SEMAY:

Turkish grower opts for double screens to ensure high quality tomatoes

This past spring SEMAY Agricultural Products and Greenhouses broke ground on a new 10 ha project in Afyon, Turkey. Situated in central Turkey, Afyon is deemed by many as the most productive day light receiving city in Turkey.

Located in the mountainous countryside inland from the Aegran coast, Afyon is unique location with cold winters and hot and dry summers. Summers temperatures are milder than other nearby coastal areas due to the city’s high elevation of 1000+ meters, and are a major advantage for summer production. The region is blessed with multiple sources of geothermal hot water of which can be used to heat the greenhouse. Afyon’s extensive sunlight hours are a further advantage for the SEMAY greenhouse, promoting plant growth and increasing tomato production.

SEMAY’s main aim is to offer the finest tasting tomatoes to both domestic and overseas customers; to help ensure they meet their quality target the operation opted to invest in double screens, installing LUXOUS 1347 FR, a transparent energy screen and HARMONY 3315 O FR, an open-structure light diffusing shade screen.

The company heats the greenhouse with hot water from geothermal sources, however, because temperatures can drop extremely low, at times as low as -20°C in the area, the water temperatures are not always sufficient in reaching the greenhouse’s set point temperature. But with the aid of the LUXOUS thermal screen SEMAY is able to reach the temperatures needed for their tomato crops, enabling the crop to continuously grow at a high speed.

The HARMONY shade screen was installed to shade the crop during late spring, summer and early autumn, when temperature and radiation can rise to harmful levels, leading to growth stagnation and poor fruit quality. The HARMONY screen prevents such risks and as a result quality and output remain at high levels.

Alev Semker Akal, CEO of SEMAY Agricultural Products and Greenhouses, plans a further extension of around 6 ha later this year or next year.

For more information
AB Ludvig Svensson
5118 82 Kinna, Sweden
T: +46 320 20 92 00+46 320 20 92 00
info@ludvigsvensson.com
www.ludvigsvensson.com

Publication date: Fri 22 Aug 2014