Istanbul municipality has set up a soilless agriculture greenhouse in cooperation with Yildiz Technical University in order to support and improve agricultural production in the country. The greenhouse is ready for its first harvest.
The plans for the Soilless Agriculture Research and Practical Applications Greenhouse was signed between the university and municipality in 2017. As a part of the protocol, the municipality has repaired a greenhouse in Davutpasa and added necessary equipment and systems for soilless production.
This 0.2 hectare glass greenhouse is now used to grow tomato, strawberry and lettuce. The first seeds were planted in October, 2018 and now harvest time for these seeds is approaching. Officials are reporting that they are very satisfied with the efficiency so far and that all products are organic. In this greenhouse, lettuce is grown in water whereas strawberry and tomato are grown in coco peats.
The automated climate system in the greenhouse measures the light, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide and oxygen levels and regulates these factors. There is also no loss in the production due to loss of the plant and there will be no need to leave the land fallow which results in year-round production.
Soilless agriculture is very common in the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Colombia and China. However in Turkey, only 3% of greenhouses are used for soilless agriculture.
Another additional benefit of soilless agriculture is that the products are high value added products because of the healthy production environment and productivity per 1,000 square meter is around 40 tons per year which is a marked improvement over 12 tons of tomatoes annually grown through traditional agricultural methods in 1,000 square meter.
The municipality hopes that hydroponic greenhouses will soon become more popular among growers in Istanbul who will follow the example set by the municipality with this project.
Source: Mynet