Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses

PRACTICAL

PONICS & GREENHOUSES The Commercial Growers’ Magazine

2016

NOVEMBE R

ISSUE 173

www.hydroponics.com.au

GLOBAL GREENHOUSE GROWTH: Australia’s Place?

A WORLD OF GOOD

MAKING THE CHANGE

UK hydro company gives back

German greenhouse giant adopts biomass

ALL BOTTLED UP

COPPER: DEFICIENCY & TOXICITY

Tasmanian recycled bottle greenhouse

Diagnosing nutritional disorders

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From The Editor

Managing Editor Christine Brown-Paul c.brown.paul@gmail.com

A growing industry

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H

appy 25th Birthday to us and welcome to this Silver Anniversary issue of Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses. Our first issue was published as a bi-monthly magazine in November/December 1991 – we look forward to the next 25 years!

By 2025, it is projected that worldwide, demand for food will increase by 100 per cent. In such a scenario, greenhouse horticulture gains importance, allowing as it does the production of crops at manageable temperatures, using minimal amounts of water. According to a recent industry report, crop production through greenhouse horticulture will help meet this rising demand for food, thus driving the growth of the global greenhouse horticulture market.

It is also predicted that by 2025, the global commercial greenhouse market is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 9.1 per cent over the next decade to reach approximately $46.5 billion.

With 103 listed greenhouse vegetable producers, Australia is ranked fourth in the world: the US, with 509, is in first place, followed by the Netherlands, with 355 listed greenhouse-vegetable growing companies and Canada, with 207.

Mexico (67), the UK (64), New Zealand (46), France (44), and Italy and Russia (both with 43) are ranked fifth to 10th, respectively.

Many industry experts believe that the Australian protected cropping industry, specifically the greenhouse and hydroponic industry, is at a point of change, and there is an opportunity to match it with the best in the world.

Hand-in-hand with global greenhouse growth is the advancement of greenhouse technologies, with interest in this area seen as a response to climate risk. Pursuits of increased yields, reduced CO2 emissions and water consumption plus consistent high quality produce are drivers in greenhouse design and technology innovations around the world.

In this issue we look at how one German greenhouse giant is using biomass as an alternative to natural gas to heat its greenhouses while in the UK, two prominent tomato growers have made the switch to 100 per cent LED lighting with resulting improved yield and quality of tomatoes year-round.

Closer to home we report on the official launch of Sundrop Farms’ worldfirst facility of climate controlled greenhouses in Port Augusta, South Australia – the AUD$200 million sustainable facility using solar power and desalinated seawater to grow tomatoes across 20 hectares of greenhouses.

Enjoy this Silver Anniversary issue!

Christine Brown-Paul Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 3

A Magazine for

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PONICS

Commercial Growers

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TRADE DIRECTORY AND ....................................43 AND ....................................53 Autogrow Systems ............... 57 Biological Services ...............47 BlueLab Guardian ................. 19 Cultilene ............................ 13 Ecogrow ..............................12 Exfoliators.......................... 41 Extrusion Technologies Int .....47 GOTAFE .............................. 23 Graeme Smith Consulting .......29 GreenLife Structures ...............4 Growhard Australia .................7 Legro ..................................21 Svensson.............................17 People Passion .....................35 Pestech...............................15 Powerplants ...................... IFC Prestige LED ........................39 Disclaimer The information contained in this magazine whether in editorial matter or in feature articles or in advertisements is not published on the basis that the Publisher accepts or assumes

& GREENHOUSES ISSUE 173 :: NOVEMBER 2016 :: THE COMMERCIAL GROWERS’ MAGAZINE

Features Global greenhouse growth . . . . . . . . . 24 The global commercial greenhouse market is poised to grow at a CAGR of around 9.1% over the next decade to reach around $46.5 billion by 2025.

How is Australia placed?

A world of good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 One UK company has developed a ground- Global greenhouse growth breaking low-cost hydroponic system, devoting up to 30 per cent of its profits to non-profit causes.

All bottled up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 In Launceston, Tasmania one school has built a greenhouse made from around 60,000 recycled bottles.

Making the change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 German company Scherzer-Gemüse uses biomass as an alternative for natural gas to heat its greenhouses.

A world of good - Phytoponics

Practical Weighing up the benefits . . . . . . . . . . 42 Scales with built-in traffic lights.

Copper: deficiency & toxicity . . . . . . . 50 Recognising copper deficiency and toxicity in plants is key to diagnosing nutritional disorders.

All bottled up

100 per cent LED lighting . . . . . . . . . . 54 Major UK tomato growers move to LED lighting.

Departments

liability or responsibility to any reader of the magazine for any loss or damage resulting from the correctness of such information.

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From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 News & Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Reader Inquiries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Cover: Where is Australia placed in the global commercial greenhouse market?

Making the change

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 5

PowerPlAnts teAms witH BAll AustrAliA For new greenHouse FACility Ball Australia has embarked on an expansion of its horticultural business and is moving to a new 40ha site in Skye in Melbourne’s southeast with the build of new state-of-the-art premises. Ball Australia plans to boost its exports and create up to 19 new jobs with a grant from the Victorian Government’s Local Industry Fund for Transition (LIFT).

Minister for Industry and Employment Wade Noonan visited Ball Australia to announce the company will use the $350,000 LIFT grant to support its multimilliondollar project to establish a new production and administration site in Skye.

Joining the Minister was Sonia Kilkenny, State Member for Carrum District and Suzanne Walker Investment Manager, VGBO Southern Metro region.

Powerplants Australia was

An official delegation visited Ball Australia’s new 40ha site in Skye, Melbourne.

6 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

involved in the greenhouse design, project management and construction of Ball Horticultural Company’s new purpose-built production facility and offices.

Features include: 32.000 square metres of modern glasshouse construction 60.000 square metre poly roof and walls 7.700 acre metre of area to concrete 28 km of heating pipes 17 km electrical cables 26.000 square metres of the most effective energy and cost saving screens system.

The new purpose-built facility will increase Ball Australia’s product capabilities by 40 per cent acting as a young plant propagation operation; including seed raised and vegetative cuttings. The building includes 12 separate growing climatic zones along with five individual germination environments.

Designed by Belgium-based company VD Heuvel, the facility provides room for expansion in northerly and southerly directions, keeping the ratio of climatic zones the same.

standard formats: flow wrap, vertical form seal or overwrap. Their moisture and aroma barrier properties make them an ideal choice to preserve many food items, including dried and chocolatebased products.

Powerplants worked in partnership with Van der Hoeven Horticultural Projects in the construction of the new facility. The greenhouse features doubleskinned polythene, with 6000 square metres of Cabrio opening and closing roof, with 6m to the gutter.

Powerplants also provided numerous operational systems.

These include a Connext Climate Control System, and Vialux water treatment from Priva. Powerplants also provided electrical fans, fogging systems from Normist, booms from Denton and Alweco retractable screens.

The new facility is set to be fully operational by early 2017.

For more information watch the video on the link on the previous page.

BeAting wrAP rAge If you’ve ever been frustrated trying to open a package that just won’t budge, Innovia Films has the solution. Innovia Films is expanding its portfolio of peelable Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) films – Propafilm™ RCP is now available in 52 and 60 microns. This proven, easy-to-open, food packaging film range now includes heavy duty, high barrier and snap wrap options.

The main benefit of using Propafilm™ RCP is that its seals are easy to open. Consumers of all ages and abilities can simply peel open the seals to reveal the product inside. For the young, older adults or those with physical limitations, the product is ideal, as no excessive force is required. No need either for scissors, sharp implements or the risk of serious injuries.

For product packaging, the seal strength is consistent every time and the film can be used on existing packaging machines without any adjustments required.

For more information on this solution, watch the Innovia Films’ video left.

Aussie Diets Below PAr

Another key benefit of using Propafilm™ RCP is that product spillage can be greatly reduced.

Propafilm™ RCP provides reliable clean and neat opening, without destroying the pack. In addition, because the pack remains intact, resealing also becomes an option, when a label is applied. This allows products to be kept tidily in kitchen store cupboards.

Propafilm™ RCP films have been designed and developed on proven technologies. The acrylic coating ensures a broad sealing range, enabling a wide packaging operating window and good machinability in all

8 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Australia’s largest ever diet survey has confirmed that the vast majority of Aussies eating habits are below par.

The 2016 CSIRO Healthy Diet Score report canvassed the dietary habits of more than 86,500 adults across the country over a 12-month period. An early snapshot of the survey results released in August 2015 awarded the nation’s diet a score of 61 on a 100-point scale.

With almost 47,000 additional surveys completed since then that figure now stands at just 59 out of 100, confirming that Australian diets are worse than first thought.

“We have an image of being fit and healthy, but with a collective diet score of 59/100 that image could be very different unless we act now,” CSIRO Research Director and coauthor of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Professor Manny Noakes said.

According to the 2016 Healthy Diet

Score, 80 per cent of respondents received an individual score below 70, which is a benchmark figure.

“If we can raise our collective score by just over 10 points, we help Australia mitigate against the growing rates of obesity and lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and a third of all cancers,” Professor Noakes said.

“All people need to do is halve the bad and double the good. In other words, halve the amount of discretionary food you eat and double your vegetable intake.”

“It is never too late to eat better and increase your score, and the nation’s,” Professor Noakes said.

“We encourage people to also take the test regularly to ensure they are improving their eating behaviour and overall health and wellbeing.”

For more information, or to take the free CSIRO Healthy Diet Score, visit www.csirodietscore.com

sunDroP FArms oPens In Port Augusta, South Australia, Sundrop Farms has officially launched its tomato production facility, the first of its kind in the world, using solar power and desalinated seawater to grow tomatoes across 20 hectares of greenhouses.

Sundrop Farms’ new sustainable facility comprises five-hectares of climate controlled greenhouses, a

desalination plant and concentrated solar power system involving a 127metre tower and more than 23,000 mirrors to reflect the sun’s energy.

Costing AUD$200 million to build, the commercial facility cost employs around 175 people and produces 15,000 metric tons (MT) of fresh tomatoes annually. The company has a 10-year deal to supply Coles supermarket chain.

According to Sundrop Farms founder and CEO Philipp Saumweber, the company’s unique agribusiness model is one that that benefits people, the planet and long-term, sustainable profits.

“With growing resource constraints our innovative model harnesses renewable inputs, such as seawater and sunlight, to decouple food production from the finite inputs of freshwater, fossil fuels and land,” he said.

The commercial plant integrates solar power, electricity generation, fresh water conservation and production, climate control, and hydroponics for year-round, high yield production levels.

At the launch of the facility, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said that the project highlighted SA’s focus on implementing world leading technologies in the commercial sector.

“This state-of-the-art development is a massive boost for

Port Augusta and the Upper Spencer Gulf, creating almost 200 jobs and heralding the start of an exciting new industry for the region,” he said.

“It is yet another example of a world-leading company making a long-term investment in this state and I look forward to seeing the wide-scale benefits the project will bring over coming years.”

Just Press grow Everblume is an automated box that can grow hydroponic produce indoors – just open the door and pick some fresh leaves. Conditions inside the box, from temperature, pH balance to lighting, are completely controlled by your smartphone.

Using LED lights and an algorithm designed by the Everblume team, the device automatically sets up the ideal conditions for a plant to thrive.

While it grows, the box collects data about its progress and adjusts the lighting, temperature, CO2, and oxygen levels according to the plant’s needs.

According to Everblume cofounder and engineer Mike Morgan, the box is still in the development stage, and the team will start beta testing soon.

The prototype is about the size of a normal refrigerator. Mike Morgan and Everblume’s other cofounder, Aja Atwood, are still finalising the design, however, so it will likely go through more changes before it hits the market.

“To set up an Everblume, plug it

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 9

in, place seeds in a growing tray (which is equipped with sensors) and add water and a calciummagnesium solution to a reservoir.

Users then select which type of plant they’re growing in the app, tap ‘grow’ and the box will set up the best environment,” Mr Morgan said.

“If the box senses that your plants aren’t doing well, it will automatically adjust the conditions.

The reservoir periodically feeds the nutrient-rich liquid to the plants.

Users can use the nutrient supplied or substitute their own. You can also choose whether to grow one large plant or several smaller plants on the hydroponic bed.”

“The box connects to Wifi and pairs with Everblume’s app, which lets you control and monitor the plants’ growth. You can also manually adjust the temperature or nutrient levels if you want to experiment with a vegetable’s sweetness or texture,” Aja Atwood said.

“An Everblume can grow any type of fruit, vegetable, or herb. The team is currently testing cherry tomatoes, and the next test will include herbs, like echinacea, chamomile, and basil.”

in-store vertiCAl FArms For tArget The popularity of vertical farming is spreading rapidly and soon an unlikely company will also start using the technology – Target. Next year, Target in the US plans to test vertical farm ‘in-store growing environments.’

“Down the road, it’s something where potentially part of our food supply that we have on our shelves is stuff that we’ve grown ourselves,” said Casey Carl, Target’s chief strategy and innovation officer.

In January this year, Target launched the Food + Future CoLab, a

collaboration with design firm Ideo and the MIT Media Lab. One area of the team’s research focuses on vertical farming, and Greg Shewmaker – one of Target’s entrepreneurs-in-residence at the CoLab – said they are planning to test the technology in a few Target stores to see how involved customers actually want to be with their food.

“The idea is that by next spring, we’ll have in-store growing environments,” he said.

During the in-store trials, people could potentially harvest their own produce from the vertical farms, or watch as staff members pick greens and veggies to stock on the shelves.

Most vertical farms grow leafy greens, but the CoLab researchers are trying to work out how to cultivate other crops as well.

“Because it’s MIT, they have access to some of these seed banks around the world, so we’re playing with ancient varietals of different things, like tomatoes that haven’t been grown in over a century, different kinds of peppers, things like that, just to see if it’s possible,” Mr Shewmaker said.

“Food is a big part of our current portfolio today at Target — it does $20 billion of business for us,” Mr Carl said.

10 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

“We need to be able to see more effectively around corners in terms of where is the overall food and agriculture industries going domestically and globally.”

new r&D ProJeCt on CuCumBer green mottle mosAiC virus (Cgmmv) A new R&D project has commenced to investigate CGMMV in Australia.

According to Len Tesoriero, Protected Cropping Australia (PCA) Director and Senior Plant Pathologist NSW DPI, this virus was first recorded in 2014 on watermelon crops near Katherine in the NT and subsequently on cucumbers grown under protected cropping near Darwin.

“It has been present in Europe for many years where it can cause a serious disease on susceptible greenhouse cucumber varieties. In recent years it appears that an aggressive strain of CGMMV

emerged that has spread around the world with infected seed,” Mr Tesoriero said.

There have been new reports of this disease from countries including Israel, Canada and the USA just prior to the detection in Australia.

“The R&D project is a collaboration of scientists from across Australia and is led by Dr Lucy Tran-Nguyen from the NT Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (who incidentally was awarded Vegetable Researcher of the Year at the recent national horticulture convention on the Gold Coast),” Mr Tesoriero said.

“Funding has been provided by the Australian vegetable industry levy but in future may also draw on funds from the newly established Australian melon industry levy.

These levy funds are matched by the Australian Government through Horticulture Innovation Australia.

“Detection of this exotic disease in Australia exposed an uncontrolled biosecurity pathway of infection via untreated and untested imported seed. A testing regime is now in place to mitigate this risk,” he said.

“More importantly, the Australian melon industry now has an R&D levy to fund relevant R&D as well as a Biosecurity Levy component to assist with any future incursions. This includes a provision to compensate affected growers for their financial losses.”

BumBleBees AttrACteD to CuCumBer mosAiC virus-inFeCteD PlAnts Researchers have found that bumblebees are particularly attracted to tomato plants, which are infected with cucumber mosaic virus (CMV).

Scientists released bumblebees into spaces that contained either

PHiliPs exPAnDs leD PresenCe in russiA

normal tomato plants or those infected with CMV. CMV alters the gene expression of the tomato plants it infects, stunting their growth and distorting their leaves, and it can cause severe losses of crops worldwide. It also causes the plant to emit a different scent than non-infected tomatoes.

According to the findings of the study, the scent appears to make a difference with bees more likely to visit infected plants than noninfected plants, and spending more time buzzing around them.

The researchers say further study could lead to ways to increase bee pollination of important crops.

A new Bloom Bloomingdale Roses has introduced its newest orange bi-coloured Thybrid rose variety named Silantoi@.

This new variety was recently available for the first time at the world’s largest flower market, Aalsmeer in The Netherlands.

Silantoi@ features flower buds of 6.5cm, in lengths from 40 to 80cm.

The vase life of Silantoi@ is at least 10-14 days.

Bloomingdale Roses is a new world-class producer – its farm of 30 hectares is located in the Timau region in Kenya, close to the equator at the slopes of Mt. Kenya at an altitude of 2,450 metres above sea level.

The company has strict quality procedures at every stage of

In Russia, LED lighting is considered something of a novelty, as most Russian growers use HPS lamps.

“There are even rumours that LEDs are not beneficial. These rumours came into existence as some random LED suppliers installed the hardware without having the know-how of making them work - meaning knowing how to create the correct hardware and using plant specialism to make it work,” said Wim Steeghs, Business Manager Horticulture LED Central Eastern Europe at Philips, which has a goal of opening up the market for LEDs in the region.

So, some Russians are not eager to try it again. It is a challenging sector with enormous opportunities. LED is booming in the horticulture markets in Europe.”

Philips has recently expanded its Russian team with a Key Account Manager, Alisa Shlyuykova who will not only supply the hardware itself, but also share her knowledge about LEDs with Russian growers.

Ms Shlyuykova studied at the Wageningen University in The Netherlands and has undertaken several projects in Russia, The Netherlands, Belgium and several other European countries.

“So, the next step is to teach the local partners how to sell it, how to install it and how to maintain it,” Mr Steeghs said.

“As a Key Account Manager, you have to know a bit of everything; the hardware, plant specialism, finance and sales.”

More information at: www.philips.com/horti

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 11

production. Partner Company BSI BV in Aalsmeer imports the roses into the Netherlands and makes the roses ready for the auction for sales worldwide.

Bloomingdale has now the following range of large bud varieties T-hybrid roses in production: 3D, Altavista, Athena, Belle Rose, Blush, Chapeau, Double Fashion, Duett, Eliza, Good Times, Madam Pink, Madam Red, Marie Claire, Mariyo! New Orleans, Nicoletta and Statue. The lengths of the roses vary from 40 to 100 cm.

More information at: www.bloomingdaleroses.com

new mPi Frontline stAFF to ProteCt new ZeAlAnD According to NZ’s Ministry for Primary Industries, the graduation of 23 new quarantine officers will help protect New Zealand and

relieve peak-time congestion at the country’s main international ports of entry.

According to Steve Gilbert, MPI’s Border Clearance Director, the new staff were employed as part of MPI’s annual intake to ensure it can run its operations at maximum capacity.

“The new quarantine officers will work at the border to halt risk goods that have the potential to carry pests or diseases. The new staff will help reduce waiting times at airports for arriving international passengers by providing more help to search baggage for biosecurity risk goods,” Mr Gilbert said.

“The tourism boom is bringing in more travellers who are unfamiliar with New Zealand’s strict biosecurity requirements. That means we are undertaking additional baggage searches, and this is having an impact on queues during peak times.

“The new staff will help alleviate the congestion, as will the introduction of a new queue line at Auckland Airport this summer. The queue line will allow low-risk Australian and New Zealand passport holders to pass through MPI’s biosecurity controls more quickly,” he said.

“It’s going to be another busy

12 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

summer for our frontline biosecurity staff and travellers. There are likely to be record numbers of visitors arriving in New Zealand.

“We’re very conscious of the increasing fruit fly threat from Australia and parts of the Pacific.

We are also on the lookout for threats like the brown marmorated stink bug, which has invaded the United States and parts of Europe,” he said.

PrivA CHooses PrismteCH’s vortex For greenHouse environments US-based PrismTech™ — a global leader in software platforms for distributed systems – has announced that Priva, a leader in climate and control systems, has selected the Vortex™ intelligent data management platform to enhance

its greenhouse climate-andirrigation building automation control systems.

Based in De Lier, The Netherlands, Priva is an awardwinning developer of innovative solutions for sustainable climate control and process management in building and horticultural greenhouse automation. The company has sites and training centres on every continent and its network extends to more than 100 countries.

“Vortex, with its robust end-to-end qualities-of-service capabilities and its ability to help us decouple our software—made it the right fit for our architecture,” said Rachid El Masoudi, Lead Architect, Priva.

“Specifically, Vortex provides our systems with efficient, secure and interoperable real-time data sharing.”

Vortex provides real-time data sharing for devices and machines based on the Object Management Group®’s (OMG®) Data-Distribution Service™ (DDS™) standard. Vortex provides DDS implementations that can be used to support the wide range of device technologies, operating systems and

programming languages required by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) projects.

Vortex’s capabilities will simplify the process of reconfiguring Priva’s greenhouse controllers so that all sensors are correctly matched with internal data channels.

“We welcome Priva to our growing list of global customers who are using Vortex in demanding real-time data-processing systems,” said Andrew Foster, Product Marketing Manager, PrismTech.

“This is another example of the proliferation of Vortex into new and exciting IIoT markets such as building automation and agricultural systems.”

More information at: www.prismtech.com/vortex

streAmlining FresH ProDuCe inDustry exPort ACCess Australian vegetable growers looking to enter key export markets are set to save significant cost and complication after global and domestic food-safety certification requirements are combined.

The new initiative being delivered through Horticulture Innovation

14 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Australia – using vegetable industry levy funds and funds from the Australian Government – in partnership with peak industry body AUSVEG, will have a very significant impact.

Horticulture Innovation Australia Chief Executive John Lloyd said currently, vegetable exporters have to implement food safety standard GLOBALG.A.P. to access many key export markets in Asia and the Middle East. On top of that, to operate in the domestic market, producers have to meet a local certification – the Freshcare Food Safety and Quality Standard being the most widely used. But that dual requirement is about to change.

“This new initiative will see the Freshcare standard benchmarked against the internationally recognised GLOBALG.A.P. standard, leading to increased efficiencies and cost savings for Australian fresh produce exporters,” he said.

“Australian produce has a strong international reputation for being fresh, clean and safe, and as the horticulture industry looks to increase its presence in overseas markets, it’s vital that this reputation is backed up by an internationally recognised certification process.”

Freshcare Executive Officer Clare Hamilton-Bate said the on-farm assurance organisation will develop a supplement to its current Freshcare Food Safety and Quality Standard to achieve GLOBAL G.A.P. recognition.

“Freshcare is the most widely adopted food safety standard in the Australian fresh produce sector, with over 5000 participating horticulture businesses using the standard to meet domestic market requirements. However, the Freshcare standard is not widely

recognised in export markets.

Benchmarking the Freshcare standard against GLOBALG.A.P. will allow these Australian producers to achieve regulatory and retailer compliance in export markets through an extension to their existing Freshcare certification.”

AUSVEG, the leading horticultural body representing Australia’s vegetable and potato growers, has welcomed the project and its potential to help Australian growers access the wealth of overseas markets.

“Evolving food safety demands could represent a barrier to trade for Australian vegetable and potato exports, and benchmarking Freshcare against the GLOBALG.A.P. standard will help keep overseas markets open to Australian growers,” AUSVEG CEO Simon Bolles said.

“We hope to see this project pay real dividends into the future – not just for our vegetable and potato growers, but for the entire horticulture sector.”

The GLOBALG.A.P. benchmark

process is expected to be completed by mid-2017.

unDerwAter HyDroPoniCs A US navy research lab is working on a new project that could allow deployed sailors to grow fresh vegetables on submarines.

Engineering technician and 30year navy veteran Don Holman is testing whether hydroponics can be used to sustain gardens on submarines at the army’s Natick Soldier Research Development and

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 15

Engineering Center, located on the outskirts of Boston.

Fresh vegetables only last the first seven to 10 days of submarine deployment, which tend to be three months. After that, sailors have to resort to frozen fruit and vegetables.

Currently, Mr Holman is testing growing vegetables in a 40-foot container at the research facility, using roughly seven-foot LED lights.

The containers hold a central computer, which allows the researchers to control the temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration. Hydroponics allow for controlling the amount of nutrients in the water as well as the pH of the water.

Testing 83 vegetables in the first phase of testing, Mr Holman found that 51 of them were able to grow, such as different kinds of lettuce, kale and some root vegetables.

Others weren’t suited to the confined space and temperature, such as tomatoes, which required more heat, and cucumbers, which grew out of control and tangled around the lighting.

The $100,000 research project came from an idea generated during

16 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

a hackathon at the Under Sea Warfare Center where sailors said they wanted salads to be served on submarines. Holman said providing fresh food would act as a morale booster and help the Navy retain sailors.

“Sailors with good morale are productive sailors. It’s a win-win,” Holman said.

“The Navy is more aware of what the sailors’ concerns are, they’re addressing the quality of life issues to help retain them and make them more productive.”

The main hurdle facing Holman will be how to get the gardens onto submarines that have limited space.

He is confident the current 40ft container model could be scaled down but submariners he’s spoken with have expressed doubt.

Retired Navy captain Ronald Steed, a former sub skipper, said it would be a real challenge to fit a garden on a submarine, where space is extremely tight, “but if they could do it, that would be awesome”.

Steed expressed doubts over how much it could feed a crew of 170 on board a submarine for three months.

Testing on the hydroponic gardens

ended in September this year and Holman will submit a technical report to the Navy, who will decide if they wish to implement it on submarines.

new stuDy reveAls imPortAnCe oF immigrAnt FArmers to AustrAliAn AgriCulture Immigrant farmers and workers are contributing to the productivity of Australian agriculture.

A new RIRDC-funded study finds these workers bring new skills and overcome labour shortages in rural and regional Australia.

“This report provides an indication of the contribution that the increasing number of permanent and temporary immigrants to Australia has made to the productivity of our agricultural industry and the re-energising of regional and rural towns,” said RIRDC Managing Director John Harvey.

“The report is the culmination of a three-year research project. It fills a critical knowledge gap about the contribution of immigrant farmers – both permanent skilled settlers and short-term labourers. ”Professor Jock Collins, lead researcher, said, “the research illustrates the many different levels at which immigrants play an important role.

“In terms of skilled labour, immigrant farmers bring not only experience but also innovation and entrepreneurship in techniques and commodities. South African and Zimbabwean farmers for example, have brought water-saving technologies, while Asian growers have introduced new products for the food market.

“Short-term workers are significant in filling cyclical labour needs. For example, working holidaymakers are a large and mobile workforce helping to meet demand at harvest and providing labour for unpopular jobs. ”While in the minority, unsatisfactory work experiences of some working holidaymakers and Pacific seasonal Workers are captured in the report. Professor Collins says it is important these

issues inform policy makers to ensure the future viability of such schemes and delivery of labour to rural and regional Australia. The research found rural and regional townships very receptive to new immigrants.

“The warmth of the welcome in the bush was clear and the majority of workers come away with very positive social and economic experiences,” Professor Collins said. b The full report, titled ‘New Immigrants Improving Productivity in Australian Agriculture’ can be downloaded for free from: https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au /items/16-027 and a summary of the research is at: https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au /items/16-018.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 17

swarm technologies and Bluelab announce strategic partnership Swarm Technologies LLC (dba SmartBee Controllers®) and Bluelab® Corporation Limited of New Zealand recently announced a strategic partnership to release a brand new SmartBee Enabled™ Bluelab® Guardian Monitor designed specifically to interface with the revolutionary SmartBee Controllers® networked monitor and control system for indoor gardens.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, USA, Swarm Technologies LLC is a privately held leader in developing smart technology solutions for growers that simplify operations, enhance yields, improve quality and increase profitability.

According to Skye Hanke, cofounder and Business Development Officer of Swarm Technologies, the new solution will enable growers to connect the industry standard Bluelab® Guardian Monitor seamlessly to their SmartBee Controllers® Wireless Sensor Network system, allowing users 24/7 monitoring, control and robust data logging of their gardens.

“Using SmartBee’s proprietary BeeThere Software™, growers will now have more comprehensive data analytic capabilities available to help them optimise their irrigation strategies,” Mr Hanke said.

“After discussions with Greg Jarvis, Bluelab®’s Chief Executive Officer, we were excited to work together and develop what will become the indoor and greenhouse gardening industry’s de facto monitor and control solution.”

Greg Jarvis said that Bluelab was delighted to have partnered with SmartBee on the development of a SmartBee Enabled™ Bluelab® Guardian Monitor, which provides 24-hour continuous monitoring of solution pH, conductivity (EC/ppm/TDS) and temperature.

“We look forward to introducing more revolutionary SmartBee Enabled™ products in the future, and are excited about the possibilities of this new strategic partnership,” Mr Jarvis said.

The SmartBee Enabled™ Bluelab® Guardian Monitor will be available in a standard as well as Inline version and easily identifiable by the ‘SmartBee Enabled™’ badge.

Bluelab® has achieved a strong brand reputation globally and is well recognised for its simplicity of product design and superior product quality. Bluelab® has over 30 years of experience in helping growers improve their plant quality and increase crop yield.

The company’s range of products support the journey from beginning as a hobby grower through to professional cultivation.

“For these reasons it makes sense

18 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

for Swarm Technologies to join forces with Bluelab®. SmartBee Controllers® is a suite of Wireless Sensor Network based control products that integrate all grow room systems into one software application that allows for remote monitoring and control of light, temperature, humidity, CO2, water content and root zone temperature in all indoor gardens, accessible via any web-enabled Smart Phone, Tablet or PC regardless of operating system,” Mr Hanke said.

“Utilising a user-friendly interface, data logging and analytics across all sensors provide users with the ability to fine tune grow parameters to maximise crop yields and quality.

In addition, the SmartBee™ system provides real time alerts when results fall outside their set points, allowing for rapid response disaster mitigation.

“Now, thanks to the SmartBee Enabled™ Bluelab® Guardian Monitor, SmartBee and Bluelab® stand side by side to bring even greater monitoring and control capabilities for pH, nutrient, and temperature levels,” he said. b To learn more about the new SmartBee Enabled™ Bluelab® Guardian Monitor, as well as the complete line of SmartBee controllers and sensors, visitwww.smartbeecontrollers.com For more information about Bluelab® and its full line of monitoring and control products, visit www.bluelab.com

Thanks for your letters

Rick Donnan

I have a few suggestions to help us better identify your problems, and hence give the most appropriate answers: • Some of your letters are very long. This is not a problem, but they will have to be edited down before publishing.

• Please keep your actual questions short, and limit yourself to one, or at most two, questions.

• Please comment as to whether you are a hobbyist or a commercial grower, and what crop you are growing.

• Please describe at least the basics of your system, especially whether you recirculate or not.

This is vital information, but often overlooked. Other useful information, if known, would be: media type, container size and depth, channel size, length and slope, solution volume per plant.

• For irrigation and nutrient questions, please describe your typical irrigation pattern over a day, plus how and when your solutions are made up. If you have had any analysis done, such as your raw water, please attach a copy.

• Include any extra information you wish.

Address your inquiry to: PH&G PO Box 225, Narrabeen, NSW 2101 AUSTRALIA Int: +612 9905 9030 Email: info@hydroponics.com.au

Question. should i use nutrient solution analysis or plant tissue analysis?

I am a commercial tomato grower, experienced in soil growing, but have now gone into hydroponics, using bags of coco peat. I am used to having tissue analysis done, but I have been told that I would be better off getting nutrient solution analysis. What do you suggest?

Answer It is not a matter of one or the other, but both have their place. In simple terms, nutrient analysis of your root zone solution is ‘proactive’ by helping you keep an optimal nutrient balance around the plant roots, hence avoiding most nutritional problems. Tissue analysis is most useful for positively identifying the problem when you have a nutrient deficiency or toxicity in the crop, hence it is ‘reactive’.

nutrient solution analysis Firstly, a few definitions.

By nutrient analysis I mean the full chemical analysis of the solution. That is all the nutrient ions, plus other important ions such as sodium and silicon. This is separate to the simple daily analyses of EC (electrical conductivity) and pH. The typical ions analysed are listed further on.

The important solution to be analysed is that of the solution around the plant roots, because this is what the plant has available to it. Because it is impossible to withdraw a direct sample from most media, the sample universally used is the run-off solution collected over 24 hours.

The run-off (or ‘drain’) sample should be collected over 24 20 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

hours from as large a number of bags as possible and from an unbiased location in the greenhouse. The fewer the number of bags the greater the possibility that the sample will not be representative.

root zone recommendations for tomatoes The following Dutch recommendation for root zone solution analysis for tomatoes comes from ‘Nutrient solutions and water culture for soilless cultures’ by de Kreij, Voogt and Baas, published by the Research Station for Floriculture and Glasshouse Vegetables, Naaldwijk, The Netherlands. I have converted their recommendations from milli-moles/litre to parts per million (ppm).

This is for a solution of strength EC 3.7 mS/cm and 33% run-off. macro nutrients: Nitrate NO3 as N 322 ppm Phosphate H2PO4 as P 31 Sulphate SO4 as S 218 Ammonium NH4 as N <7 Potassium K 313 Calcium Ca 401 Magnesium Mg 109 micro nutrients (trace elements): Iron Fe 1.40 ppm Manganese Mn 0.38 Zinc Zn 0.46 Boron B 0.54 Copper Cu 0.05 Molybdenum Mo 0.05

Note that these figures imply great accuracy. This is only because they have been converted from much smaller figures as millimoles/litre. For example, the recommendation for calcium is 10 millimoles, multiplied by its atomic weight of 40.1 gives 401 ppm, which would be better rounded off to 400 ppm.

Take care as to how your laboratory reports the results. For example, nitrate content can be reported as ppm N or as ppm NO3. The difference is the allowance made for molecular weight (MWt). If quoted as N, this is based on a MWt of 14 for nitrogen N. If quoted as NO3 this is based on MWt of 14 for N plus 3 x 16 for oxygen O, a total MWT of 62. Hence, the ppm quoted as NO3 will be 62/14 = 4.43 times higher than the ppm quoted as N. Hence, for the recommendation of 322 ppm nitrate as N, would be 322 x 4.43 = 1426 ppm nitrate as NO3.

Comparison between analysis and standard When you get a run-off analysis result you need to take care with its interpretation. Most important is that the analysis and the standard need to be at the same strength (that is, same EC). This usually means that the analysis numbers need to be adjusted to the same EC as the standard. That is, if your analysis EC was 3.4 compared to 3.7 for the standard, you multiple every nutrientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ppm by 3.7/3.4 = 1.088. You can then reliably compare the modified analyses with the standard, to use as a basis for any corrective action you might make to your fertiliser formulation.

tissue analysis As mentioned above, tissue analysis is most useful in confirming any nutritional deficiencies or toxicities within the

22 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

plant. Interpreting the result depends entirely upon the laboratory you use, in particular how large is their database and how much expertise do they have, especially for your crop. Selection of a suitable laboratory is essential.

Once you have a reputable lab, it is essential that you strictly follow their guidelines for sampling your crop. These clearly state what part of the plant you are to sample and how it is to be done. This is critically important because the correct sample is the basis for comparison with their database. How to then prepare and despatch the sample is also very important and many labs will supply kits for this purpose.

Accuracy In both cases the accuracy of the analysis depends mainly upon how representative is the sample.

For solution sampling, the more plants from which the sample is collected the better. Care also needs to be taken that the sampling container is appropriate and located so that it is not exposed to direct sunlight.

For tissue analysis, sampling the correct part of the plant is critical. Because only a small number of plants (or even just a single plant) are sampled there is potentially a much bigger error here. Tissue analysis is inherently less accurate than solution analysis, but can still be very useful.

There is also some possibility that the analyses by the laboratory may have errors. However, this would be rare for an experienced reputable lab. However, just in case there are doubts, it is wise to keep part of the original solution sample or another tissue sample. b Submit your inquiries to Rick Donnan Int: +612 9905 9030 Email: info@hydroponics.com.au

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GLOBAL GREENHOUSE GROWTH

tHe gloBAl CommerCiAl greenHouse mArket is PoiseD to grow At A CAgr oF ArounD 9.1 Per Cent over tHe next DeCADe to reACH ArounD $46.5 Billion By 2025.

How is AustrAliA PlACeD?

By Christine Brown-Paul In its recent report – ‘FAO in the 21st Century’ – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations outlines the urgent need to explore options to ensure food security in a changing world.

“Despite comprehensive initiatives, a decade into the 21st century the world is facing a number of complex and interrelated challenges, which have serious implications for the efforts of FAO, its member countries and partners to achieve global food security,” the report authors said.

ACCorDing to tHe FAo, tHese CHAllenges inCluDe: The world’s population is rapidly expanding and is projected to reach nine billion by 2050, with most of the growth in today’s developing countries.

Rural-urban migration is increasing considerably, again predominantly in developing countries, with urban areas accounting for 70 per cent of the global population in 2050 (against today’s 49 per cent).

Changing patterns in the types of food consumed are resulting from economic expansion, globalisation and urbanisation.

Natural resources are being subject to unprecedented pressure from human activities.

Marked climate and environmental changes are occurring, including more frequent disasters and emergencies.

Globalisation is affecting the agriculture sector and food security, with major implications for the free trade of food and access to markets and information as well as the availability of land for food production and food prices.

In a report – ‘Global Greenhouse Horticulture Market 2012-2016’ – by leading market research company, Research and Markets, this rising demand for food is said to be one of the major drivers in the global greenhouse horticulture market.

“The demand for food is expected to increase by 100 per cent by 2025. Intensive farming methods should be used to meet this increased demand for food; however, most agricultural systems can be negatively affected by certain environmental conditions. For instance,

unpredictable natural calamities and unexpected changes in weather conditions will negatively affect agricultural output,” said the report authors.

“In such a scenario, greenhouse horticulture gains importance because it allows the production of crops at a manageable temperature using a minimal amount of water. Hence, climatic changes and lack of water do not have a huge negative impact on greenhouse horticultural produce. Thus, the production of crops through greenhouse horticulture will help to meet the rising demand for food. This is driving the growth of the global greenhouse horticulture market.”

ACCelerAteD greenHouse growtH to HelP FeeD tHe worlD According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, greenhouse horticulture is defined as the production of horticultural crops within, under or sheltered by structures to provide modified growing conditions and/or protection from pests, diseases and adverse weather. In its broadest definition, greenhouse horticulture includes the use of greenhouses and glasshouses, shade houses, screen houses and crop top structures.

Controlled environment horticulture (CEH) is the most modern and sophisticated form of greenhouse horticulture. It is sometimes referred to as ‘controlled environment agriculture’. CEH combines high technology greenhouses with hydroponic (soilless) growing systems.

CEH makes it possible to consistently and reliably control or manipulate the growing environment and effectively manage nutrition, pests and diseases in crops.

In South Africa, agriculture professor Gert Venter has warned, “By the year 2050, predictions show 85 per cent of a total world population in excess of nine billion people will live and work in megacities, but these mighty cities have a terrible flaw different from all other cities in history – they cannot feed themselves.”

“This collision between huge demand – and huge scarcities – is making food the challenge of our time,” Professor Venter said.

“We will need to produce more food in the first half of this century than we did in the previous 100 centuries combined,” said Tony Kajewski, president of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Scientists at the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC) in Tucson are working on an indoor solution – indoor plant production where variables can be controlled.

“We need to grow a lot more food per square metre Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 25

and produce amounts we never, ever, believed we could,” said Merle Jensen, Professor Emeritus with the UA Plant Sciences Department and now with Greenhouse Vegetable Consultants, LLC. As an early pioneer in the development of agricultural plastics for greenhouses, the greenhouse industry veteran has spent a lifetime bringing the concept to creation.

“We’ve perfected controlled environment growing to the point where we’ve broken the sound barrier in growing vegetables in greenhouses,” Professor Jensen said.

“We’ve made headlines by producing 100 tons of (fresh market) tomatoes per acre in three months when outside yields per year were 50-60 tons.”

growtH oF tHe greenHouse seCtor As at January 2016, the acreage devoted to greenhouse vegetable growing globally is estimated at 473,466 hectares, according to a 138-page report, ‘2016 World Greenhouse Vegetable Production Statistics’.

The report collates published greenhouse industry data from more than 130 nations for the 12-month period from January 2015, along with contact details for listed producers.

Published in January 2016 by US-based specialists in international greenhouse vegetable production, Cuesto Roble (Oak Hill) Consulting (CRC), the report found that the amount of acreage devoted to vegetable crops grew by a healthy 14 per cent over the previous year.

Results from another recent market analysis report shows that the global commercial greenhouse market is poised to grow at a CAGR of around 9.1% over the next decade to reach approximately $46.5 billion by 2025.

This report – ‘Global Commercial Greenhouse Market Analysis & Trends- Industry Forecast to 2025’ – has been developed by leading market research company, Research and Markets.

The industry report analyses the global markets for the commercial greenhouse sector across all the given segments on global as well as regional levels presented in the research scope. The study provides historical market data for 2013, 2014 revenue estimations are presented for 2015 and forecasts from 2016 till 2025.

26 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

“The increase in R&D is one of the emerging trends in the Global Greenhouse Horticulture market,” said the report analyst.

“There is an increase in the involvement of various governments and other organisations in R&D in the Greenhouse Horticulture sector. For instance, the government of the Netherlands and other organisations such as Wageningen UR are engaged in the R&D of various aspects of the global greenhouse horticulture market.

“Wageningen UR is engaged in the development of a variety of sustainable greenhouse horticulture produce.

The various areas of research of the company include energy and climate, sustainable greenhouse horticulture crop protection, improved crop quality, reduction in water usage, reduction in emissions, advanced plant breeding, improved plant quality, and advanced production systems for greenhouse horticulture. This increase in R&D in the greenhouse horticulture sector is a major trend prevailing in the market.’’

Another recent report by RnR Market Research states that by 2020, the global commercial greenhouse market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.8% and reach USD 29.64 billion.

“Among the equipment used in commercial greenhouse, heating systems accounted for the largest market share, followed by cooling systems, in 2015.

Heating systems are considered as one of the vital requirements for the effective production of plants in commercial greenhouses. Greenhouses use radiant hot water heating systems for internal heating during cold weather conditions,” the report authors said.

“On the basis of type, the commercial greenhouse market is led by the glass greenhouse segment, followed by the plastic greenhouse segment.

“Glass is preferred for traditional glazing because of its permanence and beauty. However, glass is one of the least efficient materials for retaining heat due to its high heat transfer rate, as it allows the cold temperature to transfer easily and has poor insulating characteristics,” the report authors said.

“The demand for polycarbonate is increasing, as it is significantly stronger and more durable. The average durability of polycarbonate lasts for around 50 years, and requires very low maintenance. There are various grades

Greenhouses in Westland, The Netherlands.

of polycarbonate such as high heat polycarbonate, impact modified polycarbonate, and optical grades among others.

“For a greenhouse that has polycarbonate glazing where the polycarbonate is made from new raw materials and not recycled materials, the life of the polycarbonate increases. UV (ultraviolet) treated polycarbonate provides better clarity than polyethylene film and nearly as much clarity as glass,” they said.

“Among the crop type, fruits and vegetables accounted for the largest market share, followed by flowers and ornamentals, in 2015. Rising population, increasing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables, and urbanisation are expected to drive the market for fruits and vegetables in commercial greenhouses.

In 2015, the report says that Europe was estimated to be the largest and fastest growing market for commercial greenhouses. In the same year, fruits and vegetables accounted for the maximum market share.

“The evolution of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and commercial greenhouses took place in Europe due to the favourable climate for the adoption of greenhouse automation technologies and encouragement from governments,” said the authors.

“A large number of Europe-based companies have invested significantly in the research of various areas of greenhouse automation, including climate control, lighting, and material handling, among others. As a result of the all-round development in CEA, Europe has become a major market for commercial greenhouse technologies.”

During the forecast period 2015-2020, Asia Pacific is projected to be a fast-growing market for commercial greenhouses. The market is primarily driven by factors like higher yields compared to traditional agriculture and 28 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

the lack of arable land and unfavourable climatic conditions for agriculture.

greenHouses in tHe uniteD stAtes During the forecast period 2015-2020, North America is projected to be the fastest-growing market with the highest CAGR for commercial greenhouses. The market is primarily driven by the factors such as higher yields compared to traditional agriculture and the demand for rooftop farming.

More than 263 hectares of greenhouses are used to produce vegetables in the United States. Based on the latest US Census of Horticulture, annual sales from greenhouse production total $32 million (data from farms having $2000 or more in sales). The principal crops are tomatoes, European cucumbers, lettuce and peppers. These crops are grown using a variety of systems including bag culture, soil and hydroponics.

Tomatoes and European cucumbers are the major plant grown in California greenhouse and they are grown using bag culture.

“There are thousands of acres (under glass) in production already,” said CEAC director, Gene Giacomelli.

“There’s a growth trend, maybe not towards larger (facilities), but more of these facilities.

“We have 500 acres cultivated now in Arizona and a similar number in California where field production is still the bread and butter but the transition is occurring,” Mr Giacomelli said.

For the time being, however, he acknowledges that conventional agriculture will continue as a mainstay of food and fibre production with greenhouse production playing an increasingly important role.

“To expect hundreds of thousands of acres of

greenhouse farming to replace open farm ground is unreasonable, yet controlled environment production is a rapidly growing niche market,” Mr Giacomelli said.

The RnR Market Research report also outlines how significant growth in plastic greenhouses was observed in the North America region.

“Plastic used in commercial greenhouses is made in a manner that makes it more durable than regular plastic.

This specially made plastic can resist tearing and can withstand extreme weather conditions,” said the authors.

“The North American plastic greenhouse market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.”

AustrAliAn greenHouse seCtor According to the ‘2016 World Greenhouse Vegetable Production Statistics’ report, Australia is ranked fourth in world for greenhouse vegetable growers.

“With 103 listed greenhouse vegetable producers, Australia is fourth ranked in the world: the US, with 509, came in first, followed by the Netherlands, with 355 listed greenhouse-vegetable growing companies and Canada, with 207. Mexico (67), the UK (64), New Zealand (46), France (44), and Italy and Russia (both with 43) came in fifth to 10th place, respectively,” the report authors said.

Peak industry body, Protected Cropping Australia, (PCA), says that the protected cropping industry is the fastest growing food producing sector in Australia, valued at around $1.8 billion at the farm gate per annum.

In Greenhouse Horticulture – Beyond Australia, author Jeremy Badgery-Parker from the NSW Department of

Primary Industries says that the Australian protected cropping industry, specifically the greenhouse and hydroponic industry is at a point of change, and an opportunity to match it with the best in the world.

“For this potential to be realised, however, it is paramount that the industry actively seeks out information about greenhouse horticulture. In this regard, Australian growers need to learn from other industries and adopt appropriate practices,” Mr BadgeryParker said.

“Many of the challenges and constraints to the development of the Australian industry, including marketing, land use conflicts and waste management issues, are not unique to Australia. It is the co-operation of growers and long-term planning by government and industry that has enabled greenhouse horticulture to become the industry of the future for so many countries.

“Australia has fundamental comparative advantages in terms of our mild climate, labour, training opportunities, clean green resources, greenhouse research facilities and professional expertise. But the industry needs to adopt appropriate practices and technology for these advantages to be of use. Above all, Australian growers need to work together,” he said.

“The National Centre for Greenhouse Horticulture has an important role as the focal point in encouraging and assisting the Australia industry to gain access to information. It is critical that the facility be used to provide an ongoing visual text for the extension of research information and especially for training programs in this industry.” b

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 29

A worlD oF gooD in tHe uk, one Community interest ComPAny HAs DeveloPeD A grounDBreAking low-Cost HyDroPoniC system, Devoting uP to 30 Per Cent oF its ProFits to non-ProFit CAuses tHrougH innovAtive solutions For worlD FooD seCurity AnD sustAinABility.

The Phytoponics team (L to R) Dr Richard Perks, Adam Dixon, James Griffiths and Luke Parkin.

32 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

wHen FounDer AnD Ceo oF PHytoPoniCs CiC, ADAm Dixon First set ABout lAunCHing His ComPAny in tHe uk, He HAD more in minD As A CorPorAte mission tHAn Just tHe usuAl Business moDel oF AttAining mAximum ProFits.

Other members of the Phytoponics team include Dr Richard Perks CTO: leading researcher and project manager in advanced semiconductor technology and smart electronics; James Griffiths: physics graduate with expertise in advanced materials and IoT technology and; Luke Parkin: engineering graduate at the cutting edge of circular economy value analysis and business operation, and; Dr Simon Schofield: leading plant biosciences and bioengineering researcher.

“Phytoponics is a community interest company based in Cardiff, Wales and Pocklington, England. The company was founded after I assembled a team of four to develop the invention I had of a low-cost hydroponic system. We wHAt is tHe HyDrosAC talked about many surrounding agricultural technologies AnD How Does it work? and how we can integrate them into a company offering complete low-cost hydroponic farming solutions,” Made from a flexible plastic material, the Hydrosac holds Adam said. an internal water chamber with an integrated “What inspires me is a deep interest in exotic wildlife aerator inside. Holding the Hydrosac upright on the and cutting edge technology; combining these passions waterform is an inflatable rim that supports a porous with helping people is Phytoponics. netting. Plants enter the Hydrosac Agriculture plays perhaps one of the through holes in the top to rest on largest influences in our life in food, a porous layer. This layer is land, water and the environment – removable for inspection and developing productive and cleaning, and is configurable with sustainable agriculture for this either netting, holes for net pots, a century is a major challenge that we wicking fabric for low-power Designed for fast use by farmers at are excited to take on”. hydroponics, or other materials, a low cost – simply roll out, inflate, “Our core vision is to do our part depending on the crop or connect and grow. to increase food security for billions user configuration. and drastically reduce the With the aerator running environmental impact of farming on continuously, fed from a remote air the planet through accelerating the compressor or pump (mains, fuel adoption of hydroponics by farmers or solar battery powered), a highly through tackling cost, adaptability oxygenated nutrient Made from a flexible plastic and usability through effective solution nourishes the plant roots material, the Hydrosac holds product and service design,” he said. entering deep into the water body, an internal water chamber with Educated in Engineering at Cardiff and when the bubbles pop, a mist an integrated aerator inside.

University in Wales, Adam Dixon has sprays upwards towards the been exploring horticulture from a bottom of the plant. young age. Using his wealth of “For our non-powered practical expertise, Adam invented configurator, the aerator can be an innovative hydroponic growing turned off, relying on Kratky airsystem named ‘Hydrosac’ as a gap oxygenation, allowing lower solution not only for home and running costs and hassle,” commercial growers but also as a Adam said.

Diagram of the Hydrosac in action. growing application that can be used “With connections for drip Plants enter the Hydrosac through feed or circulating nutrient in any part of the world to holes in the top to rest on the alleviate hunger. solution, the Hydrosac is designed porous layer.

Using best practice business, for instant implementation by design and manufacturing technology, Adam is leading farmers at a low cost – you simply roll out, inflate, Phytoponics as “a disruptive new entrant to global connect and grow.” agriculture and food production with legally enshrined Adam first developed Hydrosac after 10 years’ hobby social aims and ethics.” experience with hydroponics growing and applying his

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 33

Inside the hydrosac.

1 metre Hydrosac.

skills as a design engineer.

“Hydroponics has always been fun, but it was difficult and high cost – I wanted to create a system that is highly affordable and easy to use. Hydroponics is THE best way of growing plants, but commercially speaking, it can costs millions of dollars a hectare to set up,” Adam said.

“Our system for farming is a fraction of the cost of NFT, raft, aeroponics and other hydroponic systems at a price point similar to rockwool but with far more features and versatility. It can be rolled up and shipped cheaply to you – all you do to install is roll out, inflate, fill, connect and plant to set up.

“It has a detachable top with different configurations, so in some you can grow from seed without power, others you can put in net pots, and others seed tape. This can be done remotely and you take these top modules to the installed Hydrosac for fast zip-up installation, and after harvest you can take off and clean, or inspect under them any time,” he said.

“The Hydrosac can be configured horizontally for DWC or Kratky hydroponics, vertically for aeroponics or fogponics, or on a slope for NFT hydroponics.”

The Hydrosac is Phytoponics’ first patent pending product of many and the company’s mission is to differentiate this invention first for multiple platforms: mass-scale agriculture, remote resilient farms, indoor vertical farms, home hydroponics, disaster relief, offshore hydroponics and art installations.

“Depending on how high-tech or low-tech your growing is, the Hydrosac can adapt for you with powered and nonpowered configurations,” Adam said.

AustrAliAn ConDitions 2 metre Hydrosac.

34 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Adam says that Australian farms are exceptionally placed in mastering resilient horticulture techniques due to water and temperature extremes.

“Commercial farms, which master production in harsh environments can do well to expand their farms internationally in Africa and Asia to do the world a lot of good,” he said.

“In Australia, temperature is the big issue, so it is energy efficient to chill just the water recirculating through the Hydrosac system through connected ports (screw, push fit, speed fit or hose fit). This can be done with solar powered thermoelectric chillers, a bit pricey but definitely worth it in the long term. Aeration is another feature, with integrated aeration on the bottom, you only need to connect air at one point and it will aerate the whole Hydrosac – you can put in just air, or add in CO2 or ozone whenever you want.”

“Because the system doesn’t need aggregate through using pure hydroponics and aeroponics, time spent fiddling, cleaning and transplanting is greatly reduced,” he said.

Adams said apart from the sheer effectiveness of the Hydrosac system, one of its most attractive features is its low cost.

“The biggest feature we have is the price – for home hydroponics we are pricing a 100cm x 80cm Hydrosac for £40 (AU$64) and a higher spec reflective one for £60 (AU$96). These can fit three tomato plants. Once you have bought a Hydrosac, you can customise it with the replaceable top – so if you want to grow from seed, grow few large plants, many small plants, or just use net pots, you can buy a custom top for £5 (AU$8),” Adam said.

“If you are a big farmer with acres – we make a high performance low cost Hydrosac for £20 (AU$32) per square metre – at first we will make 1m and 2m units, but soon we will make 10m-long Hydrosacs to grow crops affordably.

You can order it through our web-shop at Phytoponics.com and we will mail it out to you through air-express for one-week delivery from the UK.”

giving BACk As a community interest company, Phytoponics devotes up to 20-30 per cent of its profits to non-profit causes surrounding sustainable agriculture by delivering its technology and solutions to those who need them most, education, environmental activism and disaster relief.

“Most of the remaining profit is re-invested in expansion and it is our mission to make as big an impact on the world as possible, for good, ” Adam said.

“We are really excited to work with growers – the hydroponics community is exceptional in sharing information and ideas and we really hope to help growers everywhere afford larger installations so we can take over a lot of agriculture and make profits delivering sustainable produce to our growing world population.

“Through hydroponics, we can make a big difference globally by reducing water consumption, land usage and environmental impacts from agriculture to produce high quality produce for the people who need it,” Adam said. b More information at: www.phytoponics.com

PRACTICAL

PONICS & GREENHOUSES

Help us help you make our world a greener place.

If you would like to advertise here: Contact Mark Lewis Tel: +613 9432-5428 Email: marklewis@hydroponics.com.au

Changing our world one step at a time.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 35

All bottled up in PrimAry sCHools in tAsmAniA AnD tHe uk, reCyCleD Bottle greenHouses Are HelPing stuDents leArn lessons ABout sustAinABility AnD How to grow Fruit AnD vegetABles.

36 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Each child has their own space in the garden, designs their own planting schemes and then plants their chosen vegetables.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 37

Made from around 6,000 plastic bottles, the greenhouse is Youngtown Primary’s latest addition to a thriving outdoor classroom.

The greenhouse allows the school students to propagate their own seeds earlier in the year, meaning they won’t have to buy seedlings.

38 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

in launceston tasmania, students at youngtown Primary school are learning the finer points of sustainability through an innovative program where greenhouses made of recycled plastic bottles are installed in school grounds. other local schools have also taken up the idea, including glen Dhu Primary, riverside Primary and invermay Primary. the greenhouses are made in job-active provider my Pathway, a work for the Dole project in collaboration with Community enterprises Australia (CeA). the structures are offered to schools as a flat pack to help teach students about sustainability and recycling.

Participants of the My Pathway program are taught woodworking and other skills needed to construct the hothouses. The program has been an unqualified success, with some participants staying on after completing their work for the dole.

Principal of Youngtown Primary, Troy Roberts said the project is in line with the goals of the school.

“At Youngtown Primary School, learning is our core purpose and our foremost passion. Our school is widely acknowledged in Tasmanian and Australian education communities as an outstanding learning place for young people. This reflects an outstanding team of teachers and support staff and a community that genuinely commits to our school vision and our school-wide expectations,” Mr Roberts said.

“Our mission is to inspire our children to be the very best they can be, and to prepare them with the skills, understandings and personal attributes to thrive in their lives today and into an ever-changing future.

“These greenhouses are not only a direct benefit for the school vegetable garden but they also have very real educational opportunities for students when discussing what are global issues around waste, recycling, repurposing and growing your own food,” Mr Roberts said.

“As a school community we would like to contribute to this project by making a donation of PET bottles collected by our school families, which will then be used to make the next greenhouse.”

Made from around 6,000 plastic bottles, the greenhouse is Youngtown Primary’s latest addition to a thriving outdoor classroom that teaches students a range of skills from horticulture to cooking. Formerly a neglected space full of tangled blackberries, the area has been transformed into a productive garden, tended by the school’s students.

Youngtown Primary outdoor classroom teacher Brad Colson said the garden aims to be entirely self-sufficient and the greenhouse takes them a step closer to that goal.

“It’s pretty much a self-sufficient garden, in that what we Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 39

grow we keep replanting,” he said.

The greenhouse allows them to propagate their own seeds earlier in the year, meaning they won’t have to buy seedlings.

“It certainly increases our growing season, particularly with the frosts and stuff through winter we can start getting stuff up,” Mr Colson said.

Students learn all aspects of maintaining the garden, as well as harvesting and using the produce to cook with.

The move to outdoor learning is a global trend, with research showing improved learning outcomes in children that spend time outside.

An Early Learning Australia paper said, “Outdoor learning environments that promote children’s connections with nature and sustainability are engaging spaces for children and educators.”

There are physical, cognitive and psychological benefits to outdoor classrooms and also help develop skills like problem solving and improved social interaction.

uk stuDents Also CreAte A Bottle greenHouse In Suffolk, UK, students from Laxfield Primary School children have also made a greenhouse out of recycled bottles.

Produce from the school’s garden was recently served to parents and invited guests as part of a popular food and

drink festival. As part of Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival, staff and pupils from Laxfield Primary School served pumpkin soup, vegetable curry and apple crumble under a specially constructed marquee on the playing fields.

Under the school’s ‘food for life’ program, pupils are encouraged to understand how food is grown and how a combination of good nutrition and physical activity contributes to a healthier life.

The school has developed its own unique vegetable gardens and pupils have helped build the only greenhouse in the county built entirely from recycled plastic bottles.

Each child has their own space in the garden and they design their own planting schemes and then plant their chosen vegetables.

Riley Chapman, a pupil in year five, said: “It has been great creating the garden. It’s so fun to do and I have grown my own vegetables.”

The greenhouse is used to grow various varieties of tomatoes, chillies and peppers, as well as propagating plants for children to grow in their own gardens.

Lucy Hammond, head of school, said: “Building the greenhouse was a real team effort.

“The parents collected hundreds of bottles for the school to build it. It was a fantastic recycling exercise for the children. b

The school community contributes to the project by making donations of PET bottles.

40 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

In Suffolk, UK, students from Laxfield Primary School children have also made a greenhouse out of recycled bottles.

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Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 41

Weighing up the benefits weighing is one of the most fundamental metrics at the core of manufacturing processes, particularly in the packaged food and fresh produce sectors. An emerging trend during the current se Queensland strawberry season shows how looking at weights in a different light can improve product yields with some impressive results. other fresh produce sectors and manual packing operations can apply the same improvement for potentially considerable gains.

With escalating costs, and downward pressure on product prices, it’s vital to seek simple ways to increase productivity. In the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, many companies rely on manual packing processes, often utilising casual labour to pack into punnets, boxes or bags ready for supermarket consumers.

Typically, labour is the biggest cost to a business, but there is another that can go unmeasured – the cost of extra produce given away in overfilled packs, which can add up to thousands of dollars per week. Some local packing sheds are reducing this ‘giveaway’ with one simple change— using traffic light signals on their packing scales rather than having staff focus on the numeric weight display.

This simple idea has two immediate benefits – reducing overfilled packs and increasing packer speeds.

People respond to signals with far less thought process than looking at numbers – green means ‘GO’, red means ‘STOP’.

Packing scales with a target-based signal system offer immediate benefits for packing staff and management alike; stringent fill targets can be set for both upper and lower weight bands. Packing staff are able to quickly fill and check that products are correct, while the increased visibility of red/green lights means management can easily oversee performance.

Many modern electronic scales are able to send outputs to lights or buzzers. Many users may not realise this functionality exists so it is certainly worth checking with your local scale supplier/manufacturer. At several large strawberry farms and packing sheds in recent months, many ‘kitchen scales’ have been replaced with packing scales that incorporate this type of target signal technology, historically limited to more sophisticated and costly models.

42 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Braetop Berries near Queensland’s Glasshouse Mountains were surprised to find that re-checking several cartons of traditionally packed punnets produced several extra punnets of fruit when using traffic light scales. This was ‘money in the bank,’ according to father and son team Peter and Aiden Young.

Another local berry farmer, Terence Roy from Coolhaven Farms, cites improved packing speed as another instant benefit.

“Our packers work more efficiently since using the light signals on our new A&D scales – it’s made significant improvements to our productivity in both speed and reduced re-work of out-of-spec punnets,” Mr Roy said.

One of WA’s largest strawberry producers, Berry Sweet Farms has been ahead of this curve for some time – last year they replaced regular scales with ones that had LEDs built in, prompting packers when correct weights were reached. Owner Anthony Yewers has not looked back since.

“Preventing underweight punnets is essential to our business and customers, but reducing extra giveaway is a no-brainer – using traffic light signals in our packing scales has put a big tick in both these boxes,” Mr Yewers said.

While the above examples are from the berry industry, the ‘packing by lights’ principle is valid for any manual packing process where weight targets are set. The table grape industry uses exactly the same process in the field where fruit is packed into 9kg or 10kg boxes and also in packing sheds where punnets or bags are produced.

Julian Horsley from Japanese scale manufacturer A&D provides further insight.

“Scales with target-based outputs like traffic lights have been around for a long time; typically in more sophisticated models for automated processes. Recently, we’ve seen this type of feature added to lower-cost packing scales, making it a viable option for packing sheds that often have dozens of scales,” Mr Horsley said.

“Along with inline check weighing and data capture, scales with target-based lights are our biggest area of demand at present. With supermarkets pushing for more pre-packed fresh produce in Australia, we expect this to be a focal point for some time as growers and packers look to improve speeds and reduce giveaway.”

More information at: www.andweighing.com.au/products-service/ht- cl Also click the link above to view video.

MAkING THE CHANGE in germAny, greenHouse giAnt sCHerZer-gemuse uses BiomAss As An AlternAtive to nAturAl gAs to Power its new 10.5-HeCtAre glAss greenHouse.

44 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Stefan Scherzer said he chose to heat his greenhouses by biomass as a viable alternative to natural gas.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 45

Via a crane system different qualities of woods are mixed and via the bucket supplied into the burner.

DinkelsBüHl in soutHern germAny is A tyPiCAl germAn town oF tHe 15tH to eArly 17tH Century. surrounDeD By olD meDievAl wAlls AnD towers, it is A PiCturesQue villAge, AttrACting mAny tourists AnnuAlly.

Dinkelsbühl is also home to a biomass heating plant, which powers a 10.5- hectare greenhouse owned by German greenhouse giant, Scherzer-Gemuse based in Nuremberg.

Completed in 2014, the power plant was acquired in 2013 by Scherzer Vegetables along with four other shareholders and has since operated under the name TEAtherm GmbH. “We chose this location because of its proximity to cogeneration plant TEAtherm GmbH. We can use waste heat from the power plant for the CO2-neutral heating of our greenhouses,” said Scherzer-Gemuse co-owner Stefan Scherzer.

On 17 June 2015, Scherzer officially opened its new glass greenhouse in Dinkelsbühl in the presence of 800 guests. As one of the few horticultural companies in Germany, Scherzer uses the excess heat from biomass power station TEAtherm GmbH. This biomass cogeneration plant and a sludge drying plant uses fuels from renewable raw materials (for example, wood chips and landscaping material) to generate electricity. Scherzer uses the excess heat for a CO2-neutral heat supply.

A FAmily Business Scherzer Vegetables has a long family tradition. From small-scale farming with livestock, today, the company 46 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

has grown into a highly modern vegetable grower with computer-controlled systems engineering.

In 1980, head of the family Peter Scherzer took over the family business and ran it for over 25 years. Today, the operation in Nuremberg includes seven hectares of greenhouse space and in Dinkelsbühl 10.5 hectares, which were first put into service in 2014. There, the greenhouse area is heated by waste heat from the biomass cogeneration plant TEAtherm.

In August 2013, Scherzer Vegetables GmbH was founded, with Peter Scherzer and Stefan Scherzer as CEOs. Scherzer Vegetables has become one of the largest and most efficient growers in Franconia (Bavaria), with 50 permanent employees and more than 120 seasonal employees.

“Scherzer vegetables are grown under glass with biological plant protection and the return of unused nutrients and watering in the greenhouse not only ensures good flavour but also that the vegetables are rich in vitamins matured, crisp and full,” said Peter Scherzer.

“In our greenhouses cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers are produced in the so-called closed system. Closed cultivation systems bring a number of advantages with it: Any unused nutrients and watering are fed back to the plant in circulation after the treatment, the better for the environment.

“In addition, the greenhouse climate and the nutrient and water supply can be controlled very accurately by computer. This means resource saving economy, and chemical plant protection is unnecessary, since the plants find optimal culture conditions.

“We also use predatory mites, parasitic wasps, midges and bugs for IPM,” he said.

seArCHing For An eFFeCtive HeAting AlternAtive In 2005, greatly increased natural gas prices led ScherzerGemüse to reconsider some heating alternatives. For their seven-hectare location in Nuremberg they installed a wood chip heating system to heat their greenhouses.

The company’s new 10.5-hectare glass greenhouse in Dinkelsbühl is heated CO2 neutrally by the excessive heat from a biomass power station. Stefan Scherzer said he chose to heat his greenhouses by biomass as a viable alternative to natural gas.

“Around 2005, after gas prices nearly doubled over the last five years, heating of our greenhouses in Nuremberg became one of the major cost factors for Scherzer,” he said.

“In 2005, this amounted to 430.000 euros and was no longer sustainable.”

Although the company was a bulk purchaser, their gas supplier was not prepared to offer any better rates: they even paid more for their gas than neighbouring horticultural companies that used less gas.

“For this reason my father and I started to look for energy solutions as an alternative for natural gas,” Stefan said.

“Looking at the current climate change discussions, we preferred a wood heating system and network over a coal heating system, a 1.4 million euros investment. Profitability calculations by planning engineers assumed that is was possible to save about 50 per cent on heating costs.

Eventually, in 2007 we replaced gas for wood.

“In 2009, we installed a second vessel which doubled energy capacity,” he said.

Composting plant Ott Ökoenergy company from Nuremberg supplies Scherzer with wood chips, mainly originating from landscape management and forestry management. About 1000 tons can be stored in dry conditions at their 20 x 60 m hall, where the boiler is located in the front part of the building.

“Via a crane system, different qualities of woods are mixed and via the bucket supplied into the burner. This burner can take wood with a humidity level up to 60 per cent and copes with wood chips up to 15cm in length. Heat is directly supplied to the greenhouse or buffered in the heat storage tank, holding 1150m3,” Stefan explained.

In addition to their own greenhouse, the Scherzer’s wood chip heating system also provides two neighbouring greenhouses and Albrecht-Dürer-Airport.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 47

The Scherzer family business has a long tradition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from small-scale farming the company has grown into a highly modern vegetable grower.

In 1980, head of the family Peter Scherzer (R) took over the family business and ran it for over 25 years.

48 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

“Our greenhouse is equipped with advanced Dutch installations. Via heat exchangers low-grade energy from the factory (90 degrees °C) is directly supplied into the greenhouse. High-level heat is directly used in the greenhouse or stored in a heat buffer,” Stefan said.

The heat supply from the factory is sufficient to control greenhouse climate during all seasons. Their additional boiler will only be used as a back-up in case of a shutdown of the TEAtherm plant.

“The new chip-fired heating provides energy for the production of vegetables in the greenhouse. Also no carbon dust settles from the greenhouses and the surrounding area,” Stefan said.

“The heater is controlled entirely computer. Using ultrasound, the size of the chips is detected and the supply to the burner is fully automatic.

“From an environmental perspective we are pleased to make a contribution to reduce CO2 emissions. Our yearround produced vegetables, sold in the regions of Nuremberg, Munich and Stuttgart amongst others, carry the ‘Clima Ohne Grenzen label’. This illustrates that we produce climate neutral vegetables by CO2 compensation,” he said.

“However, taking the return on investment into consideration: with the increased prices of wood we do not realise the calculated savings that were initially predicted. Partly as a result of advanced automation, efficiently controlling climate, water and energy installations, we can still run a successful business.” b This article was submitted by Hoogendoorn Growth Management For more information: Hoogendoorn Growth Management. T: +31 (0)10 460 80 80 info@hoogendoorn.nl www.hoogendoorn.nl

Dinkelsbühl in Southern Germany is a typical German town of the 15th to early 17th century.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 49

Necrotic spots and chlorotic patches on mature leaves progress to spreading necrosis

COPPER: DEFICIENCY & TOXICITY DeFiCienCies or exCesses oF minerAl elements sHow in A numBer oF wAys: in Colour, Density, siZe AnD sHAPe oF leAves; in tHe tHiCkness AnD Colour oF stems AnD tHe lengtH oF internoDes; in tHe Colour, FiBrousness AnD tHiCkness oF roots; in tHe ABunDAnCe AnD timing oF Flowers; AnD in tHe siZe, Colour, HArDness AnD FlAvour oF Fruit. reCognising tHose PArtiCulAr eFFeCts is tHe key to DiAgnosing nutritionAl DisorDers.

By steven CArrutHers

50 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Copper (chemical symbol Cu) is one of the micronutrients needed in very small quantities by plants. The normal range in the growing medium is 0.05-0.5 ppm, while in most tissue the normal range is between 3-10 ppm. In comparison, the ideal range for iron in the tissue is 20 times higher than that of copper. Although copper deficiency or toxicity rarely occur, it is best to avoid either extreme as either can have a negative impact on crop growth and quality.

Copper is a transition metal element with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. The origin of the name comes from aes yprium (metal of Cyprus), where it was first mined by the Romans. The name has been corrupted to uprum, from which the words copper (English), cuivre (French), Koper (Dutch) and Kupfer (German) are all derived.

Copper is also used to control a wide range of fungal diseases on fruit trees and vegetables.

FunCtions oF CoPPer Copper is an important component of proteins found in the enzymes that regulate the rate of many biochemical reactions in plants. Plants would not grow without the presence of these specific enzymes. It is also required in the process of photosynthesis, is essential in plant respiration and assists in plant metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins. Copper also serves to intensify flavour and colour in vegetables and colour in flowers. research projects show that copper: • Promotes seed production and formation • Stimulates protein formulation • Enhances N utilisation • Activates several enzymes critical in the role of photosynthesis, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, and respiration has a significant influence on colour development and regulates the photosynthetic electron transport copper assists in the binding of free oxygen radicals which makes them harmless copper is important for lignification of cell walls copper is important for rhizobia production associated with legumes.

veins of the new leaves. Within the chlorotic areas of the leaf, small necrotic spots may form, especially on the leaf margins. As the symptoms progress, the newest leaves are smaller in size, lose their sheen and in some cases the leaves may wilt. The apical meristems may become necrotic and die, inhibiting the growth of lateral branches. Plants typically have a compact appearance as the stem length between the leaves shortens. Flower colour is often lighter than normal.

Excess potassium, phosphorus or other micronutrients can indirectly cause copper deficiency. Also if the pH of the growing medium is high, this can induce a copper deficiency as it is less available for plant uptake.

Factors to consider are: • Cu: Zn balance: high Zn levels will reduce Cu availability.

• Cu: N balance: high N uptake in the presence of marginal • Cu levels can lead to a reduction of Cu transport into the growing tips of plants.

• Cu:P balance: high solution and plant P levels can reduce Cu uptake.

• N stress: low N availability decreases the vigour of plants to an extent that it may fail to take up adequate amounts of many other nutrients.

Copper uptake can be affected in this way.

CoPPer toxiCity Excess copper in the growing medium can restrict root growth by burning the root tips and thereby causing excess lateral root growth. High levels of copper can compete with plant uptake of iron and sometimes molybdenum or zinc. The new growth can become initially greener than normal, then exhibit symptoms of iron deficiency or possibly other micronutrient deficiencies. If not corrected, copper toxicity can reduce branching and eventually plant decline follows.

Copper, like most micronutrients is more available when the growing medium pH is low, so if copper toxicity is occurring, test the pH of the growing medium. Also certain fungicides have copper as their active ingredient, so it is essential to rinse the foliage off before testing the tissue. Legumes tend to me the most sensitive plants to copper toxicity.

CoPPer DeFiCienCy

wHere to FinD CoPPer

Copper is immobile, meaning its deficiency symptoms occur in the newer leaves. Symptoms vary depending on the crop. Typically, the symptoms start as cupping and a slight chlorosis of either the whole leaf or between the

Copper is provided entirely by most water soluble and controlled release fertilisers, as long as they are applied at recommended rates. Several fungicides have copper as their active ingredient and some will be absorbed Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 51

through the leaves. Irrigation water often provides some copper and in rare cases, it may provide excessive copper. Have the water tested to verify how much copper and other elements the water provides.

If additional copper is needed, using a complete micronutrient fertiliser is recommended to avoid providing too much copper and inducing a deficiency of another micronutrient. A single element application of copper sulphate or a chelated form of copper can be used, but use caution as there is a thin line between too

little or too much copper. Apply the product as a drench and not as a foliar spray, as it can scorch the foliage.

CoPPer AnD BrAss Fittings Copper and brass fittings should not be used in hydroponic or irrigation systems. Fertiliser salts are corrosive to metals such as copper, which is also a major component of brass. Therefore, pipes and fittings will gradually corrode away until useless. However, this is not the major reason for not using them. Copper and

Deficiency vs optimum in tomato. (Image yara)

Whitening of areas between veins of a mature leaf.

Growth reduction and chlorosis on mature leaves.

Deficiency in sugar beets notice the puckering in the leaves.

52 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

Wilting due to severe root damage.

brass fittings can easily lead to the copper concentration in the hydroponic solution rising to toxic levels, especially if the solution is recirculated. Pipes and fittings in hydroponic systems need to be inert to corrosion, with black polyethylene (Polythene) the usual material utilised by growers. b References: Donnan, R. (2015). Reader Inquiries: Should I use copper fittings in hydroponics? – Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses (http://www.hydroponics.com.au /issues/issue162/html5/), Dec 2015, Issue 162.

O’Sullivan, J.N., Asher, C.J. and Blamey, F.P.C. 1997. Nutrient Disorders of Sweet Potato. ACIAR Monograph No. 48, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra, 136 p.

O’Sullivan, J., Loader, L., Asher, C., Blamey, P. 1997b. Troubleshooting nutritional problems in a new industry: sweet potato in North Queensland. Proceedings of the First Australian New Crops Conference, Gatton, July 1996. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Australia.

Premier Tech Horticulture (http://www.pthorticulture.com /en/training-center/role-of-copper-in-plant-culture/) (Retrieved 20 Oct 2016) Rehm, G. & Schmitt, M. (2002). Copper for crop production, Nutrient Management Extension, University of Minessota (http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/nutrientmanagement/micronutrients/copper-for-crop-production/). (Retrieved 20 Oct 2016)

Copper deficiency – youngest leaves in this potato plant are permanently wilted and curled. (Image yara)

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 53

Uk TOMATO GROWERS MOVE TO 100 PER CENT LED LIGHTING in tHe uk, two Prominent tomAto growers HAve mADe tHe switCH to 100 Per Cent PHiliPs leD ligHting witH resulting imProveD yielD AnD QuAlity oF tomAtoes All yeAr-rounD.

Before moving to horticultural LED lighting, Flavour Fresh used natural light to grow its tomato crops, meaning no tomatoes were harvested between December and March.

54 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses .November . 2016

PHiliPs ligHting, A gloBAl leADer in ligHting, HAs AnnounCeD tHAt tHe uk’s lArgest tomAto grower, APs sAlADs AnD suPermArket tomAto suPPlier, FlAvour FresH solFresH grouP, HAve BotH ComPleteD tHeir First 12 AnD 10montH growing CyCles resPeCtively using 100 Per Cent PHiliPs leD ligHt. tHis mArks A trenD to move From HyBriD ligHting, ComBining leD AnD ConventionAl HigH-Pressure soDium (HPs), to 100 Per Cent HortiCulturAl leD ligHting to imProve yielD AnD grow Consistently tAsty, Fruit AnD vegetABles All yeAr rounD. APS Salads with its Wight Salads site in the Arreton Valley on the Isle of Wight is a leading supplier to many of the UK’s leading food retailers. The company’s mission is to grow high-quality, tasty tomatoes all year round. In conjunction with Philips Lighting business partner, CambridgeHOK, APS Salads moved to 100 per cent use of horticultural LED lighting with Philips GreenPower toplights and a double row of interlighting.

“Before with the hybrid HPS/LED system, we couldn’t achieve consistent crops at an affordable cost, and we were also producing too much heat via HPS lighting in the winter,” said Phil Pearson, group development

director at APS Salads and chair of the British Tomato Growers’ Technical Committee.

“However, after 12 months with 100 per cent LED, we are growing consistent quality tomatoes right through the winter that taste as good as mid-summer ones.

“Furthermore, we are using two-thirds less power compared to when we were running HPS-lit greenhouses. Plus we can better control the crop balance because we have total control over the heating and lighting as well as a strong ROI. The new more sustainable system will have paid for itself within three years,” Mr Pearson said.

Once the decision was made to move to 100 per cent LED lighting, it took Cambridge HOK only eight weeks from the order being placed to the LED lighting being switched on. The new horticultural LED lighting can produce a total of 220 mols/s/m20) at 2.7 mols/Watts, which outperforms other manufacturers in terms of efficiency.

FlAvour FresH Based in Southport in Lancashire, Flavour Fresh Solfresh Group is one of the leading UK salad producers and supplies leading supermarkets with Sweet Rosso, Piccolo, Santini and Tomkin varieties of tomatoes.

After 12 months with 100 per cent LED, APS Salads are growing consistent quality tomatoes right through the winter that taste as good as midsummer ones.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 55

Before moving to horticultural LED lighting, Flavour Fresh used natural light to grow its tomato crops. This meant that no tomatoes were harvested between December and March.

In contrast, since Philips Lighting business partner Agrolux implemented 100 per cent LED with two lines of horticultural LED interlighting and toplighting at the 0.5ha area of the greenhouse, Flavour Fresh will now be able to grow tomatoes all year round.

Andy Roe, production manager at Flavour Fresh said, “The dawning of the LED era is without doubt the greatest innovation in horticulture since the invention of the tractor.

“Philips Lighting has developed horticultural LED light to unlock the science of plant physiology and passed on this technical wizardry to benefit growers and food consumers.

“The total LED installation gives 100 per cent control to

Andy Roe, production manager at Flavour Fresh based in Southport in Lancashire.

56 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016

us as a grower. The lighting and heating work hand in hand to reduce the need for ventilation and in turn, this reduces the total energy requirement by up to 35 per cent which is a win-win situation for the environment,” he said.

Flavour Fresh is expecting an increase in yield of its tomato crop using the LED technology by around 30 per cent.

“APS Salads and Flavour Fresh are a testament to how 100 per cent LED light can bring reliability of yield and taste all year round in growing fruit and vegetables,” added Udo van Slooten, business leader for Philips Lighting’s Horticulture business.

“This removes the black cloud of unpredictable weather throughout the seasons that can have a dramatic impact on the bottom line of a grower’s business.” b More info at: www.flavourfresh.com or www.philips.com

APS Salads on the Isle of Wight is a leading supplier to many of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost food retailers.

APS Saladsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mission is to grow high-quality, tasty tomatoes all year round.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . November . 2016. 57

PRACTICAL

PONICS & GREENHOUSES