Various crop spacing methods have been implemented so far for the greenhouse and plant factory applications. However, there is no generally accepted parameter for evaluation of plant spacing efficiency in plant production system. In this study, `Planted Area Index` (PAI) of a spacing method is defined as the ratio of the planted area in the field to required planted area using the spacing method when no transplanting operation is assumed. Three common types of spacing methods for plane placement of the plants were modeled mathematically. For calculating the planted area, an optimal growth radius function (R(t)) is needed. Function of the days after transplanting stage gives a radius of an optimal circle area for the living plants. A computer simulation was developed to calculate the PAI, based on three crop spacing methods and four optimal growth radius functions. In general, the 1-D zigzag spacing showed the best PAI. Moreover, it gives an example on how to apply the PAI for the design.