PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plant culture apparatus and a plant factory which enable maximizing the space within a limited cultivation room and cultivating plants under sanitary circumstances.SOLUTION: The present invention provides a plant culture apparatus comprising: a culture shelf on which a plurality of culture tanks spaced in a vertical direction is arranged, the culture tanks storing a culture fluid and having an upper part that can be opened； and a carrier device placed close to at least one of both side ends of the culture shelf, the carrier device being movable while holding a culture tray keeping plants that absorb the culture fluid and grow. The carrier device comprises: a hand that can hold and release a culture tray, a hand mechanism part that allows the culture tray to be removably held by the hand, a hand horizontal movement mechanism part that horizontally moves the hand together with the culture tray held by the hand, a hand up-and-down mechanism part that moves the hand up and down, a hand lifting mechanism part that lifts and lowers the hand together with the culture tray held by the hand, and a controller that controls the operation of the hand mechanism part, hand horizontal movement mechanism part, and the hand lifting mechanism part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3
