Swedish vertical farming company Plantagon International bankrupt

Another major vertical farming bankruptcy. This week, Plantagon International has been declared bankrupt. Cashflow problems turned out to be insurmountable for the Swedish company. Agritechture Plantagon International is headquartered in Stockholm and describes themselves as an Agritechture company. "Plantagon moves food…

Italy: BASF opens new reseach & development centre

On 19th February 2019, BASF inaugurated a brand new high-tech research centre in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. The centre extends over 13 hectare, counts three greenhouses, and it includes a phytopathology lab. Over 80 people will work here, 40 of which completely dedicated to research and development.  Click here for…

What will happen if the Tomato Suspension Agreement isn't renewed?

If the Tomato Suspension Agreement is not renewed before May 7, the almost 800 exporting producers of Mexican red tomatoes will have to pay temporary export bonds to ship the…

Cucumber harvest started at the Bralitz site last week

In the greenhouse in Bralitz (near Bad Freienwalde) in the state of Brandenburg, Werder Frucht GmbH has started harvesting its lettuces and mini cucumbers. This year, too, they expect a profitable and successful season. At the Bralitz site, cucumbers of the varieties "Prolog" and "Lausanna" are grown on…

Explosion of a formic acid barrel in Dutch greenhouse

This Tuesday, a fire was reported in a pepper nursery in Bergschenhoek, Netherlands. However, it turned out not to be a fire, but a barrel of formic acid that exploded. The yellow smoke originated exactly from that. Around 12.30, employees of the pepper nursery heard a loud blast coming from somewhere near the boiler…

"Before the energy transition became a hot topic, geothermal energy was already on the agenda"

Nowadays no one is really surprised by the news about the drilling of a well to extract geothermal energy, but geothermal energy actually does not have such a long history at all in the Netherlands. Only in 2007 was the first well connected to tomato grower A & G van den Bosch from Bleiswijk. The company, where Jean-Pierre…

K is for Cucumbers

Cucumber plants, like all plants, require all the essential elements to complete its life cycle. However, cucumber plants are particularly “hungry” for potassium (K), they need more potassium than nitrogen to result in high yields. by Rosa Raudales & Richard McAvoy - greenhouse@uconn.edu In this e-GroEdible Alert, we cover the role of K in…

Recycling squared?

Recycling isn’t just the right thing to do. It makes sense for every business, no matter how large or small, to look for opportunities to minimise waste. Recycling within the business can reduce input and waste disposal costs. Occasionally an opportunity may arise to recycle waste into a new product or even a new business venture. But what…

Commercial Director Coert Rasenberg is leaving Royal Brinkman

After eight years of employment, Coert Rasenberg is going to stop as Commercial Director of Royal Brinkman on April 1st, 2019. After a successful and intensive period, Rasenberg is going to head into a new direction with his career.   Coert Rasenberg started as Director Sales at Royal Brinkman on August 1, 2011. Since 2014, he has been…

German tunnel cultivation is developing at a rapid pace

Domestic strawberries from mid-April and into October; this can only be thanks to modern cultivation methods in film tunnels. Until about 15 years ago, the season for strawberries was relatively short. The weather had to cooperate, so that the fruits in the fields would be ripe in the spring. Foil covers…

Glasshouse strawberries - a unique selling point for Aldi UK

Last year Aldi made a big deal of their first strawberries to go on sale  - but now they have broken their own record. Or, to put it another way, Springfield Nursery have broken…

Cucumber harvest started at the Bralitz site last week

In the greenhouse in Bralitz (near Bad Freienwalde) in the state of Brandenburg, Werder Frucht GmbH has started harvesting its lettuces and mini cucumbers. This year, too, they expect a profitable and successful season. At the Bralitz site, cucumbers of the varieties "Prolog" and "Lausanna" are grown on…

German tunnel cultivation is developing at a rapid pace

Domestic strawberries from mid-April and into October; this can only be thanks to modern cultivation methods in film tunnels. Until about 15 years ago, the season for strawberries was relatively short. The weather had to cooperate, so that the fruits in the fields would be ripe in the spring. Foil covers…

JA: Farmers in Content use greenhouse technology to improve yields

Some 20 farmers in Content, Manchester, are benefiting from a water-harvesting greenhouse cluster project, which is being done by the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI). The farmers have a one-million gallon water pond from where water is pumped to 40 one-thousand gallon black drums. The plants receive…

K is for Cucumbers

Cucumber plants, like all plants, require all the essential elements to complete its life cycle. However, cucumber plants are particularly “hungry” for potassium (K), they need more potassium than nitrogen to result in high yields. by Rosa Raudales & Richard McAvoy - greenhouse@uconn.edu In this e-GroEdible Alert, we cover the role of K in…

Understanding peppers and chilis from around the world

A comprehensive and multinational review of peppers/chilis (Capsicum species) with academic and scientific input from points across the globe, such as Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, Mexico, Italy, Hungary, Austria, and the United States sets out to explore various aspects of interest concerning this…

IN: The shift to horticulture and drip irrigation improved farmers' revenue

Until a year ago farmer P. Chennaiah was growing cotton and maize and used to make a profit of about ₹ 60,000 at the end of the year on his one-acre farm. However, he shifted to horticulture and started growing vegetables like cucumber, bottle gourd, etc. He has also mulched the farm so that moisture could be retained…

Continuously growing microgreens at home

The perfect present for a food-loving tech nerd should be an innovation that can be labeled as smart, urban and sustainable. Well, the Mizzle microgreen cultivator ticks all the boxes. The concept, which is not for sale yet, is a product of designers Gökhan Cetinkaya & Deniz Ibanoğlu and a winner of the iF…

The benefits of growing maize under film

Growing maize under film could provide producers with benefits worth more than £200 per hectare (ha) compared to conventional methods. According to Wynnstay dairy specialist Mark Price, the improved nutritional value of maize silage grown under film, outweighs the increased growing costs. “The total additional fixed and…

Aquaponix, the evolution of aquaponic crops

Aquaponix (registered trademark) was one of the innovations presented at Novel Farm in Pordenone ( click here for the photo gallery ). It enables to grow vegetables, aromatic plants and flowers using aquaculture with fish swimming in the same tank. Promoters ensure it is a revolutionary system that can…

Commercial Director Coert Rasenberg is leaving Royal Brinkman

After eight years of employment, Coert Rasenberg is going to stop as Commercial Director of Royal Brinkman on April 1st, 2019. After a successful and intensive period, Rasenberg is going to head into a new direction with his career.   Coert Rasenberg started as Director Sales at Royal Brinkman on August 1, 2011. Since 2014, he has been…

IFC to consider $90m loan for Netafim

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, is considering a proposal to extend a loan of up to $90 million to Israel’s Netafim Ltd, a…

Explosion of a formic acid barrel in Dutch greenhouse

This Tuesday, a fire was reported in a pepper nursery in Bergschenhoek, Netherlands. However, it turned out not to be a fire, but a barrel of formic acid that exploded. The yellow smoke originated exactly from that. Around 12.30, employees of the pepper nursery heard a loud blast coming from somewhere near the boiler…

The proof is in the results

A short clip from a New York store that knows how to display and sell produce.

Meditomat0 project wants to improve tomato value chain

The EU-funded PRIMA program (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, prima-med.org) recently selected the projects to be financed from the proposals presented to last year's call. One of them is the MEDITOMATO project, which has been selected for funding under the Horizon 2020…

US (AZ): Greenhouse production & engineering short course to kick off within a few weeks

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona is currently preparing for their Short Course event on March 11-15, 2019. The event is an occasion to meet experts in controlled environment agriculture from all around the US, but also to participate in workshops and share ideas and network…

US (NV): New solar greenhouse registered

Green Stream has registered its proprietary and unique design, solar greenhouse, with the cities of Los Angeles and New York.  "The Solar Greenhouse design is the result of a collaboration among architects Anthony Morali and Richard Hofmeister, in conjunction with plans and concept development provided by Green Stream…

CAN (ON): Agricultural labour advocate honoured with Industry Award of Merit

Longtime horticultural labour issues advisor Ken Linington is the winner of this year’s Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) Industry Award of Merit. The award was presented at the OFVGA annual banquet in Niagara Falls. Linington recently retired after serving as Senior Policy Advisor with the…

A mushroom instead of pesticides

Covartis, a chemical startup from Limoges, is considering replacing pesticides with oyster mushrooms after discovering that these mushrooms with fungicidal properties could be used as an ecological…

Speed limits - all over the world

And look at those Germans go.

Aftermath of Pulwama attack: Madhya Pradesh tomato farmers won't export produce to Pakistan

Just days after 40 personnel from the Indian Central Reserve Police Force lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack, tomato farmers in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh have decided not to export their produce to Pakistan anymore. The decision was taken by the farming community in order to mark their protest against…

"Supermarkets will have to take a look at their margins and may no longer be able to dictate to the market"

As the Brexit deadline approaches, people in the UK are being told to stock up on toilet rolls and soup! But the general feeling within the trade, especially for bigger companies, is to just to wait and see what will happen. The general feeling at the recent Fruit Logisitca in Berlin was to prepare the…

What will happen if the Tomato Suspension Agreement isn't renewed?

If the Tomato Suspension Agreement is not renewed before May 7, the almost 800 exporting producers of Mexican red tomatoes will have to pay temporary export bonds to ship the…

Recycling squared?

Recycling isn’t just the right thing to do. It makes sense for every business, no matter how large or small, to look for opportunities to minimise waste. Recycling within the business can reduce input and waste disposal costs. Occasionally an opportunity may arise to recycle waste into a new product or even a new business venture. But what…

"Before the energy transition became a hot topic, geothermal energy was already on the agenda"

Nowadays no one is really surprised by the news about the drilling of a well to extract geothermal energy, but geothermal energy actually does not have such a long history at all in the Netherlands. Only in 2007 was the first well connected to tomato grower A & G van den Bosch from Bleiswijk. The company, where Jean-Pierre…

UK: Biomethane from waste to supply 9,600 households with energy

In winter 2018, the German biogas plant manufacturer Weltec Biopower started building a biomethane plant near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, UK. The client is Lanes Farm Energy, a gas-to-grid project developed by Aqua Consultants. Tel Sultan, director of Lanes Farm Energy said “After in-depth discussions…

UK: Sodium free and enhanced solubility formulation

Solufeed TEC (Trace Element Compound) was developed many years ago to provide growers with an effective, convenient and one-stop source of all six micronutrients. The product…

Italy: BASF opens new reseach & development centre

On 19th February 2019, BASF inaugurated a brand new high-tech research centre in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. The centre extends over 13 hectare, counts three greenhouses, and it includes a phytopathology lab. Over 80 people will work here, 40 of which completely dedicated to research and development.  Click here for…

Researchers find aromatic strawberry variety grows in South Florida

As National Strawberry Day approaches on Feb. 27, University of Florida scientists have found another variety that can grow in South Florida. It’s largely unknown to American consumers, it’s temptingly tasty and it’s good for local markets, UF researchers say. Alan Chambers, an assistant professor of horticultural sciences with…

Machine for easy greenhouse treatments in small spaces

The implementation of treatments in greenhouses can be difficult, due to narrow aisles and the often limited available maneuvering space. That is why a new compact machine has been launched on the market, allowing its operator to easily make very narrow turns. One of the most important features of the Tizona 35, developed by the…

‘Blueberries can help lower blood pressure’

A new study published in the Journal of Gerontology Series A has found that eating 200 gr of blueberries every day for a month can lead to an improvement in blood vessel…

Everything freshly packed

Even if the huge boom in the online food trade is still to come, more and more providers are developing offers for grocery shopping on the net. With WrapPak Protector, Knüppel Verpackung GmbH & Co. is presenting a packaging solution at this year's Internet World Expo in Munich from 12 to 13 March, which will even bring…

Ultrasonics in favour as retailers move to recyclable films

Tesco has recently announced a switch to PE films for its organic bagged salads, as part of a group-wide pledge to make all of its packaging recyclable or compostable, and is…

Shelf space for young growers at Dutch supermarkets

With the initiative ´Young farmer on the floor´, Albert Heijn is offering a stage for products from young Dutch growers and farmers. Four selected young farmers are given shelf space in four local Albert Heijn stores for a month. Among them potato growers & brothers Joris (23) and Geerd (25) from Lage Zwaluwe, North Brabant, who…

"Sustainable medium to grow microgreens with"

Hort Americas and VegBed have announced a new partnership to offer microgreen farms a sustainable medium to grow with. The agreement complements the current growing media product lineup at Hort Americas and strengthens the distribution reach of VegBed’s sustainable microgreen mats. It will give farmers a new…

Facts and figures about organic development

In the past year, the share of domestic eco-land increased by 109,863 hectares (plus 8 percent) to around 1.5 million hectares. The Federation of Organic Food and Beverage…

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…

A guide to aquaponics food safety

Aquaponics, producing fish and vegetables in a closed-loop water system, reduces fertilizer use and water discharge, and is therefore promoted as a sustainable venture. But how about the food safety? Widely understood as one of the major challenges of the horticultural industry, there is not an univocal way to…

Canada: Western Health initiative to foster fresh produce consumption

Some people in western Newfoundland are enjoying fresh, local vegetables in the dead of winter, thanks to a Western Health initiative to introduce hydroponics kits to community groups. "We know that vegetable and fruit consumption is really low in Newfoundland in general, and western Newfoundland particularly, so we're…

Sustainable Packaging in Fresh Produce Seminar

PMA A-NZ will be hosting a Sustainable Packaging in Fresh Produce Seminar on March 13 at the Sydney Markets. The event will focus on the efforts being made to achieve the…

Glasshouse strawberries - a unique selling point for Aldi UK

Last year Aldi made a big deal of their first strawberries to go on sale  - but now they have broken their own record. Or, to put it another way, Springfield Nursery have broken…

Swedish vertical farming company Plantagon International bankrupt

Another major vertical farming bankruptcy. This week, Plantagon International has been declared bankrupt. Cashflow problems turned out to be insurmountable for the Swedish company. Agritechture Plantagon International is headquartered in Stockholm and describes themselves as an Agritechture company. "Plantagon moves food…

Sustainability and the cultivation of quality cannabis

Tantalus Labs grows at SunLab, one of the first commercial-scale cannabis greenhouses in North America. Since their inception in 2012, they’ve shared detailed information about their methodologies, unique growing processes and the resulting reduced environmental impact. "This commitment to transparency…

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