Greenhouse autonomous greenhouse is on its way, enabling growers to focus on the higher-level decisions. This is Ridder’s vision for the future of horticulture, says Joep van den Bosch, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO). ‘Helping you to grow your way’ is Ridder’s brand promise, and that really means something. We offer them products like screen fabrics and water units. But in the future, our services will focus increasingly on ‘growing as a service’. That means offering a comprehensive package of products and services to lighten the workload in the greenhouse.’ ‘It will mean that we provide technology and smart solutions to resolve key issues around limited knowledge and the scarcity of labour. We hope that this will make an important contribution to achieving the autonomous greenhouse.’
FOUR TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE AUTONOMOUS GREENHOUSE
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mart technology is becoming increasingly important in horticulture. So important, in fact, that Ridder predicts that in ten
26 Gulf Agriculture | www.gulfagriculture.com
years’ time smart technology and systems will be doing most of the work inside the greenhouse. The age of the
Using data in a smarter way The autonomous greenhouse will not just happen of its own accord, of course. Joep predicts that four key technologies will be needed in order for greenhouses to become fully autonomous. ‘The first essential technology is data analytics and cloud management. Data from the greenhouse – such as data on production and climate conditions – needs to be recorded securely and made available. This is crucial so that we can automate other processes in the greenhouse. The HortOS data platform, with its options for collecting data and sending feedback directly to the climate computer, has an important role to play in this.’ In addition, Joep predicts that visual technology – or ‘growers eyes’ – will also be
July-August 2021