In the realm of intensive vegetable cultivation, the latest innovation comes in the form of fifth-generation Ultra Clima greenhouses. Sergey Lenchuk, the director of "Galicia Greenery" in the Lviv region, shared insights at the "Intensive Vegetable Farming: Open and Closed Ground" forum.
These cutting-edge greenhouses boast an impressive tomato yield of 85 kg/sqm, dwarfing open-field production (at a mere 12 kg/sqm). Even traditional plastic or low glass-covered greenhouses achieve around 35 kg/sqm, while the widely-used high Venlo-type greenhouses manage 65 kg/sqm.
For comparison, open-field cucumber yields peak at 20 kg/sqm, whereas within a greenhouse, they soar to 100 kg/sqm. Similarly, lettuce yields transition from 10 kg/sqm in open fields to 80 kg/sqm within the controlled environment of a greenhouse.
Lenchuk emphasized, "The productivity of vegetables in greenhouses significantly surpasses that of open fields. The more technologically advanced the greenhouse, the higher the yield."
Unfortunately, in Ukraine, there's a trend of reducing closed-ground cultivation due to the high costs of greenhouses and energy consumption, coupled with substantial land loss in the southern regions.
Despite this, a small shift towards expanding polythene and partially polycarbonate greenhouses are observed, offering the opportunity to extend the growing season from early spring to late autumn and thereby increasing overall harvest periods.
Source: agrotimes.ua
