Posted July 1st, 2009
by Erik van Berkum
Over the last years you see a lot of new greenhouse models on the market which should enable us to produce sustainable food without using extensively natural resources. In the photos below you see some concept currently tested or in full production in the horticultural produce sector.
You have another concept, inform me I am more than happy to add them.
Solar Greenhouse
Solar Greenhouse
Sun Wind Greenhouse
Elkas Greenhouse
Elkas Greenhouse
Seawater Greenhouse
Seawater Greenhouse
Flowdeck Greenhouse
Flowdeck Greenhouse
Sunenergy Greenhouse
Plant Factory
Village Farms Gates production Principles
Tags: Bergerden, Closed Greenhouse, Desert Greenhouse, Elkas Greenhouse, Energy Cluster Greenhouses, Flowdeck Greenhouse, Greenhouse without gas, Plant Factory, Seawater Greenhouse, Semi closed greenhouse, Solar Greenhouse, Sun Energy Greenhouse, Sun Wind Greenhouse
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Posted June 26th, 2009
by Erik van Berkum
Science behind the Method
Village Farms is a leader in agricultural research and foremost in North America for developing improvements in greenhouse production technology. Village Farms applied research division continues to invest tremendous resources in the areas of Climate Engineering, Plant Biology & Pathology, Entomology, and Ecology. For almost twenty years, Village Farms has been at the forefront of technological greenhouse innovation by developing creative solutions in challenging climatic environments, not to mention, has achieved and documented the world record for highest yield.
Partnerships
Village Farms scientists are engaged in partnerships with numerous academic and applied research institutes throughout the world to test and implement new technology in their greenhouse production facilities. Their state of the art greenhouse system is, in continued development, employing an integrated approach of theoretical and applied research methods. The end result is an efficient system from seed to fork built on proprietary intellectual property with capabilities like no other in the world.
GATES
Village Farms’ “crown glory” in applied research is their Greenhouse Advanced Technology Expert System (GATES). GATES system was created to perfect vegetable and fruit greenhouse production in high-sun and low-humidity areas. Adjacent to the facilities in Marfa, Texas this revolutionary greenhouse is a combination of unique and valuable intellectual property. The entire project is a multi-million dollar investment developed using new concepts in greenhouse design technology, climate control, and crop management. Utilizing new combinations of hardware, software, sensors, and control systems, GATES technology has defined industry standards in advanced food safety principles, production levels, and environmental stewardship values for greenhouse production.
GATES CAPABILITIES :
365 day production of high quality fruit providing 100% fulfillment of customer requirements.
contained environment excludes all outside pests while inside pests are controlled with IPM (Integrated Pest Management), making GATES production 100% insecticide free.
production levels are 60% higher than average greenhouse production.
yield 20-30 times more product per acre than conventional field production
technology achieves lowest price per pound in the industry today.
uses 100% of water with no waste and recycles 100% of irrigation drainage to conserve water and fertilizer.
is designed to use waste heat to warm the greenhouses.
is designed to recover CO² from boiler and power plant exhaust to utilize plant for increasing crop growth.
uses 3 types of evaporation to cool and humidify the greenhouse.
water efficient growing system for tomatoes requires 1/7th of water usage, compared to field grown tomatoes, further translating into an 86% savings in water usage.
has the most sophisticated plant monitoring available, including cameras, plant temperatures, water uptake, and growth rates. These measurements are all minute by minute in real time.
uses the plant measurements and software models to fine tune the greenhouse conditions
technology can be transferred to high density population centers, therefore, reducing ‘food miles’ and thus, the overall carbon footprint.
can harvest solar power from excess sun radiation and convert to electricity.
Tags: Gates, Horticulture, produce, Production Concept, Village Farms
Posted in English, Greenhouse, Horticulture, Production Concept, Sustainability | No Comments »
