US Secretary of Agriculture opens all-electric Dutch Demo Greenhouse 2030

The Dutch horticultural sector aims to be climate-neutral in 2040. Thus, Wageningen researchers have built a low-emission demo-greenhouse for the cultivation of vegetables, fruit and flowers in an effort to find ways to reduce CO2 emissions as well as the use of crop protection agents and artificial…

Sustainable propagation, robots & climate control take centre stage at IPM 2020

This morning the IPM show kicked off in Essen and being one of the biggest shows in Europe means also a good place to launch novelties. We scooped some for you already! With over 1,500 exhibitors from nearly 50 countries, there is again plenty to be seen and to be learned at the IPM in the coming four…

Growing organic fruits beyond climatic limitations thanks to greenhouses

Canada and other countries with climate zone 3, 4 or 5 can grow locally the majority of the fruits needed for their population – all delicious and organic, says engineer Dan Bostan, founder and president of the Montreal-based Human Wisdom specialized in sustainable solutions. Countries with temperate…

Solidarity drives the reconstruction of greenhouses in Almeria

This weekend, people have worked hard in the field, but not to sow or to harvest. On Saturday and Sunday, many volunteers from different places went to Campohermoso and Níjar to start rebuilding the greenhouses damaged by storm Gloria. A number of officials have visited the area and some have expressed surprise…

"When I grow up, I am going to be an urban farmer

Urban Farming is one of the 100 fastest growing professions of the future and half of that is not or not really threatened by robots or artificial intelligence. Ben Rogmans,…

What does good pollination look like?

The quality of the pollination is commonly referred to by growers as “setting”. Setting reflects how good and quick the pollen has taken to form fruit. Growers talk about good and fast setting, or poor and slow. Poor setting can happen despite good pollination. It is important to distinguish the…

"We need varieties that are productive, have low picking and management costs"

Soft fruit breeding has been a staple output of the science at the James Hutton Institute and its legacy organisations since the 1930s. Today, raspberry, blackberry, blackcurrant and blueberry all have their own industry funded breeding programmes in place, managed by the Institute’s commercial arm,…

North Koreans are eating more and more greenhouse veggies

North Korea is making an effort to overcome its food shortages by expanding its greenhouse-based vegetable and fruit production industry, Daily NK sources recently reported.  For example, Haeju strawberries, once regarded as a specialty of that area, are now grown throughout the country in greenhouses. North…

Why the Bank of America is investing in a lettuce greenhouse

Inside one of the most technologically-advanced lettuce growing greenhouses in the world, Little Leaf Farms, a Devens, MA, company, is rethinking how food is grown and distributed. By keeping their production facilities close to the markets they serve, using on-site renewable energy, and integrating…

Volume improving on greenhouse grown tomatoes

Supplies of greenhouse tomatoes continue to build which will likely bring down high tomato prices. “Supplies are slowly improving. Tomato supplies are very scarce before and after the holidays and now we’re starting to see more availability,” says David Pereira with Mor Gro Sales Inc. in Kingsville, Ont.…

Turkey: Smart hydroponic agriculture business venture receives 400.000 USD investment

ForFarming, a business venture established by the Aegean Young Business People Association (EGIAD) angel investors received an investment amounting to 400.000 USD. ForFarming is a smart hydroponic agriculture business initiative that combines vertical agriculture with artificial intelligence…

Russia: Bio vegetables to be grown in Tyumen

By 2021 it is planned to complete the fourth phase of the greenhouse complex Tyumenagro. As the representatives of the foundation The Investment Agency of Tyumen Region have announced, the amount of investments may reach 87.5 million euro. The production launch is planned for April-September of 2020 and…

Development aid bolsters Turkey's influence in Mexico

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Turkey's global development aid agency, has expanded its presence in Mexico, reaching out to its various disadvantaged communities. Since it launched operations in the country in 2016, TIKA has backed 50 projects ranging from post-disaster humanitarian…

US Secretary of Agriculture opens all-electric Dutch Demo Greenhouse 2030

The Dutch horticultural sector aims to be climate-neutral in 2040. Thus, Wageningen researchers have built a low-emission demo-greenhouse for the cultivation of vegetables, fruit and flowers in an effort to find ways to reduce CO2 emissions as well as the use of crop protection agents and artificial…

Growing organic fruits beyond climatic limitations thanks to greenhouses

Canada and other countries with climate zone 3, 4 or 5 can grow locally the majority of the fruits needed for their population – all delicious and organic, says engineer Dan Bostan, founder and president of the Montreal-based Human Wisdom specialized in sustainable solutions. Countries with temperate…

Morocco’s soft fruit to conquer foreign markets

The total area allocated to the cultivation of red fruit in Morocco increased from 3,035 hectares in 2009 to about 9,000 hectares during the past two years. The increase in the cultivated areas led to a leap in fruit production. The sector’s average production is 197,000 tonnes this year. About 140,000…

"When I grow up, I am going to be an urban farmer

Urban Farming is one of the 100 fastest growing professions of the future and half of that is not or not really threatened by robots or artificial intelligence. Ben Rogmans,…

What does good pollination look like?

The quality of the pollination is commonly referred to by growers as “setting”. Setting reflects how good and quick the pollen has taken to form fruit. Growers talk about good and fast setting, or poor and slow. Poor setting can happen despite good pollination. It is important to distinguish the…

Chinese engineer reveals how he grew the first ever plant on the moon

At London’s Design Museum, one of the engineers behind the historic Chang’e-4 mission to the moon gave a demonstration of the spacecraft’s ‘mini-biosphere' where he and his team helped germinate the first seed ever on the moon. The presentation, delivered by Xie Gengxin of Chongqing University, was part…

Digital Twins for tomatoes, food and farming

Wageningen researchers are going to work on Digital Twins in the areas of tomatoes, food and farming. The projects are called Virtual tomato crops; Me, my diet and I; and Digital Future Farm. Digital Twins, one of the three investment themes of the WUR Strategic Plan 2019-2022, is a relatively new…

Checking vegetable prices on your mobile phone

Checking the prices of vegetables of people’s local market (mandi) is now easier than ever before with the launch of the e-PMB app by the Punjab Mandi Board (PMB). Launched by PMB chairman Laal Singh on January 8, the app, which has already been downloaded over 5,000 times, provides a daily list of…

UK: Veggie Butchers opens at award winning Yorkshire farm shop

Keelham Farm Shop in Skipton is now giving veggies the same care and attention it pays to its carefully sourced meat. The award-winning farm shop has introduced a new butchery…

Abby Prior and Matt DiNitto join BrightFarms sales team

BrightFarms has expanded its customer team to support retailer partners. Abby Prior will lead BrightFarms’ Customer Growth Team as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, overseeing brand and category growth at partner retailers. Since joining BrightFarms in 2015, Prior has been integral to the…

Growers Finest will start selling eggplant for Zwinkels in mid-February

Starting with the marketing of twelve hectares of eggplantsfor "Zwinkels Aubergine", that is what Growers Finest is going to do. Since the 1st of January this year, the sales platform has been conceived, set up and launched by Pascal Hogervorst and the Zwinkels family. Photo: Pascal Hogervorst with…

Vietnamese farm owners in Russia

A number of Vietnamese within the Russian Federation have invested in building small farms to grow fruit and vegetables, intent on meeting meet the demand of the Vietnamese community. Many of them have dared to invest in large-scale farms, not only to serve the Vietnamese people, but also to bring their products to supermarket…

Why the Bank of America is investing in a lettuce greenhouse

Inside one of the most technologically-advanced lettuce growing greenhouses in the world, Little Leaf Farms, a Devens, MA, company, is rethinking how food is grown and distributed. By keeping their production facilities close to the markets they serve, using on-site renewable energy, and integrating…

Syngenta invests in SciFinder-n from CAS to enhance research efficiency

CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, announced that Syngenta has signed a multi-year agreement to provide SciFindern to all of its research scientists globally.…

Florida strawberries threatened by aggressive fungus

A fungus that has taken over some strawberry fields in Florida has caused one grower to lose as many as 80 acres in Manatee County. The name of the fungus in question is…

UK researchers aim to tackle top horticultural pests and diseases

NIAB researchers are taking on four new research programmes tackling high priority pests and diseases, thanks to a new £250,000 initiative from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and AHDB. UK horticultural growers face increasing pressure from crop pests, weeds and…

Arctic vault could provide the food of the future

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault stores duplicate copies of most of the crop diversity in the world. As part of the Our Planet Project, a four-year collaboration between Netflix, Silverback Films and WWF, former Crop Trust Executive Director Cary Fowler sheds light on the importance of preserving this…

Sales growth packaged products to compensate for slowdown in Spanish fresh produce

According to data presented by Neilsen, sales of packaged products in Spain will grow by 1% in 2020 and will compensate for the slowdown in fresh produce. As shown in the…

New machine processes 6,000 pounds of strawberries per second

The new stemming machine from Atlas Pacific Engineering securely removes the calyxes and stems from Strawberries. With a speed of five berries per second and conveyor belt, the machine is particularly fast and, according to the manufacturer, processes 6,000 pounds of strawberries per second with its…

Nearly 40 illegal immigrants found in vegetable semi trailers

Dozens of illegal immigrants are in custody after getting caught hiding inside semi trailers, when US border agents, alerted by K-9 agents at the Falfurrias checkpoint, found…

Tomatoes are top export product from Turkey's Western Mediterranean

The Western Mediterranean Exporters' Association announced the export figures of 2019. According to this, the association exported 500 million USD worth of fresh fruits and vegetables. The most heavily exported product was tomatoes. The association's vice president Ergin Civan said: "We exported 117…

Prices on imported blueberries strengthening to break-even levels

After a challenging December, supplies and demand of blueberries in North America are evening out once again. “We’re in the middle of the Chilean season right now,” says Luciano Fiszman of Redondo Beach, Ca.-based Gourmet Trading Co., who notes that while the Central North region of Chile has wrapped…

Solidarity drives the reconstruction of greenhouses in Almeria

This weekend, people have worked hard in the field, but not to sow or to harvest. On Saturday and Sunday, many volunteers from different places went to Campohermoso and Níjar to start rebuilding the greenhouses damaged by storm Gloria. A number of officials have visited the area and some have expressed surprise…

Volume improving on greenhouse grown tomatoes

Supplies of greenhouse tomatoes continue to build which will likely bring down high tomato prices. “Supplies are slowly improving. Tomato supplies are very scarce before and after the holidays and now we’re starting to see more availability,” says David Pereira with Mor Gro Sales Inc. in Kingsville, Ont.…

North Koreans are eating more and more greenhouse veggies

North Korea is making an effort to overcome its food shortages by expanding its greenhouse-based vegetable and fruit production industry, Daily NK sources recently reported.  For example, Haeju strawberries, once regarded as a specialty of that area, are now grown throughout the country in greenhouses. North…

"Whistling to work every day" transporting vegetable plants

Just back from Berlin, Eric tells with a smile on his face about working as a truck driver at Beekenkamp: “I have been working at Beekenkamp for 15 years now, which seems like a very long time, but you should compare it with my other driver colleagues! There are only 2 truck drivers who work here a…

Greenhouse horticulture can not (yet) do without co-generation

The general tendency is that everyone must abandon gas, also the horticulture sector. More sustainable, and preferably without the production of CO2 and nitrogen-oxides.…

"Proper use and control of NOx in greenhouse can increase yield"

It is well known that CO2 contributes to a good growing crop. It is also known that NOx, a gas that is produced during incineration such as in CHPs, is harmful to the crop. But research now shows that small amounts of NOx can actually increase yield. A remarkable conclusion, says Jacco Besuijen. He is an…

Russia: ECO-culture planning to produce its own seeds

The Agro.ru website published an interview with Zhanna Jeronina, the Head of Marketing Department at ECO-culture. She reported about the achievements of the holding for the last year and what perspectives the company anticipates this year. The interview is preceded by background information that in 2019…

Ag robotics startup comes out of stealth with Tesla co-founder on board

“One thing I learned in the car business is how tough the environment is on the road and it’s a very similar problem in farming. A lot of the technology is just too delicate and fiddly; durability is a big one in the farm environment.” Marc Tarpenning, cofounder of the renowned electric vehicle…

Vegetable Energy from Austria

An energy drink brand from Austria is presenting the world's first vegetable-based energy drink with the full power of green cucumbers and mint. The cucumber energy drink from PURE BIO ENERGY draws its power from super caffeine, coming from organically grown coffee beans. "Nothing picks you up quicker and longer than concentrated…

Optimising the process of closing the material loop

Modiform is adding two new building blocks to its Closed Loop Commitment: multiple-use trays and 100% recycled and recyclable pots. By incorporating multiple-use barrels, we lower the amount of plastic required and reduce CO2 emissions. The 100% recycled and recyclable pots are made from 100% recycled…

'Buy Canadian' campaign focuses on food and agriculture

A "Buy Canadian" advertising campaign focusing on local food and the national agricultural system will be rolling out in the coming months, the federal government said Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau issued a statement confirming the general aim of the campaign that's expected to roll…

"Sustainable netting solution for growblocks and pellets"

Jiffy aims for lowering the use of plastics for their growing media. Just recently Jiffy decided to switch from PE and PP plastics to PLA netting for all Jiffy Grow Blocks and Jiffy Pellets. Lettuce; strong rooting on Jiffy Growblock PLA Netting The PLA net is a light weight fine-fibre web, comprised of polylactic…

Getting off the plastic treadmill

Over the 16 years I have worked in horticulture there has been an ongoing discussion around plastics use, which has hugely intensified as public opinion has caught up with the science. Perhaps one of the starkest warnings of how bad the situation is, came with the announcement that 83% of drinking water…

Vacuum cooling is widely used for fresh produce

Vacuum cooling is widely used in the fresh produce industry of the United States, Europe and China. As a result of the energy consumption from water evaporation at low pressure, the temperature of fresh produce can be reduced efficiently from the field temperature of 28° C to 2° C. Arvin Lau from Vegfor…

Thanet Earth

Here is our pepper crop, which was planted at the end of December. The Pepper Team have been working really hard, hanging the strings for the young plants to grow up. All in all, they have hung and tied around 650,000 strings and knots over a 3 weeks period! pic.twitter.com/rm1fLE9hrI — Thanet Earth (@thanetearth) January 27, 2020

Efforts underway to prevent future E.coli outbreaks in leafy greens

As public health agencies called an end to the latest E. coli outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce from Salinas, the leafy greens community, government regulators and the entire produce industry…

Study compares antioxidant levels in conventional vs greenhouse lettuce

Hydroponic technologies have increased the cultivated area under greenhouses covered with UV filter polyethylene film. However, there is a concern about the antioxidant contents of lettuces produced under these systems. A new study compares the antioxidant contents of green and red leaf lettuces produced…

Sustainable propagation, robots & climate control take centre stage at IPM 2020

This morning the IPM show kicked off in Essen and being one of the biggest shows in Europe means also a good place to launch novelties. We scooped some for you already! With over 1,500 exhibitors from nearly 50 countries, there is again plenty to be seen and to be learned at the IPM in the coming four…

Covered crop workshops for New Zealand growers

TomatoesNZ and Vegetables NZ are inviting all covered crop growers to a workshop to update on research and other key information.    South IslandTuesday 18th February 2020, 9am-12.30pm Lincoln University, Conference Room…

Artsy. Duct-taped banana selling for $120,000 at Art Basel Miami

A banana, duct-taped to a wall, went on a sale at Art Basel Miami Beach this week. The price was $120,000. And, according to art market website Artnet, two of the three editions have already sold, with the last now going for $150,000. The work, by Maurizio Cattelan, was presented Wednesday by Perrotin, a…

How horticulture robots could get us to Mars

Robert Downey Jr. is panicking - the earth is falling apart around him, and soon he won't be able to play his video games peacefully anymore. Fortunately, there's another planet we can all go to: Mars. One of the biggest obstacles to going there though, is that it's pretty expensive to shoot food up into…

Hydroponic cultivation gains popularity in India

Hydroponic farming has made it much easier to farm greens like lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and kale, herbs like basil, parsley, oregano, cilantro, and tomatoes. Growing hydroponic gardens has become a new trend in the past few months in India. “For people who look for nontoxic, chemical free organic…

Teens are our future?