Everyone wants a slice of the Chinese pie

With the high population and a growing economy, the Chinese market is like a heavy chocolate almond pie: just a little piece of it will satisfy you. At the HortiFlora Expo Shanghai that was held last weekend, 900 companies cut their first slice, or went for a second serving. With the HortiFlora Expo…

Thrips: The best solution against this pest is not to have the pest

The western flower thrips (frankliniella occidentalis) or thrips, are a very dangerous pest for greenhouse growers as they are vectors of viruses. These insects are very thin and sneaky, and once they have entered the greenhouse, the expense in products to control the pathogen and crop losses can be…

Canada: Greenhouses exempted from neonicotinoid ban

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a division of Health Canada, released its final decisions on the pollinator re-evaluations of three neonicotinoid insecticides: clothianidin (Clutch), imidacloprid (Admire), and thiamethoxam (Cruiser, Actara). Health Canada determined that the continued…

Positive pressure systems: from concept to reality

There is an indescribable feeling when it all connects: design, engineering, structure, and growing. It’s that elation every manufacturer feels when a new idea meets the challenge of everyday reality. When it all comes together you know your company will make an impact on the industry. Recently we…

FreshTeq China signs partnership for Sino-Dutch Agro Park development in Taizhou

On Tuesday April 23, a delegation from the Hailing District Government visited the FreshTeq China partners to kick-off the Taizhou Sino Dutch Precision Agricultural Economic Park Project. In this project, Chinese authorities, HX and the Dutch business development and innovation consortium FreshTeq China…

Samsung explains why they are investing in horticultural lights

Last spring, Samsung announced the launch of a wide range of horticulture LED offerings that produce a broad spectrum of light to support healthy plant growth. On April 23, Samsung introduced an update to the LM301H, which features the highest photon efficacy among today’s mid-power white LED packages.…

"Greenhouse vegetable production is promising but expensive for Russia"

The APH ECO-Culture Vice President of Strategy and Marketing, Sergey Fomenkov, was recently interviewed by Russian national magazine “Agrarnaya Politika”. The subject line was the greenhouse business in Russia, import substitution challenges, and prospects of greenhouse horticulture in the country. In…

Belgium: Grower goes for agrotourism instead of larger greenhouse

Since 1985, Jan van Alphen has been growing cucumbers on 0.9 hectares in Minderhout, Belgium, but now the assortment has been drastically expanded. Together with his family, Jan has made the decision to quit commercial production and to focus completely on agrotourism. "Our greenhouse is too small for…

The ups and downs of vertical farming

The term Vertical Farming (VF) can be used to define a variety of concepts. For some, it might conjure up images of tall structures with plants growing on the outside, while others may imagine stacks of shipping containers. In essence, VF refers to the practice of building upwards, or downwards in the…

Positive pressure systems: from concept to reality

There is an indescribable feeling when it all connects: design, engineering, structure, and growing. It’s that elation every manufacturer feels when a new idea meets the challenge of everyday reality. When it all comes together you know your company will make an impact on the industry. Recently we…

AU: Farmers call for urgent water security to protect next year's summer vegetable season

Eastern Victorian farmers are calling for urgent water security, to protect them in the upcoming season. Food and Fibre Gippsland board member, and Chief Executive of Bulmer Farms in Lindenow, Andrew Bulmer says the region's water supply, the Mitchell River, is heritage listed, and does not contain a dam…

Primocane fruiting raspberries: Growth cycle and management

Primocanes? Floricanes? Are you confused by the raspberry growth cycle and how to prune? Raspberry plants have a complex growth cycle and can be managed in different ways depending on the grower's goals. This new video released by TunnelBerries explains all this and how to manage primocane-fruiting…

Sequencing-based bin map construction of a tomato mapping population

In a new study, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was employed to construct a highly saturated genetic linkage map of a tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, derived from a cross between cultivar NC EBR-1 and the wild tomato S. pimpinellifolium L. accession LA2093. A…

The food chain on blockchain

Consumers are becoming more thoughtful about where their food originated from and what has happened to it throughout the process from the ground or tree to the supermarket. This is especially so since the outbreaks and recalls of various produce items over the past few years. "When you think about it, there are ample…

FreshTeq China signs partnership for Sino-Dutch Agro Park development in Taizhou

On Tuesday April 23, a delegation from the Hailing District Government visited the FreshTeq China partners to kick-off the Taizhou Sino Dutch Precision Agricultural Economic Park Project. In this project, Chinese authorities, HX and the Dutch business development and innovation consortium FreshTeq China…

Working together for German production

Current market developments and future topics such as structural change, sustainability and appreciation of German production were the focus of the visit by Franz-Josef Holzenkamp's, President of the German Raiffeisen Association and Christian Weseloh, Managing Director of the Federal Association of…

Encore invests in fresh produce distributor Tourtellot

Encore Consumer Capital has made an investment in Warwick, Rhode Island-based Tourtellot, a provider of fresh produce to retail grocery customers. No financial terms were…

Taylor Farms significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions in 2018

Taylor Farms said it has celebrated Earth Day with success in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings, which it sees as a direct result of its use of innovative renewable and alternative energy sources nationwide. Through a combination of solar, wind, fuel cells and cogeneration, Taylor Farms has seen a…

Food Banks Canada now part of CHEP Canada

For some children and adults in Canada, food insecurity is part of daily life. They’re hungry, and looking for help: According to the latest statistics from Food Banks Canada’s HungerCount 2018, 1.1 million Canadians visit a food bank in a typical month. Now, thanks to a new partnership between CHEP and…

Belgium: Grower goes for agrotourism instead of larger greenhouse

Since 1985, Jan van Alphen has been growing cucumbers on 0.9 hectares in Minderhout, Belgium, but now the assortment has been drastically expanded. Together with his family, Jan has made the decision to quit commercial production and to focus completely on agrotourism. "Our greenhouse is too small for…

Australia: Pest of the Month - Strawberry tortrix moth

An exotic species, not found in Australia, strawberry tortrix moth is mainly a pest of species from the family Rosaceae and is present in the USA, Canada, Europe and northern Asia, the Mediterranean Basin and South-East Asia. Hosts include strawberry, hawthorn, Malus spp., cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.),…

Canada: Greenhouses exempted from neonicotinoid ban

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a division of Health Canada, released its final decisions on the pollinator re-evaluations of three neonicotinoid insecticides: clothianidin (Clutch), imidacloprid (Admire), and thiamethoxam (Cruiser, Actara). Health Canada determined that the continued…

Thrips: The best solution against this pest is not to have the pest

The western flower thrips (frankliniella occidentalis) or thrips, are a very dangerous pest for greenhouse growers as they are vectors of viruses. These insects are very thin and sneaky, and once they have entered the greenhouse, the expense in products to control the pathogen and crop losses can be…

US growers harvest an increasing amount of organic tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes have remained a staple in American kitchens even as consumer tastes and preferences evolve. For example, producers have responded to consumer demand for more organic produce by cultivating more organic tomatoes. From 2008 to 2011, consumer price sensitivity coupled with the higher price of…

Bowen-Gumlu growers feed Australia

The Bowen-Gumlu region produces up to 90 per cent of all of tomatoes and capsicums needed for the Australian market during September and October, and harvest is soon to commence. While dry conditions in the major southern tomato growing region of Stanthorpe saw a shortage of the fruit over summer,…

Non-profit seeks to fight hunger by fighting food waste

The Collaborative for Fresh Produce (Collaborative) is a new non-profit organization that is partnering with commercial farmers and food banks in an effort to fight hunger by…

Top 10 countries with highest number of work hours (2017)

Mexico topping the list here.

Canada: Ontario didn’t consult on changes to vegetable processing sector

Ontario’s processing vegetable industry says the Ford government did not consult with growers before it announced plans to overhaul the sector’s marketing and pricing system.…

German consumers willing to pay more for quality produce

German consumers, traditionally renowned for their sensitivity to price, are gradually becoming more open to paying higher prices for quality goods. The newly-published…

Nigeria: Average tomato and onion prices dropped in March 2019

Selected food price watch data for March 2019 reflected that the average price of 1kg of tomatoes decreased year-on-year by 10.03% and month-on-month by 6.32%, ending up at N240.29 (€0.60) in March 2019 from N256.50 (€0.64) in February 2018. Similarly, the average price of 1 kg of yam tuber decreased…

"Greenhouse vegetable production is promising but expensive for Russia"

The APH ECO-Culture Vice President of Strategy and Marketing, Sergey Fomenkov, was recently interviewed by Russian national magazine “Agrarnaya Politika”. The subject line was the greenhouse business in Russia, import substitution challenges, and prospects of greenhouse horticulture in the country. In…

How mushrooms got their names

Great graphic from @etymology_nerd .

Netherlands: “Reefer containers hot item on the market”

The reefer container is currently very popular in logistics, and that’s why more and more of them come into circulation. That comes with problems, but each problem has a solution. The man for those solutions is Bob Castelein, PhD candidate at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and involved with the EURECA…

Planting gaps will strain California bok choy supplies

Bok choy production is in the midst of the transition from the desert regions to the spring and summer regions in coastal California, including Oxnard, Santa Maria and Salinas. There has been much talk about the impact on crops resulting from the heavy rains parts of California witnessed some months ago.…

Truck drivers see orders, miles fall

Truck driver Paul Richards has a notebook in which he tracks miles driven and what he is hauling. His pay check is down about 25 percent from the same period a year ago, and his weekly miles have dropped as well. “This hasn’t been a very good week,” said Richards, who carries building materials and…

Businesses serving farms all ears as U.S. farming trends shift

A recent survey of 300 U.S. farmers by L.E.K. Consulting highlights the implications of trends that are changing the competitive dynamics for manufacturers, retailers and…

Warm weather results in surge of organic herb volume

Spring has sprung in both California and Mexico for Jacobs Farm del Cabo, who are reporting an upsurge in the availability of fresh herbs for the next foreseeable weeks. Fresh organic herbs including basil, spearmint, thyme, and oregano have made a rebound from the winter weather and the company said…

EU to evaluate agricultural product promotion programs

The European Commission has started the process to evaluate the programs presented for the promotion of agricultural products in the EU and outside the EU by 2020, after the…

"Develop crisis management plans before a crisis hits"

The development of clear and thorough crisis management plans between government and industry must be on the agenda for the Australian Federal Government following the May 18…

"In the Swiss horticulture sector, out of sight is out of mind."

March 1, 1999, the day that Willem van Dorssen and Ton Fresch signed the papers for their joint company. Now, little over 20 years later, the gentlemen are still brotherly next to each other in the car on the road to Switzerland. Willem and Ton know the Swiss market like no other. Ton: "In the Swiss…

When is the best time to sign a fixed contract?

Simply put… there isn’t a steadfast rule to this and it isn’t always in the summer which is a common misconception. In the contracts team, we help NFU members procure thousands of contracts every year. Our customer’s supplies range from small farm buildings to large pump houses, vegetable stores and…

New Botanical Biopesticides available to US market

STK bio-ag technologies, Israeli supplier of botanical sustainable crop protection, has partnered with Summit Agro U.S.A., which will become the exclusive distributor of STK…

To protect stem cells, plants have diverse genetic backup plans

Despite evolution driving a wide variety of differences, many plants function the same way. Now a new study has revealed the different genetic strategies various flowering plant species use to achieve the same status quo. In flowering plants, stem cells are critical for survival. Influenced by…

Big Chinese project to propagate flowers and plants

It's not just greenhouse vegetable cultivation that's making serious headway in China, ornamental horticulture is also on the rise. The Chinese are getting more money in their pockets, which means consumers are increasingly willing to purchase a nice bunch of flowers or a pretty plant. In order to meet…

Spain: Are the Raf tomatoes we buy actually of that variety?

Tomatoes are available all year round, but the summer is often said to be their natural season. This is actually a half truth, as it refers to their taste, and not to the…

Where to for packaging in a war-on-waste world?

After the ABC’s War on Waste placed the use of packaging in the fresh produce sections of Australia’s supermarkets under close scrutiny, growers and retailers are under pressure from customers to reduce plastic packaging. But any reduction must be balanced against the benefits that packaging provides.…

Greece: Former factory turned into museum celebrating tomato industry history

On the south side of Santorini, a former tomato paste factory has been turned into a museum celebrating the history of the island’s tomato industry. When the factory opened in Vlychada in 1945, there was no electricity. Coal powered the machinery and seawater was pumped in to wash and steam the tomatoes.…

New substrate based on brown coal

Substrates come in many shapes and sizes - there's mineral wool, perlite, peat, coco coir... and soon perhaps brown coal, at least as far as Paweł Mietlicki is concerned. His company, CarboHort, developed a new type of substrate based on brown coal. The invention, developed in collaboration with Prof.…

U.S. growers are harvesting an increasing amount of organic tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes have remained a staple in American kitchens even as consumer tastes and preferences evolve. For example, producers have responded to consumer demand for more organic produce by cultivating more organic tomatoes. From 2008 to 2011, consumer price sensitivity coupled with the higher price of…

New cold store and cooking facility for Swedish vegetables

The new branch of cooperation Sydgrönt in an old Findus factory in Bjuv, Sweden, will enable growers to sell more vegetables. The factory has a surface area of 3,200 m2 and…

Suraj KC

Uganda bans chilli exports to European Union

The European Union has welcomed the Ugandan government's self-imposed ban on the export of chillies and substandard vegetables to Europe, saying it was beginning to spoil the…

The benefits of eating tomatoes every day

The tomato is one of the most versatile fruits, widely consumed all around the world. Some people prefer it raw, many like to cook it with vegetables and spices. You can…

Everyone wants a slice of the Chinese pie

With the high population and a growing economy, the Chinese market is like a heavy chocolate almond pie: just a little piece of it will satisfy you. At the HortiFlora Expo Shanghai that was held last weekend, 900 companies cut their first slice, or went for a second serving. With the HortiFlora Expo…

Groceries delivered when you're away thanks to mini-fridge

The French startup, Foodconect, has just designed the first connected outdoor fridge which allows for shopping to be delivered while you’re away. This mini-fridge exists in…

US (KY): FCHS ag program planning vertical farm

The Franklin County High School agriculture program is planning a vertical farm in a newly constructed greenhouse on campus. To help fund the initiative, the Kentucky FFA Foundation awarded an Ag Achiever grant. Set to open in the fall, the greenhouse will be dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables…

Samsung explains why they are investing in horticultural lights

Last spring, Samsung announced the launch of a wide range of horticulture LED offerings that produce a broad spectrum of light to support healthy plant growth. On April 23, Samsung introduced an update to the LM301H, which features the highest photon efficacy among today’s mid-power white LED packages.…

The ups and downs of vertical farming

The term Vertical Farming (VF) can be used to define a variety of concepts. For some, it might conjure up images of tall structures with plants growing on the outside, while others may imagine stacks of shipping containers. In essence, VF refers to the practice of building upwards, or downwards in the…

HortiDaily starts MMJDaily.com

Normally we’re happy to publish all the news from the horticultural industry. Today we’ve got news for you. Our newest publication MMJDaily.com will be launched today! This publication is all about…

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