Research Trends Increase on Greenhouse Technology for Sustainability

Undercover production technology is an agricultural management system that has demonstrated its efficiency in intensifying food production. These systems, whether it is in plastic covered greenhouses or under shade net structures, constitute a feasible alternative for ensuring food supply, which is one of the greatest challenges faced by humankind in the twenty-first century.

Technology has been able to meet the challenges related to greenhouse farming in both contributing to overcoming its limitations, correcting adverse impacts and ensuring system sustainability.

The current growth trend drastically. According to food production of the human population, industry authors, despite the urgency together with the evolution of addressing this global problem, it of consumption patterns, is receiving little attention from the increasing demand and food waste scientific community or the political are placing unprecedented pressure sphere, given the lack of objectives in on agricultural systems and natural quantitative terms. resources. Therefore, the supply of food However, technological development is one of the greatest challenges that provides the fundamental elements humankind must face in the twenty-first to take on these challenges and to century. Agricultural ecosystems are the contribute to achieving a greater principal providers of food. sustainability in agriculture, both in Sustainability Sciences can be defined terms of resource depletion and as a discipline that studies the ways to socio-economic and environmental reach a sustainable society through the dimensions. The greenhouse industry understanding of interactions among is continually developing new strategies nature, humans and society. It brings and technologies to resolve specific together a great variety of academic limitations of the crops, reducing any disciplines. At the related environmental end of the 90s, many researchers indicate impact and adapting sustainability was that, in order to fulfil the to new market linked to ecosystems objective of food safety in requirements. and their ability to a sustainable way, food Therefore, keep their delivered service flows in environmental, economic and social production should be increased substantially while, at the same time soilless crops; the comprehensive control of the factors that constitute the now possible. Furthermore, technology has enabled the diversification of water sources for irrigation where this resource is the principal limiting factor, such as contexts. It also relates the ecological footprint microclimate inside the use of reused water, desalinated to the development of agriculture is reduced the greenhouse; the seawater or rainwater collection. of agriculture and to the sustainable use of drastically. creation of vertical agro-ecosystems that The research in greenhouse technologies (GT) revolves around six topics: the use water. can be located in urban environments; of water for irrigation, the design of the Many researchers indicate that, in order the development of specific optimum structure of the greenhouse, to fulfil the objective of food safety environmentally sustainable solutions for conserving the soil in the best productive in a sustainable way, food production supplying greenhouse production with conditions, energy consumption of the should be increased substantially renewable energy; the development of system as a whole, climate control within while, at the same time the ecological new materials and structures capable the facility and pest control. footprint of agriculture is reduced of optimising production etc., are all

Soilless salad growing system.

Automated climate control screens.