Growing Systems

The production of greenhouse cucumbers has expanded rapidly over the last years. Greenhouse cucumbers can be one of the most productive crops. However, this productivity relies on precise control of irrigation, plant nutrition, and the growing environment, in addition to the effective management of pests…

Technion researchers have developed an innovative technology for the automated monitoring of stress in agricultural crops. Early detection of water and heat stress is crucial for agricultural growers since the reduction in moisture is reflected in limited stomatal conductance, resulting in dwindled…

NUS researchers have reconstructed nearly a thousand microbial genomes from green leafy vegetables commonly consumed in Singapore to improve the quality of urban farmed crops. This study is a first step towards uncovering the microbiomes associated with urban farmed vegetables. It also marks progress in…

The recently enacted Greenhouse Light Abatement Bylaw in Ontario, but also other light pollution concerns across North America have created issues for growers to choose between light pollution vs excess heat inside their greenhouse. Closing traditional light abatement screens during the night means…

There’s a better end for used food than taking up space in landfills and contributing to global warming.  ​Beneficial bacteria flourished in citrus growing systems treated with fermented waste by-products. UC Riverside scientists have discovered fermented food waste can boost bacteria that increase crop growth,…

Using what it calls “regenerative ocean farming,” Greenwave's farms sit vertically below the ocean's surface and produce high yields with a small ...

The Star Fruit tree is generally multi-branched, with dark green bushes. It can grow up to 20 to 30 feet in height and 20 to 25 feet wide, but to harvest them easily maintain the tree in a smaller size. Article has step by step process of star fruit cultivation.

Brabant Plant connected their climate computer to the 30MHz platform early 2020. This led to valuable benefits. Cultivation researcher Marvin Verkuijlen tells us about his experiences with the integration. “Now it’s easier to compare different compartments.” Brabant Plant is a Dutch family business that…

UbiQD, a New Mexico-based advanced materials company, announced today that it has published the results of the first phase of its NASA-funded plant trials in the open-access Nature Research journal, "Communications Biology." The study validates the use of quantum dots for optimized crop growth on space…

LED lighting is appointed as the successor of HPS lighting in greenhouses since it can lead to a more sustainable cultivation, i.e. it converts electrical energy into photosynthetically active radiation more efficiently. To quantify the effect of this more efficient conversion within the operation of the…

This past season, seven short-day varieties, Camino Real, Chandler, Flavorfest, Keepsake, Merced, Rocco, and Ruby June and three, day-neutral varieties- Albion, San Andreas and Sweet Ann, were evaluated in this study. The day-neutral varieties were evaluated for their bearing capacity in spring and early…

Tholen - “A few days after the planting, the roots were already in the slab.” For tomato grower Pieter Hoogerbrugge, of Kwekerij Hoogerbrugge in Lepelstraat, this is remarkable. He is growing on perlite together with his brother Erik for the first time this season. Fellow grower Peet Withagen, of the…

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a tropical fruit crop of rapid growth and early yielding. In recent years, papaya cultivation has extended to subtropical regions due to its commercial interest. In South East Spain, protected cultivation is, however, mandatory to ensure the optimal development of the crop.…

Whether talking about nutrient film technique (NFT), deep water culture (DWC), drip irrigation systems, aeroponics systems, ebb and flow systems, or any other system we should agree that these are all just variations of irrigation systems. Suppliers of hydroponic systems will all tell you why theirs is…

Many horticultural businesses are in the middle of the crop change or it has already been done. This also means that the used crop gets shredded and removed. These crop remainders often contain plastic. Dutch tomato growers have over two billion plastic clips and 864,000,000 meters of plastic rope per…

A newly released miniature greenhouse can help you grow plants with creation of a modular micro environment. The Agrodome is created by Mexican company NOS and is a miniature greenhouse dome helps harvest rainwater and foster sapling-growth transparent, breathable, stackable and portable system for…

Stomata, the microscopic pores surrounded by a pair of guard cells on the surfaces of leaves and stems, play an essential role in regulating the gas exchange between a plant and the surrounding atmosphere. Stomatal development and opening are significantly influenced by environmental conditions, both in the short and long term. The rapid rate of current climate change has been affecting stomatal responses, as a new balance between photosynthesis and water-use efficiency has to be found. Understanding the mechanisms involved in stomatal regulation and adjustment provides us with new insights into the ability of stomata to process information and evolve over time. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in research on the underlying mechanisms of the interaction between environmental factors and stomatal development and opening. Specific emphasis is placed on the environmental factors including light, CO2 concentration, ambient temperature, and relative humidity, as these factors play a significant role in understanding the impact of global climate change on plant development.

Growers now have a quick, easy way to provide the game-changing root zone heating that plants prefer. Roll’N Grow covers benches and floors with growth-enhancing heat in a fraction of the time it used to take. “The benefits of root zone heating are well documented – some growers say they won’t produce…

Brazil has its first-ever organic mango farming system. Research had been underway for over 10 years at the Mandioca e Fruticultura (Cassava and Fruit Culture) unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). Now, the results are available to growers online in a guide that covers…

Raman leaf-clip sensor would allow rapid diagnosis of nutrition deficiency in plants, enabling farmers to maximize crop yield in a sustainable way.  The portable Raman system was designed in collaboration with local company Technospex Pte Ltd. The leaf-clip Raman sensor consists of a 3D printed clip that is…

Fresh, delicious, hothouse strawberries in the dead of winter…can’t you just taste them?  We would ALL love to see more local strawberries in our grocery stores, wouldn’t we?

Perhaps you’ve thought about growing strawberries in your greenhouse.  Or you’ve dabbled in production already.  Maybe you are a well-seasoned strawberry grower but eager to stay connected and continue learning.

If any of these sounds like you, you’ll want to check out an upcoming course on hydroponic strawberry production by Hort Americas.

Woody small fruit (such as blackberry and raspberry) is increasingly being grown in a tunnel or a greenhouse. This makes it easier to control the crop. Moreover, heavy rain showers, for example, cause much less damage. The Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs Business Unit of Wageningen University &…

In just 6.5 meters wide, the typical width of an Huelva-type macro tunnel, ten cultivation gutters are installed. This is done thanks to the new cultivation system of NGS, the Rotational NGS System. "This translates into 15,300 linear meters of cultivation gutter per hectare."  "We've designed this new cultivation system,…

Arjan Kouwenhoven’s company Fonte Verde Agro is located in Adradas, not far from Sao Paulo in Brazil: more than 1.5 hectares of the growing facility of two hectares are used for growing tomatoes. This is a glass greenhouse and that is unique for the South American country - but there's more that is…

Benjamin Franklin is quoted saying, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” When considering this quote for the commercial greenhouse operation, it should come as no surprise that preparing for the next growing season is an important task as it sets the tone for the entire season. Starting…

For years, James Dick, a horticulturalist from Vermont in the Western Cape, researched better ways of growing food on a micro scale.

“I came away from university with the idea, but it took a lot of brainstorming and prototypes before I got the concept,” he recalls.

In 2010, the idea of the HiGro Tower Garden System finally crystallised in his mind.

“It’s a system designed for high-density living environments in poorer communities, especially for the busy person with limited time for shopping. The idea is to have a full, healthy meal at your back door, free of high maintenance costs,” he explains.

How it works  The HiGro system is a vertically segmented column for growing flowers, leafy greens, peas, beans, herbs and strawberries, amongst other plants.

“Four to eight modules interlock to form the column. Each module is filled with 4,5ℓ of sphagnum peat moss and green fibre pre-enriched with a little fertiliser to get the plants started,” Dick explains. This growing medium has high water-retention and can last for as long as two years.

The system is designed to grow plenty of food with very little water and does not rely on electricity. Instead, it is irrigated by a hand-pumped 5ℓ compression sprayer that drives a water and fertiliser solution through the drippers and into the modules.

Bamboo poles have been used to facilitate vertical farming of tomatoes. This method of farming seems to have changed the look of the farm.

Global warming is a growing concern. For growers, a reduction in the use of fossil fuels can be a way to minimize their impact on the environment. It can be very difficult in winter months to maintain the greenhouse at ideal temperatures for plants, even during the day. During winter months, the…

VeggiTech is an agro-tech organization focused on changing the agriculture industry to create sustainable and eco-friendly farms. Its tech-enabled solutions are: VeggiTech digital operating system (V-DOS) This is a scalable, repeatable set of solutions that are focused on the controlled environment…

For many horticultural businesses, the challenge of accessing reliable and affordable labour is one of their biggest concerns. In response, AHDB developed SmartHort, a programme to help growers make improvements to their labour efficiencies and to investigate new automation and technologies. As part of…