BEIJING - A computer-controlled greenhouse-type factory has began operations in Beijing to supply high-quality vegetable, fruit and flower seedlings to domestic growers.

The largest of its kind in China, the Jingpeng Plant Factory is a key scientific program of the municipal government.

It has floor space of 1,289 square meters and is located in the Tongzhou District in the east of the city.

It will be able to produce 15 million seedlings per year, Tian Zhen, director of the Beijing Agricultural Machinery Institute, said Sunday.

Tian said the institute worked with the Jingpeng International Hi-Tech Corporation to develop the computer system that regulates the environment of the factory to ensure optimal plant growth.

Tian said plants are grown in a liquid solution on a production line, with the factory's computer system controlling the temperature, light and humidity the seedlings are exposed to and the amount of nutritive material added to the solution.

"The plants here are pesticide free. The factory depends on a 15-kilowatt solar power generator for electricity," Tian added.