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Feeding Roots Via Nutritious Mist
First lettuce from French aeroponic greenhouse
The roots of the plants are hanging in the air. Nutricients, needed for the growth, are directly sprayed under the roots. This way a one hectare greenhouse equipped with the CombaSystem would be able to produce 750 tons of salad per year.
The recently installed pilot greenhouse is 5,000 sqm. From the location in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, French retail and foodservice markets will be supplied with fresh salads and herbs.
The greenhouse is an initiative from CombaGroup and Les Crudettes . Les Crudettes is the French leader in bagged salads, CombaGroup is a Swiss agro-technology company active in aeroponic solutions.
Since 2013, CombaGroup has developed an innovative technological solution for growing healthy, pesticide-free salads and aromatic herbs. Its pilot greenhouse is installed in Molondin (Vaud, Switzerland). Since mid-February their first commercial greenhouse has been operational in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire (France). Comprising 5,000 sqm, it will supply French retail and foodservice markets.
To celebrate the launch of this first commercial project with Les Crudettes and to share further information about the partnership and the project, CombaGroup will host an event at Châteauneuf-sur-Loire (France) on 2 April. Over here the CombaGroup's Mobile Aeroponics will be presente.
"This solution of soilless agriculture in controlled-environment greenhouses reduces water consumption by 97 per cent and makes it possible to avoid any use of pesticides and phytosanitary treatment (including biological)", the team with CombaGroup explains. "Our farming system is committed to delivering the vegetables of the future with sustainably produced agriculture that benefits both the environment and consumers." To achieve this, nutrients necessary for the natural growth of plants are directly sprayed under the roots.
Mobile Aeroponics
"The CombaSystem™ contains two key innovative elements: mobile aeroponics, which is the automated spraying of a nutritive mist on roots hanging in the air, and space optimisation thanks to growing plates that move according to the stages of development of the product”, says Serge Gander, CEO of CombaGroup.
"As an innovation in innovation, this mobile and evolutionary system with additional faster harvest facilitation, immediately attracted the attention of French customer Les Crudettes, convincing them to implement the first CombaSystem™ greenhouse in France."
“The lettuce production and demonstration greenhouse located in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire is coupled to our bagging facilities, will allow us to deliver the freshest products possible to our customers”, says Thierry Dubois, General Manager of Les Crudettes.
Publication date : 3/27/2019
Author: Arlette Sijmonsma
© HortiDaily.com
Opportunities For Evolving Horticulture
Greenhouse Technology Village
Macfrut (8th-10th May 2019) introduces the Greenhouse Technology Village, showcasing the producers of technologies, materials and technical means, seed producers and specialized nursery gardeners with the aim of increasing protected crops to extend the supply calendars and defend them against extreme events.
The brains behind the Greenhouse Technology Village is Luciano Trentini, who explained that "the area will showcase opportunities for an increasingly evolved agriculture. Everything focuses on competitiveness. Horticulture is evolving in Italy and it will grow over the next few years as well: we need to keep up to date with what the others are doing and with the latest technologies. We need to increase productivity while diminishing inputs, saving water and limiting treatments."
The exhibition will be accompanied by the "Il futuro della serricoltura e la serricoltura del futuro" convention (The future of greenhouse production and greenhouse production of the future - 9th May). Organized with the scientific collaboration of Cecilia Stanghellini from the Wageningen University & Research Greenhouse Horticulture Unit. The meeting will discuss production trends for the European and global fresh produce market and new technological trends.
Speakers from the Netherlands (Cindy van Rijswick, Fresh Produce Analist, Rabobank), Spain (Roberto García Torrente, Director Innovación Agroalimentaria Cajamar, Almeria), Morocco and Eastern Europe (Paolo Battistel, Ceres) will attend.
These countries believed in the new soil-less production techniques (substrate, NFT systems, Floating System, greenhouse air conditioning and artificial lighting) and are now the protagonists of the international vegetable market.
The convention will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the sector, which can now benefit from the advantages determined by renewable energy, which can contribute to their development. Stefania de Pascale (University of Naples), Giorgio Prosdocimi Gianquinto (University of Bologna), Massimo Lucchini (Idromeccanica Lucchini) will the topic. There will also be a round table "Cosa serve per rendere la serricoltura italiana a prova di futuro?" (What do we need to make Italian greenhouse cultivation future-proof?).
Contacts:
Cesena Fiera
Via Dismano 3845
47522 Cesena (FC) - Italy
Tel.: +39 0547 317435
Fax: +39 0547 318431
Email: info@macfrut.com
Website: www.macfrut.com
Publication date : 3/18/2019
© FreshPlaza.com
Canada: Lettuce Lads Launch: Hydroponics Technology in Canmore
Date & Time
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM MDT
Location
The Greenhouse
60 Lincoln Park
Canmore, AB T1W 3E9
Canada
Lettuce Lads are opening the greenhouse doors and you're invited!
From January until now, the Lads have been building a proof of concept for their innovative system in the greenhouse on Lincoln Park (Canmore, AB). Now it's time to swing the doors open and show everyone how their patented design has come to life.
Launch Event details:
'Open house' style event from 5-9PM on Tuesday, April 23rd
Learn more about hydroponics and check out the Lettuce Lads system (currently growing Quinoa and Lettuce)
Snacks and beverages provided by local Bow Valley businesses
Short presentation from the Lads at 730PM about the system and long-term plans
Get your 'Early Bird' tickets now to receive a free Lettuce Lads Jute Grocery Bag and a chance to win an assortment of local Bow Valley products. Limited quantities of this ticket type available.
Presentation happens at 7:30PM, so be sure to be in attendance at that time to hear about locally grown produce in Canmore and the plans for the future.
Agricultural Technology in Canmore?
Yes! To be specific, it's an innovative hydroponics system for sustainable, local, year-round food production! The design can be implemented indoors or inside shipping containers to create portable farms that can operate anywhere.
Check out a timelapse of the build process for the system's structure on YouTube.
A New, Sustainable Food System
Lettuce Lads have big plans, and their high-density hydroponics technology is only step one. They want to see positive change in the food system, and they believe that it starts with an emphasis on sustainability and local development.
To learn more about the Lettuce Lads - their current hydroponics system and future plans - be sure to get your tickets for the April 23rd Launch today!
FAQs
What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?
On-site and street parking is available but limited. Public transportation and/or carpooling is recommended but not required. The Greenhouse is located at 60 Lincoln Park in Canmore, Alberta.
What is happening at the event?
The event is 'open-house' style so attendees are encouraged to visit at any point between 5PM and 9PM. During that time, the Hydroponics System will be on display and members of Lettuce Lads will be available for questions. However, the Lettuce Lads presentation will happen at 7:30PM. The presentation will briefly cover Lettuce Lads' plans for growing produce in Canmore, their long-term goals, and how they plan to move forward.
How can I contact the organizer with any questions?
Lettuce Lads can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: info@lettucelads.co
Website: LettuceLads.co
Facebook: @TheLettuceLads
Instagram: @TheLettuceLads
Do you plan to sell produce in the Bow Valley?
Yes. While we don't plan to be farm operators on a large scale, we do plan to have 1-2 shipping container farms in Canmore in the near future. We will offer our produce via local grocery stores and restaurants.
Do you only grow lettuce varieties?
No. We are currently growing quinoa and lettuce as an example of what our system can do. We plan to expand into other types of produce as we move forward.
Is your system available for in-home usage?
No. We are focused on large-scale food production, but we would be happy to direct you to other companies that provide indoor growing options for homes or offices.
Tags: Things To Do In Canmore Party Business
Rhode Island Governor Raimondo And Providence Mayor Elorza Welcome Gotham Greens To Providence, R.I.
From lamps to leaves: leading indoor agriculture company expands to New England with 110,000 square foot high-tech greenhouse facility at historic GE Providence Base Works site
NEWS PROVIDED BY Gotham Greens
March 28, 2019
PROVIDENCE, R.I and BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Link to additional Gotham Greens media resources
Pictured is a rendering of Gotham Greens' forthcoming 110,000 square foot high-tech greenhouse farm. Located on the banks of Providence’s Woonasquatucket River, the project will create approximately 60 permanent and 100 construction jobs.
On the banks of Providence's Woonasquatucket River, Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo, Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor, and community leaders joined Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, to officially announce and preview construction progress on the company's 110,000 square foot state-of-the-art greenhouse farm that will create approximately 60 permanent and 100 construction jobs. The facility is slated to open in early fall 2019 and will operate year-round to supply residents, restaurants, and foodservice customers of Providence and the greater New England region with 10 million heads annually of delicious farm-fresh lettuce and leafy greens grown with minimal environmental impact to preserve our natural resources.
Located at 555 Harris Avenue, the site, which had been vacant for two decades, was once home to Providence Base Works—a bustling General Electric facility that employed hundreds of workers to manufacture lamp bases. "Gotham Greens is a shining example of the type of innovative, sustainable, and community-minded businesses we envision will help to reinvigorate the Woonasquatucket River Corridor," said Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza. "By supplying fresh, healthy produce and well-paying jobs for Providence residents, Gotham Greens will serve as a driver of economic growth in the capital city while generating a creative source of energy that will help better connect the neighborhoods along the River." "We are excited by the tremendous progress Gotham Greens has made on this project, as well as the potential this project holds for Rhode Island," said Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor. "Beyond the creation of jobs in its construction and ongoing operations, this project will further strengthen the state's already strong food sector, a vitally important industry in Rhode Island."
The $12.5 million project is a collaborative community effort, bringing in diverse stakeholders from local and state government agencies including the Office of the Governor, Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Office of Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Providence Redevelopment Agency (PRA), Providence Office of Economic Opportunity, as well as many other City of Providence staff and community members. Gotham Greens has deeded a portion of its property to the City and is collaborating with the PRA in order to create a publicly accessible bike path along the Woonasquatucket River that will connect riverbank communities to downtown Providence. Gotham Greens will partner with community organizations to increase access to healthy foods and support wellness and nutrition education, ag-tech research, and environmental education programs across the region.
In support of this project, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation has committed up to $2.3 million in tax credits, payable over a 10-year period contingent on actual job creation. In addition, DEM has awarded $250,000 as part of their Brownfield Remediation and Economic Development 2016 Green Economy Bond program, and the Providence Department of Economic Opportunity has committed $200,000 for job creation and training.
Using advanced growing methods that include recirculating hydroponics, big data-driven climate control intelligence, and renewable energy, the facility is expected to produce approximately 30 times the yield of conventional agriculture per acre, while using 90 percent less water. "Gotham Greens is an exciting, innovative company, and I'm thrilled to welcome them to Rhode Island," said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. "Rhode Island's green economy is growing, and we're emerging as a national leader in sustainability. Gotham Greens' commitment to reducing their environmental impact makes them a perfect fit for our state."
With this project, Gotham Greens is continuing its rapid growth of building high-tech indoor greenhouse farms across the U.S. Since its pioneering greenhouse launch in 2011, Gotham Greens has grown from a single urban rooftop greenhouse in Brooklyn to a multi-state indoor farming leader and one of the largest hydroponic leafy greens producers in North America. Gotham Greens currently operates more than 180,000 square feet of greenhouse in New York and Chicago and has an additional 500,000 square feet of development underway across five U.S. states, including previously announced projects in Chicago, Ill. and Baltimore, Md.
"We are thrilled to partner with the City of Providence and State of Rhode Island on this project," remarked Gotham Greens Co-Founder and CEO Viraj Puri. "Providence is the perfect location for us, strategically located at the gateway to New England, the city has a rich legacy of manufacturing, world-class institutes of higher education, and a thriving local food culture. Geographically, New England is farthest from the West Coast, where the majority of leafy greens distributed across the U.S. today are grown. Once we're operational, Gotham Greens will be able to supply this region's supermarket retailers and foodservice operators with a consistent and reliable supply of fresh produce grown right here in New England year-round. Furthermore, using our proprietary indoor growing methods, we can implement rigorous health, safety, and traceability measures—from seed to harvest—that far exceed those of conventional commodity agribusiness to ensure that we are growing the highest quality, safest products on the market today."
About Gotham Greens
Gotham Greens is a global pioneer in urban greenhouse agriculture and a leading consumer brand of premium-quality local produce and fresh food products. The company grows its produce using ecologically sustainable methods in technologically sophisticated, climate-controlled, urban greenhouses. Gotham Greens provides its diverse retail, restaurant, and foodservice customers with a local, reliable, year-round supply of salad greens, herbs, and fresh food products grown under the highest standards of food safety and environmental sustainability. The company operates more than 180,000 square feet of greenhouse across five facilities in New York and Chicago and currently has 500,000 square feet of greenhouse under development in five U.S. states. Gotham Greens was founded in 2009 in Brooklyn, New York, and currently employs over 160 full-time team members and is growing.
For more information, visit www.gothamgreens.com
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SOURCE Gotham Greens
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NatureFresh™ Introduces New Sustainability Initiatives and Team Member
Leamington, ON (March 29, 2019) - NatureFresh™ Farms is leading the way in the farming industry by expanding their facilities, providing year-round Ontario grown produce and introducing their new sustainable practices along with their most recent addition to the NatureFresh™ Farms team.
On April 3rd to 4th, NatureFresh™ Farms will be sharing their achievements in sustainable development by featuring their new eco-friendly compostable tray at this year’s Canadian Produce Marketing Association convention & tradeshow. Sustainability is a topic that has continued to be a focus of the company since the beginning and has seen an increased amount of interest throughout the industry. NatureFresh™ Farms maintains sustainability as a priority by continuously working with suppliers to develop new technology in their greenhouse operations and packaging.
By launching this new compostable packaging for both their conventional and Organic Mini Cucumbers, attendees will get an opportunity to see the tray while learning more about the role of sustainability within the produce industry.
In addition to their compostable tray, their greenhouse expansion will also assist in meeting their sustainability initiatives by reducing food miles with more locally-grown produce in their greenhouses. The expansion has been a large project that will be occurring over the coming months and once complete will increase their production and efficiency in the growing process, while consistently providing high-quality products, giving Canadian consumers a greater opportunity to purchase locally-grown produce throughout the year. The new facility will grow more Tomato assortments, with supplemental lighting assisting in year-round production.
NatureFresh™ Farms is also thrilled to announce the expansion of their team with Retail Sales Account Manager, Conor Chilvers. Conor joined the company early this March and will be accompanying them at the convention this spring. “I am excited for my first show as part of the NatureFresh™ Farms team,” shared Conor. “I’m really looking forward to introducing my customers to the brand and telling the NatureFresh™ story”.
Executive Retail Sales Account Manager; Paul Schockman, also shared his excitement for the upcoming show and the arrival of Conor. “We are very pleased to welcome Conor to our team, having multiple years of experience in the produce industry, he will be a great asset in supporting our rapid growth and servicing our customers in the best way possible,” said Paul. “NatureFresh™ Farms has a lot of exciting things occurring this year with our sustainable initiatives, the expansion of our facilities and the growth of the team, which we are eager to share at the convention, along with showcasing our new products and packaging alternatives.”
With 20 years of providing quality greenhouse grown vegetables all year-round, NatureFresh™ Farms looks forward to the future with their continued advancements in sustainable technology and product innovation. Be sure to visit the NatureFresh™ Farms booth #408 from April 3rd to 4th and connect with their team to learn more about their sustainable efforts.
Video: 7,000 sq.m. of Hydroponic Lettuce
Lettuce is a short growing season plant, that is why it is more and more popular as a spring vegetable cultivated under the cover. It is mainly grown on substrates such as mineral wool and hydroponic systems. In heated greenhouses, lettuce can be produced all year round. Seedling production lasts from 3 to 6 weeks. Optimal germination temperature is within a range from 18°C to 20°C.
Similarly to other crops, light is one of the most important production factors. Light deficiency might be particularly harmful for seedling and lettuce at the time of the head increase.
Inappropriate lighting, can cause the internodes to lengthen and slow the absorption of nitrogen compounds. Lettuce belongs to the long day. To ensure its optimal growth conditions, it needs at least 12 hours of light access. Especially in autumn and winter periods, it is necessary to use additional lighting sources.
One of the key issues of using LED technology for lighting crops, is its ability to adjust the spectrum, to achieve favorable commercial values of a given plant.
Thanks to the LED COB Leafy spectrum, which has been developed jointly with world specialists engaged in the cultivation of lettuce, plants are characterized by much better growth and visual condition. Furthermore, lettuce stays fresh longer, even on the shop shelf.
In January 2019, Plantalux's horticulture LED COB lamps have been installed on 7000 sq.m. area, as seen in the video below.
For more information:
Plantalux
Jakub Lachowski.
+ 48 730 730 478
jakub.lachowski@plantalux.pl
http://plantalux.pl/en/home/
https://pl-pl.facebook.com/plantalux/
Publication date : 3/25/2019
India: "The First Large-Scale Automated And Soilless Greenhouse In The Country"
The world is now waking up to agricultural practices which are environment-friendly and guarantee healthy produce. India is also channeling into this growing consciousness. We are witnessing an organic food revolution in the country. Taking this a step further, the D.S. Group has now brought hydroponic technology to India with its latest venture, Nature’s Miracle. The term hydroponics means “working water”. It is a soil-less technology for growing high-quality, tasty and healthy fruits and vegetables in a natural way.
Located in Greater Noida, the facility is India’s first large-scale fully automated hydroponic glass greenhouse. In this kind of farming, plants are grown without any soil and all the required minerals and nutrients are supplied through water. So how does this work? The roots of the plants are put in an absorbent inert medium, like coconut husk, a substitute for soil. At the Greater Noida facility, cocopeat is used as a seed base instead of soil. Completely pesticide-free, hydroponic farming is miles ahead of organic farming, as it nullifies the effects of harmful chemicals that might be present in the soil. Thus, consumers get the healthiest produce possible.
About bringing hydroponic farming to India, Ravi Kumar, co-founder of Nature’s Miracle, said, “We realised that hydroponics was the future and started exploring more about it. We wanted to bring this world-class agricultural technology to India. Initially we faced issues in terms of location, weather, consistency in taste etc. But now we are facing the bigger challenge of changing the mindset of consumers and making them try our produce.”
To this, Anchal Kumar, Partner at Nature’s Miracle, added, “These products are so healthy and fresh. The taste is consistent and they are a great option to snack on.”
The official launch of the brand was celebrated at the greenhouse over the course of three days, from 7-9 March. For the occasion, celebrity chefs Vicky Ratnani and Manish Mehrotra curated dishes using the fresh produce from the greenhouse.
Chef Vicky Ratnani talked to us about his views on this advanced agricultural technology and the importance of healthy produce. “Technology and innovation are there for the wellness of people. It should extend to the agricultural sector. You pay the farmer, and not the doctor. It’s a global cause. Knowing the traceability of products is important for us as chefs. But I think consumers should also know where the produce is coming from,” he said.
Rhode Island Governor To Welcome New Urban Greenhouse Farm In Providence
Event on Thursday March 28
Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo, Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor, and other members of the community will join Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, for an official announcement and construction preview at its first urban greenhouse farm in New England, located at the site of the former General Electric Base Works facility in Providence, R.I.
The 110,000 square foot farm is slated to open in early fall 2019 and will create approximately 60 permanent and 100 construction jobs, the company said. The facility will operate year-round to supply residents, restaurants, and foodservice customers of Providence and the greater New England region with 10 million heads annually of lettuce and leafy greens.
When: Thursday, March 28 2019
10:45am - Noon
11:00am speaking program
RSVP to jackie@gothamgreens.com
Who: Confirmed speakers include:
• Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo
• Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza
• Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor
• Co-Founder & CEO of Gotham Greens Viraj Puri
• Providence Director of Long-Range Planning Bonnie Nickerson
Where: 555 Harris Ave. Providence, RI 02909
Please consider appropriate footwear, as this is an active construction site
For more information:
Nicole Baum
Gotham Greens
Ph: +1 (718) 935-0600
media@gothamgreens.com
www.gothamgreens.com
"With Digital Agriculture, Some Improvements Are Automatic"
Jian Jin, Assistant Professor of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, knows to make progress, one must continuously move forward. The mindset is reflected in his life, and in the plants in his automated greenhouse.
Jin first found success in the phenotyping industry, designing imaging systems for plant screening. After finishing a milestone facility construction project in industry, he decided to switch to academia to continue the exploration of new phenotyping technologies. Jin joined Purdue, drawn by the opportunities to bring new ideas to life.
“We do higher risk, higher reward research as we explore frontiers,” says Jin. “Then, when we find something, we publish those findings. Many other people can adopt those new developments or technologies to be applied.”
In one of the greenhouses his lab oversees, Jin utilized conveyors for an advanced imaging system that enables researchers to perform automatic hyperspectral imaging of over 100 potted plants on an hourly basis. Stationary plants are affected by microclimates within a greenhouse. In a single room, factors like lighting, sunshine, temperature and air circulation can vary significantly.
Jin’s studies show that the conveyor system can eliminate 90% of plant variance. This assures the recorded differences between plants stem from genetics, not environmental factors.
Scanning the plants hourly provides a crucial advantage for Jin. Rarely are other plant images and manual measurements performed on a single plant more than once a day.
“Plants have a biological clock. It’s very different from time to time,” says Jin. “If, when I’m sleeping, you measure my heartbeat or blood pressure, those features are very low. Right now, I’m actively talking. If you measure my biological features now, everything is actually much higher. After jogging, you can imagine, it’s very different. It’s actually the same situation for plants.”
Precision is also the reason Jin uses hyperspectral imaging. While human eyes see visible light in three bands, hyperspectral imaging detects a broader spectrum and measures in narrower bands. The hyperspectral cameras can gather up to 10 terabytes of data each day. With such an influx of information, Jin places a high value on colleagues with the expertise to sift through vast sets of data.
“The image processing and data processing scientists behind the equipment are very important. For hyperspectral cameras, each pixel can have hundreds or thousands of values. How do you store and process that data? With better processing, you can see your imaging results in just a few hours or even immediately after the imaging.”
Digital agriculture innovations continue to stem from Jin’s lab. A second automatic high-throughput phenotyping greenhouse utilizes an overhead collection of cameras that travels to the plants. The greenhouse system simulates the remote sensing of a drone in the field and offers a combination of hyperspectral, thermal, and 3D imaging.
Purdue engineers developed a handheld hyperspectral imager with Jin’s lab as well. It compactly provides the benefits of a precise signal with a lower price than similar offerings.
Jin’s next endeavor is an outdoor automatic imaging system at the Agronomy Center for Research and Education. Upon its completion this summer, a hyperspectral camera will automatically traverse a rail approximately 25 feet above the field, providing remote sensing in a fairly high frequency.
“My goal here is to keep developing ideas,” says Jin. “The best sensor system for the next generation… We have to take some risks. We have to do something people have never done before. With all those new ideas, many will fail. We’ve failed several times already, but sometimes we try some new ideas that work and improve the value for farmers and consumers.”
Jin continued, “This is a really exciting time at Purdue. Different modes of automatic phenotyping, different cameras. We’ve learned a lot from these facilities.”
Source: Purdue University (Chad Campbell
Greenhouse Co2 Measurements For Higher Productivity And Higher Quality
We have collected the essential facts for you to take into account when selecting an instrument or searching for the optimal instrument location.
Greenhouses are demanding environments for measurement devices. We have collected the essential facts for you to take into account when selecting an instrument or searching for the optimal instrument location.
The following topics are covered in the document:
The importance of CO2 measurement control in a greenhouse
CO2 for plant growth
Tips for selecting an instrument for a greenhouse
Tips for transmitter placement in the greenhouse
Fill in the form given in the link below to download the PDF document and learn about greenhouse CO2 measurements to optimize plant growth.
https://www.vaisala.com/en/lp/greenhouse-co2-measurements-higher-productivity-and-higher-quality?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=GreenhouseManagement&utm_campaign=&utm_content=CO2MonitoringInGreenhouses
MicroGenesis Provides Locally Grown Microgreens
March 5, 2019
WESTOVER — Just across the Monongahela River in Westover, Jordon Masters, a native to the state, has been working on what he believes will be a game changer for the Appalachian community.
MicroGenesis was founded by Masters after he won the business plan competition hosted by WVU in 2015. Through the competition and networking, Masters was able to grow his venture.
“It really helped launch everything,” Masters said. “I was a student at the Launch Lab back in 2014, so they were able to help me get to know everyone I needed to know to get funding and get this project off the ground.”
Masters said during the time he was studying at WVU, the farm-to-table movement was taking off. He recognized flaws that came with local farmers competing with corporations.
“The issue then and still now is people want to buy local products, but the quality, consistency and the price points are not really competitive with what somebody would get from Sysco,” Masters said. “I wanted to look at how we can make a product that has consistent quality and is as good or better than what people are currently getting, while still costing the same amount.”
MicroGenesis supplies locations such as the Mountain People’s Co-op, Sargasso, Hill & Hollow,
Table 9, and Morgantown Marriot hotel. It also supplies wholesale distribution through the Crook Brothers, a distributor outside of West Virginia. Masters plans to eventually turn the greenhouse into a model for other farmers in the state.
“Let’s say there is a farmer here in Monongalia County who is primarily a cattle farmer but wants to diversify his agricultural portfolio or supplement his income a little bit more. He can take this model and use it on his farm,” Masters said.
The greenhouse is able to basically operate itself through the technology rooted in it. Masters plans to teach other local farmers how to operate the technology necessary to sustain this type of greenhouse.
“The whole greenhouse operates on a cloud system,” Masters said. “Around the greenhouse, there are about 40 different sensors that monitor everything from temperature and humidity to light and CO2 levels.”
Although the greenhouse can essentially operate itself, the team at MicroGenesis is constantly prototyping new technology to create a smoother growing process.
“We developed the first tabletop-sized harvester, which makes harvesting a breeze,” Masters said. “The robotic seeder, which we are prototyping right now, should be ready in a few months.”
Masters said through the use of technology to monitor each process, it allows for consistency, so each and every plant grown is guaranteed to look identical to the last.
“We are trying to dial in on every single input that the plant needs, so every week the plants look exactly the same,” Masters said.
Along with consistency in taste and color, the plants in the greenhouse have a steady growth time ranging from five days to five weeks, depending on the variety of the plant.
“We sow and harvest every week, so everything is continuously rotating in the greenhouse,” Masters said. “Pretty much every week we sow one-quarter of the greenhouse and we harvest one-quarter of the greenhouse.”
Inside MicroGenesis, there are rows of microgreens, baby greens, herbs and mini heads of romaine lettuce, but because of its innovative design, the possibilities of what can be grown are endless.
“The irrigation system we designed is a hybrid system, so its hydroponic and non-hydroponic, but the beauty is it can grow whatever I want it to,” Masters said.
Looking forward, Masters hopes to see his project benefit other local farmers throughout West Virginia.
“We want to spread out amongst the state, so instead of having 100 acres of greenhouse under one roof, we have 100 acres of greenhouse amongst a whole group of farmers,” Masters said. “We wanted to do that, so we can develop what will probably end up being an agricultural revolution.”
TWITTER @DominionPostWV
This story was provided by Gabriella Brown
iFarm's Urban Greenhouses Deliver Organic Revolution
IFarm continues to carve out more real estate in the agtech space following an investment from Gagarin Capital. The technology will allow automated vegetable production in cities.
The project has raised $1 million to develops modular automated farms. iFarm makes it possible to produce natural vegetables, salads, and berries year-round.
VC fund Gagarin Capital is the project’s leading investor. JSergey Ryzhikov, CEO of 1C-Bitrix, Russian Association of Franchising board member Sergey Ambrosov, Atlas clinics co-founder Artem Rudi, and the Uniscan Research company made investments as well.
The purpose is to develop an innovative technology to grow produce in a fully controlled automated environment. Farmers will be able to harvest natural salads, berries and vegetables the entire year, including off-seasons.
MEET THE LEAD INVESTOR
Venture capital firm Gagarin Capital Partners (GCP) invests in AI-based products and services. The firm has 20 years of experience in VC, PE, and M&A to facilitate portfolio companies in wide spectrum of vital activities.
Gagarin uses a hands-on approach in its ventures from corporate governance to mastering new markets. GCP is known for building and supporting a strong community of AI experts and top-in-class engineers. The firm’s exits include Facebook’s MSQRD and Google’s AIMatter.
ABOUT IFARM
iFarm was founded by entrepreneurs Alexander Lystovsky, Maxim Chizhov, and Konstantin Ulyanov in June 2017. Their goal is to create a single engineering platform for food cultivation. The company launched its first urban greenhouses and vertical farms in the same year.
iFarm creates a technology where it is possible to plant vertical farms on year-round greenhouses. Urban crop production is now possible thanks to easy-to-use plug-and-play modules.
The company has formed a team of over 30 professionals by the end of 2018. Experts in agriculture, IT, engineering and sales teamed up to build five greenhouses and vertical farms. The team then opened its own shop, and set up partnerships with restaurants and food retail.
Founder and CEO Alexander Lyskovsky said that “the investments from this round will be used to develop technology and expand our team, including our engineering, construction and agro projects teams.”
Lyskovsky came up with the idea after living in Paris for a month. “One day I started to ask sellers about the delivery system of these products to the city, I was interested in how it works. As it turned out, the customers regulate it themselves,” he said.
iFarm plans to enter the international market in 2019. They also plan to add further development of iFarm technology if funding will allow. Lyskovsky looks to pilot the technology on the European market as well.
HOW IFARM WORKS
Indoor farming makes production convenient. Empty warehouses, workshops, basements, roofs of buildings etc. can accommodate farming units.
Each farm is connected to a cloud-based management system. The system sets growing conditions as well as a unified network of sales distribution. Crops are all treated organically without the use of pesticides or preserving chemicals.
iFarm assures fresh produce as crops are delivered to sales outlets within an hour of harvest.
WHY IFARM?
Companies do not need to study agriculture to go into farming. All they have to do is take modules on seeds, fertilizers, and electronics. Plantations will then be optimized for an urban environment. The process also requires less electricity, water, and fertilizer.
Small and medium enterprises can now download growing recipes from a centralized database. Enterprises can grow foods as easy as a press of a button.
US: New Solar Greenhouse Registered
Green Stream has registered its proprietary and unique design, solar greenhouse, with the cities of Los Angeles and New York.
"The Solar Greenhouse design is the result of a collaboration among architects Anthony Morali and Richard Hofmeister, in conjunction with plans and concept development provided by Green Stream and its staff. The concept of the Solar Greenhouse is to plant, to grow, and to harvest vegetables on rooftops that are currently unused and non-functioning areas of real estate on top of a building.", the team with the company explains.
"Large food suppliers, such as large market chains and food processors, will be able to grow up to 100,000 pounds of vegetables, such as lettuce (depending on roof space available), on an unused rooftop. The immediate benefit is that the vegetables are able to grow in longer cycles, and need not be picked before thoroughly ripe, thus making them fresher for consumers as well as less expensive as savings are passed on to the end users."
"In addition to those clients of Green Stream, the designs, having been registered with the building departments, will be available for others to use with the payment of a licensing and royalty fee to be determined.", the company concludes.
For more information:
GreenStream Finance
8335 Sunset Boulevard
info@greenstreamfinance.com
greenstreamfinance.com
Publication date : 2/22/2019
Six Spectral Channels: Osram Unveils Grow Light System For Horticulture Research
Phytofy RL is already being used by NASA and Michigan State University. Osram is using it to carry out research of growth, anthocyanins and taste, conducted in a climate chamber at the TU Munich.
Osram has developed a research luminaire to meet the growing demands of researchers at universities, private institutes and plant production in greenhouses and vertical farms. Researchers and modern agriculturists can use the LED-based plant luminaire system Phytofy RL in the lab or in climatic chambers in order to develop new plant-specific light and growth recipes. These recipes can lead to desired outcomes in plant quality, yield and flavor.
Each of the six spectral channels can be addressed individually with Phytofy RL and the intensity planned and managed precisely in real time.
Selective intervention
"Various light wavelengths and intensities allow selective intervention in the metabolic processes of agricultural crops and ornamental crops", Claudia Zehnpfennig, Global Product Manager with Osram explains. "Yield, coloration and taste as well as other features can be influenced in this way. The latest research shows that not only is this process impacted by photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) – in the range of 400 to 700 nanometers (nm) – but that shorter and longer wavelengths also influence plant development."
With Phytofy RL, six spectral channels – from a natural far-red end-of-day light to UV light – can be addressed individually and the photosynthetic photo flux density (PPFD) planned and controlled precisely in real time: 385 nm, 450 nm, 521 nm, 660 nm, 730 nm as well as a warm white channel with 2,700 Kelvin. At the same time, the large number of LEDs in the fixture allows a higher photosynthetic photon flux (PPF).
Claudia Zehnpfennig & her colleague Kelcey Trecartin last year on the Cultivate
Light recipes
According to Claudia, the highly uniform light distribution is a special feature of the system. "The calibrated system furthermore supplies a precise irradiance map, calculated by the software with no quantum flux measurements required. Use of Phytofy RL allows for evaluation of the most varied light recipes, without having to change luminaires between individual tests. Diverse combinations of wavelengths also can be programmed, in different light profiles and across the entire photoperiod." In addition, users get five light recipes following registration, which have been specially developed by Osram.
Use of Phytofy RL allows the researchers to evaluate the most varied light recipes, without having to change luminaires between individual tests.
Climate chambers
The system software was developed by Osram together with plant biologists and can be used intuitively via the graphical user interface. Manufacturers of climate chambers benefit too, with integration possible in their systems. "The flat and robust design (667 x 299 x 44 mm, just under 9 kilos) is optimized for vertical farms, rack systems and growth chambers."
Phytofy RL is already being used by NASA and Michigan State University. Osram is using it to carry out research of growth, anthocyanins and taste, conducted in a climate chamber at the TU Munich.
For more information:
Claudia Zehnpfennig
horticulture@osram.com
Osram
Marcel-Breuer-Strasse 6
80807 Munich, Germany
Phone +49 89 6213-0
Fax +49 89 6213-2020
www.osram.com/phytofy
Publication date : 2/27/2019
Korean Company Starts Building Hydroponic Greens Houses in Northern Tajikistan
The use of the hydroponic system will help increase productivity, according to the Sughd regional administration.
8 January 2019 14:39 (UTC+04:00)
South Korea’s Myung Sung Placon Ltd has begun building hydroponic greenhouses in the northern Sughd province. The hydroponic system has an ancient history and was reportedly used for building of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Trend reports referring to news.tj.
The use of the hydroponic system will help increase productivity, according to the Sughd regional administration.
The building of the hydroponic greenhouses began in the Somgor area of the Bobojon-Ghafourov district on January 7.
An official source at the Sughd regional administration says local “Bars” Company is a contractor and specialists from South Korea are implementing the project.
Sughd authorities have invited Myung Sung Placon Ltd to build greenhouses in the province, taking into account the company’s experience of work in the neighboring Uzbekistan, the source added.
Hydroponic growing is growing a plant without using soil - usually in an inert substance like rockwool or perlite, which hold the roots for easy water and nutrient absorption. Hydroponics systems back several hundred years, and there is evidence that ancient civilizations grew plants in water. Nutrients are vital to hydroponic success: there are sixteen essential elements that a plant needs to grow, and the right balance of these nutrients must be maintained for each specific variety of plants. Equally as important as nutrition are the factors of light, temperature (heating and cooling), and carbon dioxide. Insects play a key role in pollination and pest management.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and vines, resembling a large green mountain constructed of mud bricks, and said to have been built in the ancient city of Babylon, near present-day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq. Its name refers to trees being planted on a raised structure such as a terrace.
According to one legend, the Hanging Gardens were built alongside a grand palace known as The Marvel of Mankind, by the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (who ruled between 605 and 562 BC), for his Median wife Queen Amytis, because she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland. The construction of the Hanging Gardens has also been attributed to the legendary queen Semiramis, who supposedly ruled Babylon in the 9th century BC, and they have been called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis as an alternate name.
Big Tex Urban Farms is Using Hydroponics to Achieve its Million Servings Mission
Big Tex Urban Farms is Using Hydroponics to Achieve its Million Servings Mission
Big Tex Urban Farms and Hort Americas have partnered together to install, test and demonstrate a variety of hydroponic production systems while at the same time providing Dallas community organizations with locally-grown produce.
What started as an outdoor gardening project by the State Fair of Texas to better serve the local South Dallas community has surpassed what fair officials ever imagined might be accomplished. Jason Hayes, who is the fair’s creative director, and Drew Demler, who is the fair’s director of horticulture, devised a plan to start an outdoor vegetable garden in unused parking space.
“Big Tex Urban Farms started with a small budget in 2016 using 100 mobile planter boxes to grow food outdoors,” Demler said. “During that first year we got some decent yields. The food that we harvested was donated to two local charitable organizations.
“Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Institute in Mill City, Texas, is our primary beneficiary. The institute hosts a farmers market for the community on Tuesday and Friday. One of the institute’s main objectives is to get people eating healthy, fresh vegetables. We donate vegetables, including lettuce, collard greens, Swiss chard, basil and chives, and they in turn give the produce away. This is in a community where there really aren’t many other good options for fresh produce.”
Another local beneficiary of the fresh produce grown by Demler and his staff is Cornerstone Baptist Church. The church feeds the homeless six days a week.
“The church is involved with feeding the people who need food more than anyone,” Demler said. “The church had been receiving donated produce that was declined by area grocery stores. The homeless weren’t receiving anything that would be considered fresh and they weren’t receiving any greens or lettuces at all. We have been able to change that. A lot of what we donate to the church are leafy greens.
“We harvest our produce fresh the morning that we donate it. We probably don’t go more than 4 miles from our facility to any one organization. This is about as local as they are going to get unless they are growing it themselves.”
Expanding into hydroponic production
Demler said growing and donating fresh vegetables gave him and his staff an opportunity to develop good relationships with the organizations they were assisting.
“These local organizations were very happy with what we were doing to assist them in their efforts to feed people in the community that really needed help,” Demler said. “We also received some good media coverage which helped generate more interest in what we were doing.”
Because of the positive response from the groups being helped and some good media coverage, the budget for Big Tex Urban Farms was increased considerably in 2017. This enabled Demler to expand outdoor production to 529 outdoor planters.
“Also before the fair started in late September we installed a 30- by 15-foot hydroponic deep water culture tank in one corner of our largest 7,200-square-foot greenhouse,” Demler said. “We also installed six 8-foot tall vertical tower gardens. This was our first venture into hydroponic growing.”
The greenhouse had been used to grow ornamental plants including palm trees and bougainvillea, and to overwinter hanging baskets. It was also used as a plant exhibit room during the fair. Demler worked with the staff at Hort Americas to design and install the hydroponic production systems.
Higher yields with hydroponics
The amount of produce that was harvested from the hydroponic systems immediately got Demler’s attention.
The installation of hydroponic production systems has enabled Big Tex Urban Farms to expand its distribution of produce to more community organizations in South Dallas.
Photos by Jessie Wood, State Fair of Texas staff photographer
“In the short amount of time that we had installed the systems and started growing, we were very impressed with the results,” he said. “Our total production indoors and outdoors in 2017 was around 2,800 pounds of produce. By the end of April 2018 we had exceeded what we produced for all of 2017. This was one of the main reasons that we decided to expand our hydroponic systems. It is such a better and more efficient way to grow.
“Another reason we expanded the hydroponic systems was the overwhelming positive response from the public during the 2017 fair. In 2018 we turned the greenhouse into an indoor growing exhibit. The public had access to the hydroponic systems all 24 days of the fair.”
Achieving the Million Servings Mission
In September 2018 the State Fair of Texas announced it was implementing a Million Servings Mission. The mission was the brainchild of Jason Hayes.
“The main purpose of the mission was to create awareness,” Demler said. “Jason thought the mission was a really good way to raise awareness about the issues facing the residents of South Dallas and what Big Tex Urban Farms is trying to accomplish. Once Big Tex Urban Farms started producing crops hydroponically we were able to greatly expand our distribution. Even in 2019 we have been able to expand even further our food distribution efforts with the addition of the hydroponic production systems we are now using. Working with Hort Americas has enabled us to further our reach in regards to producing more food and assisting additional organizations. One of mission’s points is to give us the impetus to continue to grow figuratively and literally with the produce that we are able to donate.”
To measure achievement of the Million Servings Mission Big Tex Urban Farms calculates all of the produce that it donates.
“I weigh the vegetables and then send the pounds per variety that we donate to Jason. He keeps a spreadsheet and using a formula created by USDA converts pounds of vegetables into servings. We can actually determine relatively accurately how many servings of vegetables we have produced since we geared up our hydroponic production in 2018 and now into 2019.”
Helping Big Tex Urban Farms to be successful
Much of the equipment that has been installed in the Big Tex Urban Farms greenhouse was previously used in Hort Americas’ demonstration and research greenhouse in Dallas.
“Hort Americas has changed its focus from having its own demonstration greenhouse to putting our energy and resources behind making Big Tex Urban Farms successful,” said Chris Higgins, general manager at Hort Americas. “Hort Americas is providing human resources and grower knowledge along with access to innovative technology. The biggest thing that we are doing is teaching the Big Tex Urban Farms employees how to grow hydroponically. Hort Americas is sending staff to the greenhouse weekly to provide oversight, perform actual tasks and to collect data.
“Right now the facility has been equipped with 75-80 percent of the equipment that is needed in order to grow the crops hydroponically that they want to grow. There will be additional equipment installed as the budget allows.”
Big Tex Urban Farms is using LEDs on a number of its hydroponically-grown crops, including lettuce, collards, kale and all seed propagation.
Demler said Big Tex Urban Farms has been receiving hands-on support from Hort Americas tech support staff.
“Matt White helped us build our first deep water culture tank,” Demler said. “Matt also designed all of our lighting systems. He has provided us with technical assistance as we have expanded our hydroponic production systems.
“Diedre Hughes visits us weekly. She helps us log data, organize projects and assists us with whatever we need. This kind of technical support has enabled us to advance our food production at a much faster rate and we are very grateful for it.”
A variety of hydroponic systems, equipment
Big Tex Urban Farms has installed a second larger deep water culture system. It has also added three rows of Dutch buckets that are being used to grow tomatoes and bell peppers.
“We’ve also added a nutrient film technique (NFT) system,” Demler said. “The NFT channels were donated by Hort Americas and I built a simple system based on a couple of designs that I had seen including ones that Hort Americas was using. We are in the process of adding a second larger NFT system, which is going to be bigger and more productive. This second system was being used by Hort Americas in its demo greenhouse.
“We want to see which crops grow best in the NFT system. We will definitely do more lettuce. We will probably grow some herbs. I’m planning to do more of the cut-and-come-again greens, including collards, kale and mustard greens. These are crops that community residents are very familiar with.”
When Big Tex Urban Farms began growing hydroponically it started with one stainless steel GrowRack system for vertical production. It has since added three additional GrowRacks.
“The first GrowRack we installed has always been used for plant propagation to start all our seedling plugs that are transplanted into our hydroponic production systems,” Demler said. “The additional GrowRacks have been used for finishing different crops. The racks are very versatile. Right now we are using them to finish heads of lettuce. We can also grow herbs in them. During the run of last year’s fair we used the racks to produce microgreens and we’re still growing a small amount of microgreens in them.”
Big Tex Urban Farms is using a variety of hydroponic production systems including deep water culture, Dutch buckets and nutrient film technique.
When Big Tex Urban Farms added its second deep water culture system it installed a Moleaer nanobubble generator to deliver a supplementary source of dissolved oxygen.
“The Moleaer generator made a big difference throughout the summer,” Demler said. “We didn’t start producing out of the second pond until the summer. We really needed a system to oxygenate the water during the warm summer temperatures. It made a huge difference in the crops. We were able to do a great comparison in plant growth with and without the Moleaer generator. Our first deep water culture system is oxygenated with a Venturi. It was very difficult for us to harvest a crop out of the first deep water system because the roots of the lettuce would bunch up at the surface of the pond because there is less oxygen in the water. With the Moleaer generator we were consistently able to harvest lettuce.
“This summer we are going to be able to get a really good comparison because we were able to install GE LED top lights over the second pond right before the start of last year’s fair. We are looking forward to seeing the difference in crop production because of the Moleaer generator and the new LEDs.”
Big Tex Urban Farms is currently using LEDs and is looking to add additional lights.
“We are primarily using GE LEDs,” Demler said. “We have a few different versions of the GE Arize LEDs and we really like them. We also have a few OSRAM LED lamps.
“We are also going to be adding some new lighting systems. We may install some high pressure sodium lamps so that we can do trial comparisons with the LEDs. Hort Americas is also looking at a new LED that is nearly a one-to-one LED comparison to a high pressure sodium lamp. If those become available we will probably add those over some of our hydroponic systems and maybe over our existing vine crops which like high light intensities.”
Big Tex Urban Farms has installed 30MHz sensors throughout its greenhouse to ensure it is providing the optimum production conditions for its hydroponic crops.
Demler said he and the Big Tex Urban Farms staff are still trying to figure out the best way to use the hydroponic systems that have been installed.
“I’ve tried to ramp up production on the crops that I know are going to be popular and I know I can get people to start eating like lettuce, collard greens and the bunching greens,” he said. “I love to try new crops. We did bok choy last year in one of the deep water ponds. I even had some peppers growing in the deep water culture. We’ve grown different varieties of kale. I have also been thinking about other crops that we can try in the NFT system. If we add additional production space I’d like to try broccoli and beans.
“Strawberries are on Chris’ list to try. That’s a crop that he has put a lot of time and effort into. If he feels that it could be a viable crop for us, we’ll try growing them. We would like to try growing small fruit too. If we could make that work that would really get people’s attention.”
For more:
This article is property of Hort Americas and was written by David Kuack, a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, TX.
Pure Flavor®’s New Georgia Greenhouse Growing Results
Leamington, ON (March 6th, 2019) Now almost 3 months since their first picks of fresh greenhouse grown vegetables from their new Fort Valley, GA greenhouse facility, Pure Flavor® has started to change the landscape in the southeast.
“When we put the first shovel in the ground 18 months ago, we knew we had our work cut out for us as a project of this scope had never been built in in the Southeast”, said Jamie Moracci, President. To be built in 3 phases of 25 acres over 5 years, Phase 1 was completed in late Fall 2018 with the first crops of Cucumbers & Tomatoes picked in early December 2018. “We have a strong leadership team in place who have embraced the opportunity to create impact with a great product, the feedback from customers has been fantastic”, said Moracci.
The new greenhouse in Fort Valley, GA is growing the following items:
Tomatoes on The Vine
Sweet Red Cocktail Tomatoes
Long English Cucumbers
Mini Cucumbers
As a vertically integrated vegetable company with a family of growers throughout North America, the Georgia facility has opened new doors with a regionally grown product to service key retail & foodservice partners in the southeast. This has also allowed Pure Flavor® to open other markets with additional product as the company’s family of growers continues to expand season over season.
“Our team has done a great job in Fort Valley getting our first growing season under our belts. Learning how a crop will react to the environment has been a great experience to date and our Growers are adapting it to ensure the plants our producing in an optimal environment”, commented Matt Mastronardi, Executive Vice-President.
“When it comes to bringing new products to market like our new Georgia Tomatoes & Cucumbers, we have embraced the Georgia Grown brand to ensure that our customers know where the product is grown and who grew it”, said Chris Veillon, Chief Marketing Officer. The response to new products has been very positive on all fronts with feedback coming across all social channels and email. The new Tomatoes & Cucumbers were served recently at the Governor of Georgia’s Inaugural Luncheon when he took office.
Pure Flavor® will be exhibiting this weekend at SEPC’s Southern Exposure Trade Show in Orlando where the company’s focus will be on promoting the new Georgia greenhouse.
Construction of a new 60,000 sq. ft. Distribution Center will be wrapping up later this spring, located just off I-75, minutes from the greenhouse facility. The new Distribution Center will serve as a consolidation point which will provide an opportunity for a greater assortment of Pure Flavor® greenhouse grown vegetables to retailers & foodservice partners in the southeastern US region. Pure Flavor® operates distribution centers in Leamington, ON, Romulus, MI, and San Antonio, TX to support its vast network of growers throughout North America.
To learn more about Pure Flavor®, visit Booth 1120 at SEPC’s Southern Exposure in Orlando, FL March 9th or visit Pure-Flavor.com/SouthernExposure2019
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About Pure Flavor®
Pure Flavor® is a family of greenhouse vegetable growers who share a commitment to bringing A Life of Pure Flavor™ to communities everywhere. Our passion for sustainable greenhouse growing, strong support for our retail & foodservice customers, and focus on engaging consumers is built on a foundation drawn from generations of growing expertise.
We are the next generation of vegetable growers, inspired to put quality, flavor, and customers first by providing greenhouse-grown vegetables from our farms that are strategically located throughout North America.
CO2 GRO Announces Dramatic Pathogen Reduction Results Using CO2 Foliar Spray on Cannabis
TORONTO, ON – February 25, 2019
Toronto based CO2 GRO Inc. (“GROW”) (TSX-V: GROW, OTCQB: BLONF, Frankfurt: 4021) is pleased to provide further dramatic results from scientific pathogen experiments using CO2 Foliar Spray at two separate U.S. commercial cannabis greenhouses on cannabis sativa plants. These commercial growers financially supported this research.
All experiments were designed and measured consistent with GROW’s Pathogen experiments on peppers that were press released December 6, 2018.
Results:
E. coli – Another excellent result of a two order of magnitude reduction in E.coli bacterial growth (99%) in the CO2 Foliar Sprayed cannabis plant group versus the control cannabis plant group. All plants were exposed to the E.Coli bacteria. Results are consistent with GROW’s pepper results.
Powdery Mildew – All plants were covered with a known dried powdery mildew pathogen and grown for a further 21 days. Results were scored visually at these commercial sites. All six plants in the control group developed powdery mildew disease while none of the CO2 Foliar Sprayed cannabis plants developed powdery mildew.
Grower Implications – CO2 Foliar Spray is gaining traction with commercial agreements and more successful plant science and trial data. Accoding to Global Organics, the fastest growing acreage is organic, up 20% to 70M hectares Y-O-Y. CO2 Foliar Spray is proving to have some natural pathogen resistance that may lead to reduced need for chemical fungicides and pesticides and faster adoption by organic growers that cannot use them.
John Archibald, CEO, commented “we are delighted with the cannabis E. coli and powdery mildew results. Each trial adds to our collective knowledge.These U.S. cannabis results should have significant positive impact on our commercial endeavors.
About CO2 GRO Inc.
GROW's mission is to accelerate all indoor and outdoor value plant growth naturally, safely, and economically using its patent pending CO2 Foliar Spray technology. GROW’s global target retail plant markets are food at $8 trillion per year (Plunkett Mar 2017), non- food at an estimated $1.2 trillion per year with retail tobacco at $760 billion (BA Tobacco 2017), floriculture at $100 billion by 2022 (MarketResearch.Biz estimate). Legal cannabis at $52.5 billion per year by 2023 (Statista) and legal US hemp CBD at $22B per year by 2022 (the Brightfield Group).
GROW's CO2 technologies are commercially proven, scalable and easily adopted into existing irrigation systems.
The CO2 technologies work by transferring CO2 gas into water and foliar spraying water across the entire plant leaf surface which is a semi permeable membrane. The dissolved concentrated CO2 then penetrates a leaf's surface area naturally like nicotine dissolves through human skin from a soluble nicotine patch.
Foliar spraying of water, dissolved nutrients and chemicals on plant leaves has been used for over 60 years by millions of indoor and outdoor growers. To date, outdoor growers have not had any way to enhance plant CO2 gas uptake for faster growth.
Indoor CO2 gassing has enhanced plant yields for over 60 years but 60% of the CO2 gas used is typically lost from ventilation. Current greenhouse CO2 gassing levels of up to 1500 PPM are not ideal for worker health and safety. GROW's safer infused CO2 Foliar Spray can be used by both indoor and outdoor plant growers with minimal dissolved CO2 gas lost and much greater CO2 plant bioavailability resulting in higher plant yields than both CO2 gassing and no gassing plant yields.
Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on CO2GRO's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. Statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For more information, please visit www.co2gro.ca
Or contact Sam Kanes, VP Business Development at 416-315-7477.
22nd Annual Open House Gives Horticultural Pros An Upfront And Personal Look At All That Is New
(LOUDON, NH) – Building on the success of more than two decades of open house events, Pleasant View Gardens (PVG) and D.S. Cole Growers are at it again – opening their doors to industry professionals from around the world to visit their magnificent greenhouses and gardens on August 2nd.
“It sounds cliché, but after 22 years, we still get excited by all the opportunities this event affords attendees,” smiles Andy Huntington, National Sales Manager of Pleasant View Gardens. “Think about it. Where can you go to learn about all the wonderful introductions from Proven Winners®, pick up new ideas on how to successfully grow and sell these outstanding plants, rub elbows with some of the industry’s top professionals, AND have a little fun? Precious few. Which is what makes this event so popular with growers from all over,” affirms Huntington.
This year, Pleasant View and Cole will be showcasing more breathtaking annuals and recipes than ever before. Plus, they’ll have hundreds of perennials, shrubs, and vegetables on display, including PVG’s own Savor™ Edibles & Fragrants, as well as the new Proven Harvest™ line of herbs, vegetables, and fruit from Proven Winners®.
D.S. Cole owner, Doug Cole, is equally excited. “Getting a chance to show everyone what’s coming next year is always a rush for us. Even more so when we’re featuring plants that many may not have seen at Spring Trials.”
Attendees will also be given the opportunity to help chart the horticultural future by voting on some of the plants and recipes that will be created and trialed in the coming year. And, as always, visitors will learn the importance of how strong genetics deliver greater grower success – something on which Pleasant View, Cole, and Proven Winners® have always prided themselves. Open House guests will also be able to get answers to technical questions from staffers in-the-know, while gaining valuable knowledge networking with other industry pros. Add free refreshments and a tasty catered lunch, and the event’s a hit all around.
The 22nd annual Open House runs from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. on August 2nd, giving attendees a full day to tour and enjoy the beautiful gardens at Pleasant View and D.S. Cole – both of which are in Loudon, New Hampshire and just a short drive from each other.
Loudon, New Hampshire is around 35 minutes from the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, and 1 hour 20 minutes from the Boston Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. Located in the south-central area of New Hampshire, Loudon and its surrounding areas provide many recreational opportunities in early August.
Chris Schlegel, Head Grower at D.S. Cole suggests adding a couple side trips for those attending this year’s Open House. “The coast is just a short drive away, and we’re surrounded by gorgeous mountains and lakes. Coming in for our Open House would be the perfect time to explore all that our state has to offer.”
While the Pleasant View and D.S Cole Open House event is free to attend, greenhouse and nursery growers, retailers, landscapers, and brokers are required to register in advance to ensure their spot. For more information, or to register, contact D.S. Cole Growers at 603-783-9561 (office@dscolegrowers.com) or Pleasant View Gardens at 603-435-8361 (shanaf@pwpvg.com, www.pwpvg.com).
March 5th thru 7th, 2019 - Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE Learn About Vertical Farming, Greenhouses, Hydroponics And More
March 5th thru 7th, 2019
As an important aspect to increasing food security through the sustainable use of water and land, CEA includes Vertical Farming, Hydroponics, Greenhouses and more.
The CEA Conference will bring together leaders from across the world to discuss best practices, new innovations and increasing food security through entrepreneurship.
Register to visit
Controlled Environment Agriculture Conference
5th March 2019
Ensuring year-round local produce through controlled indoor farming
Damion Schwarzkachel, Consulting Engineer and Architect, Certhon
Food Security Through Entrepreneurship: Pathways towards Agriculture Independence in the GCC
Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder and Managing Director, Agritecture
Introducing the GravityFlow technology: A automated controlled environment plant production system
Per Aage Lysaa, CEO, Intravision Group AS
Digital Transformation challenges in Middle East's Agricultural & Food industry
Sage
Register to visit
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