect of the present invention may include determining, by a determination unit, a harvest time of a plant, based on prediction information indicating at least one of a predicted market price of the plant or a predicted amount of demand of the plant. The plant management method may include controlling, by an environmental control unit, environmental control equipment which controls environment in a plant factory where the plant is cultivated, so that the plant is able to be harvested at the harvest time.

[0016] A program according to one aspect of the present invention may cause a computer to perform: determining a harvest time of a plant, based on prediction information indicating at least one of a predicted market price of the plant or a predicted amount of demand of the plant. The program may cause the computer to perform: controlling environmental control equipment which controls environment in a plant factory where the plant is cultivated, so that the plant is able to be harvested at the harvest time.

[0017] The summary clause does not necessarily describe all necessary features of the embodiments of the present invention. The present invention may also be a sub-combination of the features described above.

[0018] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of an overall configuration of a plant management system according to the present embodiment.Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of a plant management apparatus.Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of prediction information showing a relationship between a predicted market price and a predicted amount of demand.Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of temperature / humidity information showing a relationship between a temperature and a development period in accordance with humidity.Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of light amount information showing a relationship between an amount of light and the development period.Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for environmental control of a plant based on prediction information.Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration.

[0019] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to claims. In addition, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the solution of the invention.

[0020] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of an overall configuration of a plant management system according to the present embodiment. The plant management system manages a growth state of a plant 30 that is cultivated in a plant factory 10. The plant management system includes a plurality of cultivation racks 20, light source equipment 40, nutrient solution supply equipment 50, carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, air conditioning equipment 70, air blowing equipment 80, a sensor 90, and a plant management apparatus 100. The light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, and the air blowing equipment 80 are examples of environmental control equipment.

[0021] The cultivation rack 20 cultivates the plant 30 such as a vegetable, a fruit, or a fresh flower. By shifting a sowing date for each set of one or more cultivation racks 20, adjustments are performed such that the plants 30 can be harvested at harvest times different from each other. In addition, by each of the one or more cultivation racks 20 being installed in a separate space 12 for the plurality of cultivation racks 20, and by an environment in the space 12 being individually controlled by the environmental control equipment, the plant 30 may be cultivated in a different environmental state for each space 12. The space may be a space in which heat insulation and airtightness are high. In the present embodiment, the plant management apparatus 100 individually controls the environmental state for each set of the cultivation racks 20. However, the plant management apparatus 100 may individually control the environmental state of each of a plurality of shelves included in one cultivation rack 20.

[0022] The light source equipment 40 includes a plurality of light sources 42, such as LEDs or incandescent lamps, which radiate artificial light, and a dimmer which adjusts the amount of light of the plurality of light sources 42, and the artificial light is radiated from each of the plurality of light sources 42 to the plant 30. The plurality of light sources 42 may be arranged to face a cultivation surface of the cultivation rack 20. The light source equipment 40 may control the amount of light of the plurality of light sources 42 by controlling the power, current, or voltage supplied to the dimmer.

[0023] The nutrient solution supply equipment 50 has a pump 52 and a pipe 54, and supplies, to the cultivation rack 20 via the pump 52 and the pipe 54, a nutrient solution containing each of fertilizer components such as potassium or calcium. The nutrient solution supply equipment 50 appropriately adjusts a fertilizer concentration, and supplies, to the plant 30, the nutrient solution with the adjusted fertilizer concentration. The nutrient solution supply equipment 50 may supply the nutrient solution to the plant 30 by atomizing the nutrient solution with the adjusted fertilizer concentration and spraying the atomized nutrient solution onto a root part of the plant 30. The nutrient solution supply equipment 50 may function as irrigation equipment that supplies water to a medium in which the plant 30 is cultivated. An amount of irrigation that is supplied to the cultivation rack 20 may be adjusted by adjusting an amount of the nutrient solution that is supplied to the cultivation rack 20 from the nutrient solution supply equipment 50.

[0024] The carbon dioxide supply equipment 60 has a tank 62 and a nozzle 64. The tank 62 stores carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide supply equipment 60 supplies carbon dioxide stored in the tank 62, to each space 12 in the plant factory 10 via the nozzle 64.

[0025] The air conditioning equipment 70 controls a temperature and humidity of an air in the plant factory 10, and circulates the air of which the temperature and the humidity are controlled, into each space. The air blowing equipment 80 includes a circulator or a fan that supplies a wind into the plant factory 10. The sensor 90 includes various types of sensors that measure the environmental state around the plant 30 and the growth state of the plant 30. The sensor 90 includes various types of sensors that respectively measure the temperature, the humidity, an amount of light, and a carbon dioxide concentration of stem, leaf, and fruit portions of the plant 30.

[0026] The plant management apparatus 100 controls the growth state of the plant 30 by controlling the light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, and the air blowing equipment 80. The plant management apparatus 100 communicates with the light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, and the air blowing equipment 80, via a wireless network or a wired network. The plant management apparatus 100 is an example of a growth state estimation apparatus.

[0027] The plant management apparatus 100 may be a computer having a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory. The light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, and the air blowing equipment 80 may include the computers having the central processing units (CPU) and the memories.

[0028] The computer may be a computer such as a personal computer, a tablet type computer, a smartphone, a workstation, a server computer, or a general purpose computer, or may be a computer system in which a plurality of computers are connected. Such a computer system is also a computer in a broad sense. The computer may be a dedicated computer designed for an environmental control of a plant factory, or may be dedicated hardware realized by dedicated circuitry. The computer may be implemented by a virtual computer environment. When the computer is used, the plant management apparatus 100, the light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, and the air blowing equipment 80 are realized by executing a program by the computer.

[0029] In the plant management system configured in this way, it is desired that an appropriate yield of the plant 30 can be harvested at an appropriate timing in consideration of market prices and demand.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the plant management apparatus 100. The plant management apparatus 100 includes an acquisition unit 102, a determination unit 104, an environmental control unit 110, and a storage unit 120. The storage unit 120 stores a program which operates on the plant management apparatus 100. The program is executed on the processor included in the plant management apparatus 100, so as to cause the processor to function as the acquisition unit 102, the determination unit 104, and the environmental control unit 110.

[0031] The acquisition unit 102 acquires prediction information showing a relationship between the predicted market price of the plant 30 cultivated in the plant factory 10 and the predicted amount of demand of the plant 30. The acquisition unit 102 may acquire the prediction information from a prediction server which generates the prediction information, by using a learning model that predicts the market price and the amount of demand of the plant 30 in the future from the market price and the amount of demand in the past. The prediction server may use a learning model for each type of the plant 30 to predict the predicted market price and the predicted amount of demand for each type of the plant 30. For example, the prediction server may set daily weather information, event information of an event or the like, and the like, as explanatory variables, and set the market price and the amount of demand, as objective variables, and perform machine learning according to a supervised learning algorithm, thereby generating a trained prediction model. The algorithm may be an algorithm of any scheme, such as a neural network, a support vector machine, a multiple regression analysis, or a decision tree. The acquisition unit 102 may acquire the prediction information from a server which is provided by an organization that provides the prediction information of the market price and the amount of demand. The acquisition unit 102 may acquire the prediction information predicted by using a learning model trained by supervised learning with daily weather information and event information including at least one of events as explanatory variables and with the market price and the amount of demand of the plant 30 as objective variables.

[0032] The determination unit 104 determines the harvest time of the plant 30, based on the prediction information. The prediction information may be, for example, information indicating a relationship between a daily predicted market price (yen) and a daily predicted amount of demand (t), as shown in Fig. 3. The prediction information may be information indicating a relationship between a weekly predicted market price (yen) and a weekly predicted amount of demand (t). The prediction information may be information indicating a relationship between a predicted market price (yen) and a predicted amount of demand (t) for each predetermined period other than a day or a week.

[0033] As a harvest time T of the plant 30, the determination unit 104 may determine a time point at which the predicted market price is the highest in a target period. To the target period, at least one set of cultivation racks 20 in which sowing dates are the same as each other is allocated. The set of cultivation racks 20 may include a plurality of cultivation racks 20 having the same sowing date. The set of cultivation racks 20 may include a plurality of cultivation racks 20 having the same sowing date and existing in the space 12 in which it is possible to individually control the environmental state. For example, as the harvest time T of the plant 30 for a target period A to a target period H, the determination unit 104 may determine "September 10th" at which the predicted market price is the highest. As the harvest time T of the plant 30 for a target period I to a target period G, the determination unit 104 may determine "September 12th".

[0034] The determination unit 104 may further determine a yield S of the plant, in the harvest time T for the plant 30, based on the prediction information. The determination unit 104 may determine the yield S of the plant 30 by multiplying a predetermined rate by the predicted amount of demand in the harvest time T of the plant 30 that is indicated by the prediction information. The predetermined rate may be determined in advance according to a market size of the plant 30 and a maximum yield of the plant 30 that is able to be cultivated in the plant factory 10. The determination unit 104 may further determine the number of sets of cultivation racks 20 serving as targets on which the plants 30 are cultivated in the harvest time T, so as to satisfy the yield S. The yield of the plant 30 per set of cultivation racks 20 may be determined in advance from an actual measurement value, to be stored in the storage unit 120.

[0035] The environmental control unit 110 control at least one of the light source equipment 40 which controls the environment in the plant factory 10, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, or the air blowing equipment 80, so that plant 30 can be harvested at the harvest time T. The environmental control unit 110 controls at least one of the light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, or the air blowing equipment 80, so that the yield S of the plant 30 can be harvested at the harvest time T.

[0036] Based on temperature / humidity information indicating a relationship between the development period and a temperature / humidity condition, the environmental control unit 110 may control the air conditioning equipment 70 so that at least one of the temperature or the humidity in the plant factory 10 satisfies the temperature / humidity condition that allows the plant 30 to be harvested at the harvest time T.

[0037] When the plant 30 is a variety such as a leaf lettuce in which the development period can be shortened as the temperature increases, if the harvest time T is earlier than a harvestable harvest time scheduled for a current development period, the environmental control unit 110 may control the air conditioning equipment 70 to increase the temperature of the space, so as to advance the harvest time of the plant 30. Alternatively, if the harvest time T is later than the harvestable harvest time scheduled for the current development period, the environmental control unit 110 may control the air conditioning equipment 70 to lower the temperature of the space, so as to delay the harvest time of the plant 30.

[0038] However, when the temperature of the space is excessively high, a physiological disorder such as tip burn may occur in the plant 30. In this regard, the temperature / humidity condition may be determined in advance in a range where the predetermined quality of the plant 30 can be maintained. For example, the plant management apparatus 100 may determine the humidity and the temperature corresponding to the development period for allowing the plant 30 to be harvested at the harvest time T, based on the temperature / humidity information, which is stored in the storage unit 120, indicating the relationship between the temperature and the development period in accordance with the humidity as shown in Fig. 4.

[0039] The environmental control unit 110 may control the air blowing equipment 80 and adjust at least one of the wind volume (wind speed) or the wind direction of the wind supplied in the plant factory 10, so that at least one of the temperature or the humidity in the plant factory 10 satisfies the temperature / humidity condition which allows the plant 30 to be harvested at the harvest time T.

[0040] Based on light amount information that indicates a relationship between the development period and the light amount condition, the environmental control unit 110 may control the light source equipment 40, so that the amount of light of the light source 42 satisfies a light amount condition which allows the plant 30 to be harvested at the harvest time T.

[0041] When the plant 30 is a variety such as a leaf lettuce in which the development period can be shortened as the amount of light increases, if the harvest time T is earlier than a harvestable harvest time scheduled for the current development period, the environmental control unit 110 may control the light source equipment 40 to increase the amount of light of the space, so as to advance the harvest time of the plant 30. Alternatively, if the harvest time T is later than the harvestable harvest time scheduled for the current development period, the environmental control unit 110 may control the light source equipment 40 to decrease the amount of light of the space, so as to delay the harvest time of the plant 30.

[0042] However, when the amount of light of the space is excessively large, a physiological disorder such as tip burn may occur in the plant 30. In this regard, the light amount condition may be determined in advance in a range where the predetermined quality of the plant 30 can be maintained.

[0043] For example, the plant management apparatus 100 may determine the amount of light corresponding to the development period for allowing the plant 30 to be harvested at the harvest time T, based on the light amount information, which is stored in the storage unit 120, indicating the relationship between the amount of light and the development period as shown in Fig. 5.

[0044] The temperature / humidity information and the light amount information may be generated in advance based on statistical data obtained by performing actual measurement for each variety of the plant 30 while changing the conditions of the temperature and the humidity or the condition of the amount of light, and be stored in the storage unit 120.

[0045] A gentle wind is effective in suppressing tip burn. In this regard, according to at least one of the temperature / humidity condition or the light amount condition, the environmental control unit 110 may control the air blowing equipment 80 to satisfy an air blowing condition predetermined in order to suppress the occurrence of tip burn, and adjust at least one of the wind volume or the wind speed of the wind supplied to the plant 30.

[0046] Here, the prediction information may become more accurate as a period of time to a predicted time point becomes shorter. In this regard, the acquisition unit 102 may acquire updated prediction information periodically from a prediction server. When the prediction information is updated, the determination unit 104 may determine the updated harvest time of the plant 30, based on the updated prediction information. The environmental control unit 110 further controls at least one of the light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, and the air conditioning equipment 70, or the air blowing equipment 80, so that the plant 30 can be harvested at the updated harvest time.

[0047] When the prediction information is updated, the determination unit 104 may determine the updated harvest time and yield of the plant 30, based on the updated prediction information. For each of sets of the control target cultivation racks 20, the environmental control unit 110 may further control at least one of the light source equipment 40, the nutrient solution supply equipment 50, the carbon dioxide supply equipment 60, the air conditioning equipment 70, or the air blowing equipment 80, so that the harvest time of the plant 30 matches the updated harvest time, and the plant 30 can be harvested by the updated yield.

[0048] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for environmental control of the plant 30 based on the prediction information.

[0049] The acquisition unit 102 acquires the prediction information corresponding to the type of the target plant 30 from the prediction server (S100). The determination unit 104 determines, as the harvest time T of the plant 30 in the target period, a time point when the predicted market price is the highest in the target period, based on the prediction information, and further determines the yield S, based on the predicted amount of demand in the harvest time T (S102). The determination unit 104 determines the number of sets of the cultivation racks 20 satisfying the yield (S104). The determination unit 104 determines the development period of the plant 30 from the current time point, the development period allowing the harvest at the harvest time T (S106).

[0050] The environmental control unit 110 determines an environmental condition that satisfies the development period (S108), and the environmental control unit 110 controls the environmental control equipment, based on the determined environmental condition (S110).

[0051] Next, if the acquisition unit 102 does not acquire the updated prediction information from the prediction server ("N" in S112), the environmental control unit 110 maintains the current environmental condition and controls the environmental control equipment.

[0052] On the other hand, if the acquisition unit 102 acquires the updated prediction information from the prediction server ("Y" in S112), the determination unit 104 determine a harvest time T' and a yield S again, based on the updated prediction information (S114). When the harvest time T' is earlier than the harvest time T, the environmental control unit 110 may control the air conditioning equipment 70 to increase the temperature of the space, so as to advance the harvest time of the plant 30. Alternatively, when the harvest time T' is later than the harvest time T, the environmental control unit 110 may control the air conditioning equipment 70 to decrease the temperature of the space, so as to advance the harvest time of the plant 30. When the harvest time T' is earlier than the harvest time T, the environmental control unit 110 may control the light source equipment 40 to increase the amount of light of the space, so as to advance the harvest time of the plant 30. Alternatively, when the harvest time T' is later than the harvest time T, the environmental control unit 110 may control the light source equipment 40 to decrease the amount of light of the space, so as to advance the harvest time of the plant 30.

[0053] When the yield S' is greater than the yield S, the environmental control unit 110 may control the environmental control equipment so that the development period of the increased cultivation rack 20 is shorter than the development period of the existing control target cultivation rack 20, so as to perform adjustments such that the plants 30 can be harvested at the same time in each of the existing control target cultivation rack 20 and the increased cultivation rack 20.

[0054] When the yield S' is smaller than the yield S, the environmental control unit 110 may control the environmental control equipment so that the development period of the decreased cultivation rack 20 is lengthened, preferably, the development period of the decreased cultivation rack 20 is the longest, so as to perform adjustments such that the harvest time of the plant 30 of the decreased cultivation rack 20 matches the next harvest time.

[0055] Fig. 7 shows an example of a computer 1200 in which an aspect of the present embodiment may be entirely or partially embodied. Programs installed in the computer 1200 can cause the computer 1200 to function as operations associated with the apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention or one or more "units" of the apparatus. Alternatively, the programs can cause the computer 1200 to execute the operations or the one or more "units". The programs can cause the computer 1200 to execute a process according to the embodiments of the present invention or steps of the process. Such programs may be executed by a CPU 1212 to cause the computer 1200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described in the present specification.

[0056] The computer 1200 according to the present embodiment includes the CPU 1212 and a RAM 1214, which are mutually connected by a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 also includes a communication interface 1222 and an input / output unit, which are connected to the host controller 1210 via an input / output controller 1220. The computer 1200 also includes a ROM 1230. The CPU 1212 operates according to the programs stored in the ROM 1230 and the RAM 1214, thereby controlling each unit.

[0057] The communication interface 1222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. A hard disk drive may store the programs and data used by the CPU 1212 in the computer 1200. The ROM 1230 stores therein boot programs or the like executed by the computer 1200 at the time of activation, and / or stores programs depending on hardware of the computer 1200. The programs are provided via a computer readable storage medium such as CR-ROM, a USB memory or an IC Card, or a network. The programs are installed on the RAM 1214, which also is an example of the computer readable storage medium, or the ROM 1230 and performed by the CPU 1212. Information processing written in these programs is read by the computer 1200, and provides cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or a method may be configured by implementing operations or processing of information according to a use of the computer 1200.

[0058] For example, in a case where a communication is performed between the computer 1200 and an external device, the CPU 1212 may execute a communication program loaded in the RAM 1214 and instruct the communication interface 1222 to perform communication processing based on a process written in the communication program. Under the control of the CPU 1212, the communication interface 1222 reads transmission data which is stored in the RAM 1214 or a transmission buffer region which is provided in a storage media such as a USB memory, to transmit the read transmission data to the network or write the reception data received from the network into a reception buffer region or the like provided on the storage media.

[0059] Also, the CPU 1212 may cause the whole or required part of files which are stored in the external storage media (such as USB memory) or the database to be read by the RAM 1214, to perform a various type of processes for the data on the RAM 1214. Then, the CPU 1212 may write back the processed data to the external storage media.

[0060] A various type of information such as a various type of programs, data, tables and databases may be stored in a storage media to undergo information processing. The CPU 1212 may execute, on the data read from the RAM 1214, various types of processing including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgement, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information retrieval / replacement, or the like described throughout the present disclosure and specified by instruction sequences of the programs, to write the results back to the RAM 1214. Also, the CPU 1212 may retrieve information in the file, database, or the like in the storage media. For example, when a plurality of entries each having an attribute value of the first attribute associated with an attribute value of the second attribute are stored in a storage media, the CPU 1212 may retrieve, among the plurality of entries, an entry whose attribute value of the first attribute is specified and matches the conditions and read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, thereby acquiring the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute which satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0061] The programs or software module described above may be stored on the computer 1200 or in a computer readable storage medium near the computer 1200. In addition, a storage medium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer readable storage media, thereby providing the program to the computer 1200 via the network.

[0062] A computer readable medium may include any tangible device that can store instructions to be executed by a suitable device. As a result, the computer readable medium having instructions stored therein includes an article of manufacture including instructions which can be executed to create means for performing operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of the computer readable medium may include an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, an electromagnetic storage medium, a semiconductor storage medium, and the like. Specific examples of the computer readable medium may include a floppy (Registered Trademark) disk, a diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM (Registered Trademark)), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc, a memory stick, an integrated circuit card, or the like.

[0063] The computer readable instructions may include either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The source code or the object code includes a conventional procedural programming language. The conventional procedural programming language may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk (registered trademark), JAVA (registered trademark), C++, etc., and programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, or to programmable circuitry, locally or via a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, etc. The processor or the programmable circuitry may execute the computer readable instructions in order to create means for performing operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of the processor include a computer processor, a processing unit, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a controller, a microcontroller, and the like.

[0064] While the present invention has been described by way of the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that various alterations or improvements can be made to the above described embodiments. It is also apparent from the description of the claims that embodiments added with such alterations or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0065] The operations, procedures, steps, and stages of each process performed by an apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, embodiments, or diagrams can be performed in any order as long as the order is not indicated by "prior to," "before," or the like and as long as the output from a previous process is not used in a later process. Even if the process flow is described using phrases such as "first" or "next" in the claims, embodiments, or diagrams, it does not necessarily mean that the process must be performed in this order.

[0066] 10: plant factory; 　　20 cultivation rack; 　　30: plant; 　　40: light source equipment; 　　42: light source; 　　50: nutrient solution supply equipment; 　　52: pump; 　　54: pipe; 　　60: carbon dioxide supply equipment; 　　62: tank; 　　64: nozzle; 　　70: air conditioning equipment; 　　80: air blowing equipment; 　　90: sensor; 　　100: plant management apparatus; 　　102: acquisition unit; 　　104: determination unit; 　　110: environmental control unit; 　　120: storage unit; 　　1200: computer; 　　1210: host controller; 　　1212: CPU; 　　1214: RAM; 　　1220: input / output controller; 　　1222: communication interface; 　　1230: ROM.

Claims

1. A plant management apparatus comprising: 　　a determination unit which determines a harvest time of a plant, based on prediction information indicating at least one of a predicted market price of the plant or a predicted amount of demand of the plant; and 　　an environmental control unit which controls environmental control equipment which controls environment in a plant factory where the plant is cultivated, so that the plant is able to be harvested at the harvest time.

2. The plant management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 　　the prediction information indicates at least the predicted market price of the plant, and 　　the determination unit determines, as the harvest time of the plant, a time point when the predicted market price is highest within a target period.

3. The plant management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 　　the prediction information indicates a relationship between the predicted market price and the predicted amount of demand, 　　the determination unit further determines a yield of the plant in the harvest time, based on the prediction information, and 　　the environmental control unit controls the environmental control equipment so that the plant of the yield is able to be harvested at the harvest time.

4. The plant management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines the yield by multiplying the predicted amount of demand, which is indicated by the prediction information, in the harvest time by a predetermined rate.

5. The plant management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein 　　the plant factory includes a plurality of cultivation racks where the plant is cultivated, and 　　the determination unit further determines a number of sets of target cultivation racks where the plant is harvested at the harvest time, based on the yield.

6. The plant management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 　　the environmental control equipment includes air conditioning equipment which adjusts at least one of a temperature or humidity in the plant factory, and 　　the environmental control unit controls the air conditioning equipment so that at least one of the temperature or the humidity in the plant factory satisfies a temperature / humidity condition that a harvest time of the plant matches the harvest time, based on temperature / humidity information indicating a relationship between a development period and the temperature / humidity condition.

7. The plant management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the temperature / humidity condition is determined in advance in a range where a predetermined quality of the plant is able to be maintained.

8. The plant management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein 　　the environmental control equipment further includes air blowing equipment which controls at least one of a wind volume or a wind direction of wind supplied into the plant factory, and 　　the environmental control unit controls the air blowing equipment so that at least one of the temperature or the humidity in the plant factory satisfies the temperature / humidity condition that the harvest time of the plant matches the plant harvest time.

9. The plant management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 　　the environmental control equipment includes light source equipment having a light source which radiates artificial light to the plant, and 　　the environmental control unit controls the light source equipment so that an amount of light of the light source satisfies a light amount condition that a harvest time of the plant matches the harvest time, based on light amount information indicating a relationship between a development period and the light amount condition.

10. The plant management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the light amount condition is determined in advance in a range where a predetermined quality of the plant is able to be maintained.

11. The plant management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein 　　the environmental control equipment includes light source equipment having a light source which radiates artificial light to the plant, 　　the environmental control unit controls the light source equipment so that an amount of light of the light source satisfies a light amount condition that the harvest time of the plant matches the harvest time, based on light amount information indicating a relationship between a development period and the light amount condition, and 　　the environmental control unit adjusts at least one of the wind volume or the wind speed of the wind supplied to the plant by controlling the air blowing equipment to satisfy an air blowing condition predetermined in order to suppress occurrence of tip burn, according to at least one of the temperature / humidity condition or the light amount condition.

12. The plant management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein 　　when the prediction information is updated, the determination unit determines an updated harvest time of the plant, based on the prediction information being updated, and 　　the environmental control unit further controls the environmental control equipment so that a harvest time of the plant matches the updated harvest time.

13. The plant management apparatus according to claim 12, wherein 　　when the prediction information is updated, the determination unit further determines an updated yield of the plant, based on the prediction information being updated, 　　when the updated yield is greater than a yield before update, the environmental control unit controls the environmental control equipment so that a development period of an increased cultivation rack is shorter than a development period of an existing control target cultivation rack, so as to perform adjustments such that the plant is able to be harvested at a same harvest time in each of the existing control target cultivation rack and the increased cultivation rack, and 　　when the updated yield is smaller than the yield before update, the environmental control unit controls the environmental control equipment so that a development period of a decreased cultivation rack is lengthened, so as to perform adjustments such that the harvest time of the plant of the decreased cultivation rack matches a next harvest time.

14. A plant management method comprising: 　　determining, by a determination unit, a harvest time of a plant, based on prediction information indicating at least one of a predicted market price of the plant or a predicted amount of demand of the plant; and 　　controlling, by an environmental control unit, environmental control equipment which controls environment in a plant factory where the plant is cultivated, so that the plant is able to be harvested at the harvest time.

15. A program for causing a computer to perform: 　　when executed by the computer, 　　determining a harvest time of a plant cultivated in a plant factory, based on prediction information indicating at least one of a predicted market price of the plant or a predicted amount of demand of the plant; and 　　controlling environmental control equipment which controls environment in the plant factory where the plant is cultivated, so that the plant is able to be harvested at the harvest time.

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