Growing

Growing by Plant Empowerment is paving the way for further automation in the greenhouse sector by combining data analysis with today’s technology. A two-year trial to compare the results of Growing by Plant Empowerment (GPE) principles against traditional commercial methods at United Farms in Mexico has…

Potassium is recognized as a nutrient required to keep good quality in our plants and fruits. This nutrient has a huge impact on many plant processes due to its function as enzyme activator. Also, potassium has a strong role in stomata opening and closure due to its function as an osmotic regulator.  […]

Pineapple is one of the commercially important fruit crops of India & most delicious of the tropical fruits. It’s mentioned as “queen of fruit crops”. Here, the cultivation practices along with the costing is discussed detailly….

Vivent, the Swiss biosignals analysis specialist, has closed a multi-million Euro Series A funding round. This first external investment from Astanor Ventures, will be used to expand sales of a unique plant electrophysiology system that diagnoses crop stress in real time. All plants use internal…

The effects of salt on the quality of fruits were investigated in order to compare the impact of salt on key fruit properties of the cultivated domesticated tomato species (Solanum lycopersicum) and its wild halophyte relative Solanum chilense. To this end, cherry tomato plants (S. lycopersicum var.…

Both melatonin and salicylic acid (SA) have been demonstrated to play multiple functions in plant physiological processes and biotic and abiotic stress responses. So far, these regulatory molecules have been separately studied despite sharing a common biosynthetic precursor and their similar physiological actions and stress regulation signals. The review published in Agronomy by Hernández-Ruiz and Arnao entitled “Relationship of melatonin and salicylic acid in biotic/abiotic stress responses” highlights the coincidences and similarities of both regulatory molecules via a thorough literature search and proposes an action model for their interaction in plant stress responses. Despite the undeniable interest and potential impact of this view, it has been focused only on coincident regulatory aspects of SA and melatonin, and the antioxidant-mediated model of interaction that has been proposed is rather speculative and needs to be mechanistically demonstrated. Nevertheless, the mentioned review leads to future research on the melatonin-SA crosstalk to improve biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, which is of utmost importance to ensure food production in the actual age of pandemics and for the upcoming climate crisis scenario.

Plants have evolved around the sun as their natural source of energy. This is important because the sun is at an infinite distance away, with a predictable cycle over the course of days and seasons. The more light a plant receives, the more it will grow and thrive. In the natural environment, when a…

Modern agriculture increasingly demands an alternative to synthetic chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) in order to respond to the changes in international law and regulations, but also consumers’ needs for food without potentially toxic residues. Microbial (arbuscular mycorrhizal and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria: Azotobacter, Azospirillum and Rizhobium spp.) and non-microbial (humic substances, silicon, animal- and vegetal-based protein hydrolysate and macro- and micro-algal extracts) biostimulants represent a sustainable and effective alternative or complement for their synthetic counterparts, bringing benefits to the environment, biodiversity, human health and economy. The Special Issue “Toward a sustainable agriculture through plant biostimulants: from experimental data to practical applications” compiles 34 original research articles, 4 review papers and 1 brief report covering the implications of microbial and non-microbial biostimulants for improving seedling growth and crop performance, nutrient use efficiency and quality of the produce as well as enhancing the tolerance/resistance to a wide range of abiotic stresses in particular salinity, drought, nutrient deficiency and high temperature.

Contain is a Fintech platform for indoor agriculture. Founded on the observation that 75% of indoor growers are looking for funding, and that many won’t receive it from traditional agriculture banks and traditional business banks. “The question for us is: ‘how do we help indoor farmers find the best…

Aquaponic facilities allow the joint production of fish and plants in a reduced space. This hydroponic technique, combined with vertical farming, is not well studied. The main objective of a recent work was to compare basil production between horizontal and vertical decoupled aquaponic systems and assess…

Relatively few new seed onion varieties have been introduced in recent years. Then, last year, the Dutch company, Syngenta, introduced the Promotion. And the Nation variety is set to be launched new year. "These varieties are available in the short term already. But, we have something new in store for…

Greenhouse and indoor grown leafy greens and culinary herbs provide many advantages over field grown crops, including a more stable climate, more consistent time to harvest, the ability to control lighting, shading, CO2, and increased food safety. Low ambient light levels in the winter and on cloudy…

It may sound like something out of a science fiction B-movie, but with the help of a mutant tomato, researchers from Japan have discovered that the development process of fruit rewires their central metabolism pathway. In a study published this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of…

Potato, native to South America is now grown worldwide. Potato is a member of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It is the most important food crop in the world.

Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) represents the 'pressure' that air puts on the plant to transpire and move air from the roots through the plant and out the stomata in their leaves. When the air is dry (low humidity) and the VPD is high, there will be more pressure on the plant to transpire and keep up with…

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in plant development. All vital processes in plants are associated with protein, of which nitrogen is an essential constituent. Therefore, nitrogen management can have a huge impact on crop production. Some of the most important effects of nitrogen in crop…

Fruit maturity is an essential factor for fresh retailers to make economical distribution scheduling and scientific market strategies. In the context of farm-to-door mode, the fresh retailers could incorporate the postharvest maturity time, picking time and distribution time to deliver high-quality…

Redfox Executive Selection and Beanstalk Global have been exclusively commissioned by a client that develops businesses which have a positive impact on the world to source them two new commercial partners. 'Our client’s team is passionate about starting and growing businesses and continues to work with…

When your team wins the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge, you may safely call yourself an expert on autonomous cultivation. René Beerkens, who's been with Hoogendoorn Growth Management for twenty years, and Evripidis Papadopoulos, who worked as a Data & Algorithm specialist for Hoogendoorn during the…

After only four months Autogrow’s FarmRoad platform has developed several new techniques resulting in an additional five percent improvement, with some growers hitting 95% yield accuracy. “A five percent improvement may not sound big however when you are talking about scale that equals hundreds of…

The high relative humidity in the greenhouse was one of the main reasons for Hungarian fresh herb grower Akkos to invest in a dehumidifier. About four years ago, they installed the dehumidification systems of Agam Greenhouses and since then, plants are healthier and more stable than before. Special about…

Mark Doherty, Executive VP of Operations with urban-gro talks about how he got into Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with food crops, then into cannabis, and how he would now like to help new ‘food entrants’ in the CEA world with the knowledge he has gained. “Ten years ago, I started an indoor…

The selection and design of heating equipment depends on how much heat will be lost from the greenhouse, as well as the availability and cost of fuel. Heat loss is a function of greenhouse size, glazing, orientation, and local climate. In addition to fossil fuels and electricity, renewable energy…

Isn't a strawberry's life cycle amazing? Dutch farmers, ByBroersen, shared this beautiful photo on LinkedIn last week. It takes roughly two to three weeks from the first little blossom for the strawberry to become a lovely, red fruit.

500Foods shared this story from HD.com.

Summer is nearing its end and fall is approaching. This means shorter days, lower temperatures, and a change in the rhythm of life. And it’s no different for your crop: it will be transpiring less and its water requirements will decrease. These factors must be taken into account so that the crop and its root system stay healthy…

All growers know that a successful operation needs to have plans and procedures in place. The first thoughts that pop up when talking about plans and procedures may revolve around planting schedules, harvest dates, pest management, and overall safety procedures for staff and customers. However, there is…

Recently the tenth and last interactive session of the EAT THIS webinar series was held. NethWork and World Horti Center look back on a successful series, bursting with inspiration and new insights concerning the ‘future of food’ by visionaries from – and more particularly – outside the horticultural…

Choosing the best grow light for your facility is essential to growing healthy plants and getting a maximum return from your investment. One of the most challenging issues that growers interested in purchasing horticultural lights face when researching horticultural lighting is interpreting and understanding the many terms and…

Facts about farming on Vancouver Island.

In Part One of the Lettuce Blog Series GGS discussed the Greenhouse Structures to provide the best possible space for growing, now they consider setting up the inputs to create the best possible growing environment in that greenhouse. The first consideration is water.For hydroponic growing it is the…