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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • APRIL 2017
Front cover - AwardWinningZinniaProfusionRed,
bredbySakata • Seepage 6
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APRIL 2017 •
TheCommercial GreenhouseGrower
April 2017
Production · Breeding · SeedTechnology
UK Agents: Meadows (Fenton) Ltd · PO Box 78 · St Ives, Huntingdon · Cambs PE27 6ZA
Phone: 01480 463570 · Fax: 01480 466042 ·
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GermanHeadquarters: Jelitto Perennial Seeds Ltd. · P.O. Box 1264 · 29685 Schwarmstedt
Phone 0049 5071/9829-0 · Fax 0049 5071/9829-27 ·
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COMMENT
You could say the glasshouseWinterlight project is classicDutch horticultural
development - the latest in a long line of impressive researchprojects to
come out of Holland in the last decade. But it is far from classic. It ismodern
and cutting edge, using closely applied research togive growers a real insight
intowhat is going tobepossible in the future and there aremany lessons for
UKgrowers to take away too.
The aimof theproject was to identifyways of producingmore natural light
during thewintermonths in a glasshouse and therefore helping increase
yields, improvingoverall plant health, limitingpest anddiseases and
experimentingwith new and emerginggrowing techniques. Researchers
have reported significant harvesting rates of 110kgper squaremetres as the
18-monthproject draws to a close.
Newways of growingusing high-wire techniqueswere investigated in a
glasshouse that hadbeen specifically designed. It incorporated the results
of research into the use of glasshouse covers,materials, the structure of the
glasshouse and screens to helpdetermine how to raise the level of natural
light by approximately 10% fromOctober toMarch. All this alone gives
growersmore than a glimpse of what will bepossible in the future andmore
importantly perhaps, what is possible now.
The very fact that this project aims to strive for the utopia inglasshouse
production, design and construction says a lot about the faith that the
industry has in the glasshouse sector. In theUK, the challenges that growers
have facedover planning laws have stifled the growthof the sector. But
there are also several success stories of newdevelopments in theUK,many
of which have recently featured in thismagazine andmany of whichhave
invested in the latest technology to helpdrive efficiencies. But growerswill
already be searching for the next best thing in terms of new technology.
TheWinterlight project demonstrates how applied research should really
be conducted in a joined-up and coordinatedway. It goes a significant way
toproviding solutions to somany unansweredproblems in the areas of
glasshousedesign and construction, energy, growing techniques and how to
limit pest anddiseases and there aremany lessons that canbe learned and
carried forward to the future. Thequestion for theUK sector now is; dowe
embrace it or dowe try andgoonebetter?
CONTENTS
News
4-7
PrimroseReview
8-11
IPM Lights
13-15
GardenPress Event
16
HortiContact
17-19
Cut Flower Study Tour
20
DutchResearchProjects
21-24
MatingDisruption
25
Insurance
26-27
Nursery Visit
28-29
Classified
30-31
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