Agriculture & Food, Volume 11, 2023

Abstract: The global demand for plant-based protein sources increases analogous to the increase of the world population. This conventionally requests the need for more agricultural land, which is unfortunately becoming scarce due to many reasons. Therefore, the interest in innovative and promising farming methods (vertical farming, aquaponic, urban farming, hydroponics, etc.) increased immensely in the last years. The fully automated vertical hydroponics technology is one of the promising soilless culture systems that provides more yield per unit area. However, accurate knowledge about plant requirements at different growth stages are necessary to realize the optimal growing condition within the hydroponic systems and consequently to obtain the highest possible yield and quality of the crop. Chickpeas is one of the most important plant-based protein sources and it has high nutritional value and plays a central role in various diets. However, chickpeas have not been the focus of hydroponics cultivation so far, there are few studies in this field. This paper provides a detailed review about the relevant researches about chickpeas cultivation, to study and analyze the growth parameters needed for the design of appropriate vertical hydroponic systems. In other words, all required parameters (light, temperature, moisture, essential nutrients, etc.) to be controlled are defined and analyzed. Suggestions and recommendations for initial studies and prototypes are generated.