Air cooling greenhouses with steam

Last Friday in Kasoaka, Japan, Taizo Sano opened the new greenhouse of SARA Inc. The new 18.5-hectare facility includes a 13-hectare greenhouse in which peppers, tomatoes and lettuce will be grown. It’s not only the largest single-site glass greenhouse project, it is also a dream of those loving…

Photo report: Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit 2019

Only last year, the amount of venture capital pumped into the indoor agriculture industry was 1.5 billion dollars already - enough to double the total greenhouse capacity of the US. With this statement Nick Houshower with Equilibrium Capital summarized the state of indoor agriculture: there's money,…

Strong period for greenhouse tomato production in Mexico

Growers of greenhouse tomatoes are reporting strong production in the Mexican growing regions thanks to abundant sunshine and warm to hot weather. The hotter temperatures are finally settling into the regions, causing some transitions to take place between different sites, as explained by Jaime Garcia of…

"Ontario's power system is ready for upcoming summer months"

Ontario’s power system is prepared to meet the province’s expected demand for electricity over the coming summer months, according to the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) latest Reliability Outlook . “Our system remains reliable as we head into the summer, with adequate resources to…

“This is just the beginning with much more to come”

In 2017 Holland Screens International started a collaboration with Powerplants Australia. This partnership enables Holland Screens to gain ground in Australia and to grow the company’s international projects. With already 5 projects together in the past year, Holland Screens is very happy with this…

US: Romaine and leaf lettuces almost as popular as head lettuce

In 2017, 13.2 pounds per person of fresh head lettuce (iceberg, butter, Boston, and Bibb lettuces) were available for domestic consumption, according to ERS’s Food Availability data. Fresh head lettuce has declined 54 percent from its high of 28.6 pounds per person in 1989. In contrast, availability of…

Hort Connections 2019 gets under way

Monday evening saw the opening of the 2019 Hort Connections conference and trade show. AUSVEG and PMA Australia-New Zealand Limited (PMA A-NZ) have united to deliver the event which will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre 24–26 June 2019. The topic of this year's event is Growing…

Sustainable packaging for snack tomatoes

The Dutch company, Bordex Packaging, has introduced the Snack’NBox. This is a sustainable 500g pack for snack tomatoes. It is made of 100% recycled, moisture-proof cardboard. The boxes' striking diamond pattern ensures maximum ventilation. This design gives the packaging a natural, sturdy look. And after…

WPS appoints Director of Business Development North America

Edwin Dijkshoorn has taken a new position as Director of Business Development North America at WPS Horti Systems BV. WPS (We Prove Solutions), located at De Lier, The Netherlands, has been designing and manufacturing state of the art automation and logistical systems for growers and agricultural research…

Bronx apartment complex comes with its own greenhouse

A Bronx affordable housing development with lots of green perks launched a lottery this week for 46 units. Dubbed the Bedford Green House, the 13-story building at 2865 Creston Avenue offers its residents unique amenities that center around healing through nature, a concept called biophilic design.…

Turkey improves seed production and exports

Turkey Seed Producers Association (TURKTOB), the only sectoral organization in this area, was founded in 2006 and currently has 50,000 members. Recent numbers announced by the organization indicate that this industry produces nearly 4 billion USD worth of value for the national economy. When other…

Horticultural playground to teach kids about the industry

The Dutch municipality of Haarlemmermeer is offering 5 ha for the Greennest Experience & Hotel in Park 21. At this location, a hotel, a nursery, a restaurant with meeting rooms, and the educational playground Greennest Play will be built. Stiching Innovatie Glastuinbouw (SIGN) is developing a plan…

Bronx apartment complex comes with its own greenhouse

A Bronx affordable housing development with lots of green perks launched a lottery this week for 46 units. Dubbed the Bedford Green House, the 13-story building at 2865 Creston Avenue offers its residents unique amenities that center around healing through nature, a concept called biophilic design.…

Air cooling greenhouses with steam

Last Friday in Kasoaka, Japan, Taizo Sano opened the new greenhouse of SARA Inc. The new 18.5-hectare facility includes a 13-hectare greenhouse in which peppers, tomatoes and lettuce will be grown. It’s not only the largest single-site glass greenhouse project, it is also a dream of those loving…

Grimmway Farms expands Southeast operations

Grimmway Farms has announced that it has acquired the southern Georgia and north Florida processing facilities and assets of Lake Park, Georgia-based Generation Farms. The acquisition marks the expansion of the company’s farming and processing operations in the Southeast for the second year in a row.…

The effect of negative pressure irrigation on tomato production

Stable water and fertilizer supply by negative pressure irrigation improve tomato production and soil bacterial communities. That is the conclusion of a study, intended to…

A relationship between tomato fruit softening, cuticle properties and water availability

While fleshy fruit softening has long been mechanistically linked to cell wall disassembly, the importance of the fruit cuticle in water relations and firmness has been suggested through studies of the long-shelf life delayed fruit deterioration (dfd) tomato genotype. Researchers tested the hypothesis…

“This is just the beginning with much more to come”

In 2017 Holland Screens International started a collaboration with Powerplants Australia. This partnership enables Holland Screens to gain ground in Australia and to grow the company’s international projects. With already 5 projects together in the past year, Holland Screens is very happy with this…

WPS appoints Director of Business Development North America

Edwin Dijkshoorn has taken a new position as Director of Business Development North America at WPS Horti Systems BV. WPS (We Prove Solutions), located at De Lier, The Netherlands, has been designing and manufacturing state of the art automation and logistical systems for growers and agricultural research…

Dream of a greenhouse business takes off

When Travis and Kendra Walker purchased an acreage east of Rivers in 2016, it just happened to include four large greenhouse structures that the previous owner had built on his farm. “I was always interested in the greenhouse business so when the acreage we purchased came with greenhouses it seemed like…

"We already have basil varieties resistant to mildew"

Currently, the consumer demand for basil is at its peak. "The new basil varieties resistant to mildew, developed by the team of Rutgers University in New Jersey with Van Drunen Farms (VDF), have shown great resistance to mildew attacks," says Craig Thomas, commercial director of CN Seeds Limited. Van…

Irapuato is known in Mexico for its production of high-quality strawberries

The region of Irapuato, in the state of Guanajuato, is known in Mexico for its production of high-quality strawberries. Annual volumes amount to 80,000 tons and this crop…

Californian crops take hit from spring storms

Amid the hot weather baking much of California this week, the spate of rain and hail that hit the state last month may have faded from memory—but not for farmers who continue to tally damage from the spring storms. Farmers, pest control advisers and agricultural commissioners report damage to crops…

Afghanistan: 550 kgs of explosives discovered in vegetables truck

Nuristan police forces seized 550 kilograms of explosives from a vegetable truck. The Ministry of Interior said Monday that the police also arrested two people in connection to the smuggling of these explosives. According to a Ministry statement, the militants had placed the explosives inside 55 sacks.…

Supplies and pricing reliable on domestic broccoli

Supplies of broccoli out of California are looking consistent again. “It always gets a little rough during the transition from Yuma, Ariz. back to Salinas, Ca.,” says Victor Wilcox with First Quality Produce in Fresno, Ca. “But now that it’s back in Salinas Valley, it should be—barring any major weather…

Raspberry production in Spain has grown by 13.5% this season

The Andalusian raspberry season is coming to an end with a 13.5% increase in the production, compared to the previous campaign. This has been stated in a report from the…

US: Romaine and leaf lettuces almost as popular as head lettuce

In 2017, 13.2 pounds per person of fresh head lettuce (iceberg, butter, Boston, and Bibb lettuces) were available for domestic consumption, according to ERS’s Food Availability data. Fresh head lettuce has declined 54 percent from its high of 28.6 pounds per person in 1989. In contrast, availability of…

Europe braces for 'potentially dangerous' heatwave

A potentially record-breaking heatwave is forecast to grip much of continental Europe next week, with temperatures in cities from Spain to Germany expected to exceed 32C and climb to more than 38C or even 40C in the hottest areas. The combination of a storm stalled over the Atlantic and high pressure…

Strong period for greenhouse tomato production in Mexico

Growers of greenhouse tomatoes are reporting strong production in the Mexican growing regions thanks to abundant sunshine and warm to hot weather. The hotter temperatures are finally settling into the regions, causing some transitions to take place between different sites, as explained by Jaime Garcia of…

Russian grower picks Dutch tomato variety

This week, De Ruiter welcomed the team from APH Eco-Culture, one of the largest greenhouses in Russia, at the De Ruiter Experience Center in Bleiswijk (The Netherlands). This visit was not only to strengthen the relationship with the De Ruiter team, but also to celebrate an exclusive agreement on an…

Ditta Bagioni Alfiero introduces lithium batteries suitable for all types of machinery

Bagioni asparagus harvesters now feature lithium batteries. The news had already been announced months ago regarding new machines, but the company has recently introduced batteries that adapt to all existing machinery. An example of lithium battery "When it comes to new machines, we have already launched…

"Ontario's power system is ready for upcoming summer months"

Ontario’s power system is prepared to meet the province’s expected demand for electricity over the coming summer months, according to the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) latest Reliability Outlook . “Our system remains reliable as we head into the summer, with adequate resources to…

Considering mixing your own fertilizer solutions?

Mixing your own fertilizer solutions might seem like a daunting task at first. But once you understand some fertilizer basics you’ll realize it’s not that hard to do. One of the biggest benefits of mixing your own fertilizer solutions is the amount of money you’ll save. Another benefit of mixing your own…

Using machine learning to predict metabolic pathways in tomatoes

Understanding the steps in metabolic pathways is important for understanding health and disease, whether in people or plants. But figuring out these biochemical pathways is difficult and time consuming. So why not have a machine do it? Scientists at UC Davis and Ben-Gurion University in Israel have…

Robotic strawberry harvesting

Scientists at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, along with the Computer Science Department of Minnesota University, have developed and evaluated a robot for harvesting strawberries grown on table-tops in polytunnels. The robot consists of a newly-designed gripper mounted on an industrial arm which in turn is mounted on…

“Use of slip sheets results in logistic advantages”

The fresh produce sector is faced with major logistical challenges. After the harvest, the fruit and vegetable products are supposed to be packed right away. To steer the incoming and outgoing logistics of all these packages in the right direction, slip sheets are increasingly used. These are special,…

Todis launches plastic-free packaging

With the "A tutto sapore" range, supermarket chain Todis announces the start of a plastic-free project for an eco-friendlier future. "A tutto sapore" includes 9 products - cherries, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, marinda tomatoes, yellow peaches, nectarine peaches, Saturn peaches, Italia grapes and…

Sustainable packaging for snack tomatoes

The Dutch company, Bordex Packaging, has introduced the Snack’NBox. This is a sustainable 500g pack for snack tomatoes. It is made of 100% recycled, moisture-proof cardboard. The boxes' striking diamond pattern ensures maximum ventilation. This design gives the packaging a natural, sturdy look. And after…

Canadian hockey medalists team up with CPMA

CPMA has announced a new partnership with Olympic hockey gold medallists Rebecca Johnston and Mélodie Daoust. Johnston and Daoust will be promoting the Half Your Plate…

"Good results with new substrate of alternative wood fiber raw material"

Klasmann-Deilmann recently completed a trial with substrates for continued growing of Elsanta at Proefcentrum Hoogstraten. The results show that GreenFibre, an alternative raw material made of wood fiber developed by Klasmann-Deilmann and produced in-house, is an excellent alternative to coconut coir and…

Expanded tomato line on display at upcoming organic show

For one organic grower, this year’s Organic Produce Summit is a chance to show visitors the full extent of what its company has to offer. A&A Organic Farms out of Watsonville, Ca. plans to feature its expanded line of products which include Persian cucumbers, ginger, broccoli, organic turmeric out of…

Government of Canada funds organic industry

Last week, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau was at Cooperative Alentour in Sherbrooke where she announced an investment of $992,131 to the Canada…

Air distribution mat against temperature fluctuations

It is a common problem: The temperature differences in refrigerated containers during transport. The temperature, which mainly around the equator causes large differences in this container, causes financial damage to cooling products such as fresh fruit. For a long time a solution to this problem could…

UK: Dr Natalia Falagán appointed to Food Standards Agency Scientific Advisory Committees

Dr. Natalia Falagán, a research fellow in food and science technology at Cranfield University, has been appointed to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Scientific Advisory…

Huge amount of drugs hidden under lettuce

Investigators found a lot of green stuff in Brandenburg: Hidden between lettuce heads, a truck had loaded 250 kilograms of grass. Last Friday, special units again struck out against an international drug ring: The marijuana truck came from Spain and was on the way to a warehouse in Großwoltersdorf…

“Millions of cardiovascular deaths attributed to not eating enough fruits and vegetables”

Preliminary findings from a new study reveal that inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption may account for millions of deaths from heart disease and strokes each year. The…

What is PMA Fresh Connections: Southern Africa all about?

PMA Fresh Connections is heading towards Southern Africa, but what makes it important to the industry? Regional vice president Anouk Sijmonsma shares her thoughts on the…

Second educational session at OPS 2019 announced

The second of two educational sessions related to the growth of organic production and retail sales from an international perspective has been announced for the upcoming Organic Produce Summit, this July in Monterey, CA. The two sessions will explore how international organic growers and distributors are…

Sustainable Horticulture Chain Management

Healthy and nutritious food is a major contributor to the general health and wellbeing of people. A majority of the future generations will, however, be living in urban environments, which poses challenges on the accessibility of quality products. Exchanging on how to find sustainable solutions and…

Hort Connections 2019 gets under way

Monday evening saw the opening of the 2019 Hort Connections conference and trade show. AUSVEG and PMA Australia-New Zealand Limited (PMA A-NZ) have united to deliver the event which will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre 24–26 June 2019. The topic of this year's event is Growing…

AmericanHort officially announces 2019 Impact Washington Summit

AmericanHort announced the 2019 Impact Washington Summit, September 16-18 in Washington, D.C. to unite leaders across the green industry to hear from dynamic speakers about…

Photo report: Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit 2019

Only last year, the amount of venture capital pumped into the indoor agriculture industry was 1.5 billion dollars already - enough to double the total greenhouse capacity of the US. With this statement Nick Houshower with Equilibrium Capital summarized the state of indoor agriculture: there's money,…

UK: Supermarket in York wants to change food industry

The rebellious supermarket Hisbe in York, the UK, wants to change the food industry. By offering local products and paying producers a fair price, the supermarket wants to make a difference.

US (OH): A look inside an aquaponics operation

Hidden from prying eyes and tucked beneath a four-story steel and concrete parking garage in the heart of downtown Toledo sits the most unlikely of things — a farm. But this one has no tractors, silos, or scarecrows. Go inside Balance Farms, an 8,168-square foot high-tech aquaponics operation located on…

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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