LED technology will be utilized in a 750,000 square feet greenhouse in the Banaz district of Usak, a city located in the western Turkey, in order to increase production. Thermal waters are being used in this greenhouse for heating.
Greenhouse facility manager Sinasi Oncu: “This greenhouse was built about 2 years ago with an investment of 900,000 USD to grow tomatoes in a soilless environment. We plant once in a year and harvest 50 kilograms of tomatoes per 11 square feet. Generally in the region, most greenhouses are only able to harvest around 28 kilograms of tomatoes per 11 square feet, but in geothermal greenhouses we can increase the productivity by 80%."
In order to increase this productivity even more, the company will introduce a new technology to increase the amount of light tomatoes are receiving. "Through geothermal energy, we can have year-round production in the greenhouse and this way we can get up to 50–55 kilogram per 11 square in terms of productivity. By utilizing LED technology, growers in European countries can go up to 65 kilograms per 11 square feet. That is why we have also started working towards implementing this technology where we provide lighting to the tomato from the top and ground level which will keep it alert longer and consequently increase the productivity."
Sinasi continues: "Currently we grow around 2,000 tons of tomatoes annually and we hope to double this amount by the introduction of the new greenhouses with LED panels in April. We believe this technology will give us certain competitive advantage in production."
Currently 60% of the production is exported. "The main market is Russia, but due to restrictions and quotas in Russian market, we are experiencing some difficulties. In Europe, the market is stagnant. That is why we have turned our focus recently to Arab countries. A tomato has to be in shelves at latest 10 days after the harvest. Because of the price competition in the industry, air freight is not preferred by growers due to high costs, thus we need to focus on neighboring countries where we can export via trucks due to relatively closer proximity."
According to Sinasi, Turkey has a significant amount of thermal resources which has not been utilized up to its full potential. "That is saddening. We need to focus on using these resources more. The soilless production close to thermal energy sources could boost agricultural production in Turkey significantly.
"In our greenhouse, we employ 40 people and there are other investors in the area looking for production space. If new thermal resources are utilized, then more greenhouses can be built and create a bigger contribution to local economy.”
Source: beyazgazete.com