Greenhouse management

Artin Demiri 1

GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION MANAGEMENTTomato and bell peppers

22.6.2015

Artin Demiri 2

Preface

Let me start the presentation by laying down a question: is it possible to increase production in greenhouses without increasing the cost?

….I will say yes!

Combining and harmonizing all the factors while growing vegetables in a greenhouse with mid tech technology, that target will be realized successfully.

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Overview

Specific expenses

1-Heat

2-Labour

3-Nutrition+IPM

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Greenhouse vegetables

OPERATION COST AND RENTABILITY

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Desire for keeping a tight budget, appropriate to all the steps for a better production practice, made me aware of the importance of dealing with statistics and judge the situation from the viewpoint of improvement.

Progressive steps and generating positive ideas, and should be seen as tools to improve the situation, being as productive as is necessary.

Knowing the situation

To have a good understanding of the greenhouse vegetable situation, I have been focused on specific data provided by OGVG. Observing over that data, I created my opinion about the expenses and the production of greenhouse vegetables in Ontario for at least five years. I also kept an eye on statistics Canada about the situation of greenhouse vegetables in Ontario, production and expense, as well as sales. With the aim to calculate narrowing of difference output/input and to have a maximized net profit, I overviewed the average expenses of the production vegetables greenhouses in Ontario.

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Real average gross profit m2 in greenhousesof OntarioData provided in those tables, is a summary of data presented by OGVG for years 2009, 2010 and 2011,2012 and OMAF/MRABased on that evidence about the farm gate sale and the total greenhouse acreage in Ontario for four consecutive years, easily the gross profit/m2 could be calculated.

(Fact sheet 2010,2011, 2012,2013OGVG) statistics Canada, Catalogue No. 22-202-X

FarmGate Sale

AcreageTomato PeppersCucies

GrossProfit/m2

Consecutive increase

Sales

Consecutive increase

Acreage2009 608 1824 82.3 N/A N/A

2010 641 1919 82.5 6 % 5 %

2011201220132014

698673783839

2067227224002550

83.473.280.581.3

8 %-4 % 14% 6%

7 %8 %5.5 %6.7%

Author :

Siva Mailvaganam - Statistician - OMAF/MRA 2009 608

Last Review

ed : April 2015

2010 667

2011 7002012 6732013 7832014 839

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Ontario greenhouse acreageAcreage and gross profit /m2 for four consecutive years

Acreage chart 011,012,013,014

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acre tom pep cucs2011 893 603 5712012 865 753 6542013 921 819 6582014 936 891 726

gross profit/m2 tom pep cucs

2011 78 77.5 93.8

2012 73.6 65 76.8

2013 84.5 73.3 84

2014 86.7 75 822011 2012 2013 2014

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

tomatopepperscucumbers

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Source: Statistique Canada CANSIM ,Tableau 001-0053,Enquette annuelle sur les serres…..2010

Ontario 2010( statistic canada 2010)

Materials

for growing

Gross

payroll

ELCTRICITY

Fuel

Other

crop

expenses

Other

op

expenses

Total

op

expenses

46(9%)

130.5(25%)

18 (4%)

92.5(18%)

66(13%)

160(31%)

513(100%)

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Average greenhouse expenses chart

mat for growing

gross payroll

electr

fuel

other cr exp

other op exp

total op exp

0 200000000 400000000 600000000

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Material for growing 5.8cdn Gross payroll 16.8 cdn

(only unskilled workers) Electricity 2.3cdn Fuel 11.9 cdn Other crop expenses 8.5 cdn Other op. expenses 20.6cdn ….. …………. Total=66.cdn/m2 N.O.during that year total payroll (skill + unskill) was 270 mil or 34.8 cdn/m2)

ref ANNE MISKOVSKY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER - OGVG

Average operative expenses/m 2 in Ontario vegetable greenhouses 2010Total acreage of vegetable greenhouses in Ontario for 2010 was 1919Average operative expenses for that acreage counted 513 mil Cdn.Calculated through that data, we could have a detailed substrate about the expenses indicators per m2 .According to statistic Canada during that year there were 2970 permanent workers and 2580 seasonal workers ; in total 5550 workers (unskilled labor).

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Average operative expenses in greenhouse industry Canada(2010)Total operative expenses, cdn/m2 and percentage

Chart of operative expensescdn/m2

operative 2010 cdn/m2 %

plant mat for growing 5.46 7.69

gross payroll 18.2 25,64electricity 2.38 3.35fuel 12.05 16.97other crop expenses 9.03 12.73

other op. expenses 23.85 23.61

total operating expenses 70.97 100

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plant mat for growing

gross payroll

electicity

fuel

other crop expenses

other op. expenses

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Series1

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Production and value of production in Canadacdn/m2The table shows some data about the production and gross margin of three main kind of vegetables grown in greenhouses.

2010

tomatoes production 50.87 kg/m2

value of production 92.57 cdncucumbers production 13.63 dz/m2

value of production 90.14 cdn

peppers production 24.43 kg/m2

value of production 73.43 cdn

average 85.38 cdn/m222.6.2015

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Modeling production and gross profit

Average price/kg Ontario tomato

bell pepper cucumber

average cdn/m2

Ontario

Year 2009 1.674 2.5151.203 82.3

Total area 82500 m 2(20 acres)

2009 production plant one Quantity

Ontario average

price cdn 38500 m2 19500 m2 cdn/m2 AverageTomato kg

3155675 1.674 5282600 2358125 1335099 102.5 Bell peppers kg

667775 2.515 1679454 24500 m2 66.5 Cucumber

pc/kg 702000pc456300 kg 1.203 548930

19500 m2

28 cucumbers +68.5 tomato

Average 91

cdn/m2

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14

Explanations(comparing to Ontario average)(2009)

In all the greenhouses described , there was a gross profit 91 cdn/m2 that means 9 cdn more than the Ontario average. Except of that, the expenses of production labor were reduced from 16.8 to 9.3, so 7.5 cdn less. In total, the profit was 16.5 cdn more (+7.5) compared to Ontario average, combining the production increase with the lowering cost of labor, 18% more profit was received. In that case, the gross rentability was 40% compared with Ontario average rentability of 20%. The amount of production is real; the price per kg is average of Ontario.

Due to the fact that the labor and the production variate in a dynamic way, other operative expenses are considered to be static. The rational labor usage, is a key factor that leads to the increase of production


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Analyzing expenses in greenhouse productionOperative expenses during 2009.

During that year , operative expenses in greenhouses were 513 mil CA. I believe this amount to be too much, especially the labour portion.

Having considered the structure of production in Ontario in 2009, based on my experience and specific calculations, there was a misusage of labor approximately 40%. So from 26% of general expenses, labor should have been around 15%. (only for growing). Efficiency of expenses of labour usage will combine all other expenses and would contribute to reduce them or to excess them as well . A knowledgeable and intuitive manager or supervisor, could contribute to reduce cost of production and increase the production.

Why the difference? ….management of labor is not a simple practice .

It is necessary to combine different concepts of labor organizing , technical abilities, knowledge about the living conditions of plant, how to keep up crop work with the phase of plant, weather, pest and diseases, etc.

Neglecting to do that combination in the right time and right way, would compromise the production and budget . Labor management is not a static scenario; instead it is flexible and adaptive, considering always which step is more important and urgent, which is wrong and which is good.

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Some examplesDeleafing Spraying Deleafing is an important part of crop

work process and of course part of general expenses. With deleafing, old leaves are taken off to make the distribution of organic matter more efficient. But the old leaves could be infected with fungal diseases or eggs of different pests. In that case de-leafing has double function; to take of the old leaves and to do mechanical cleaning of infected leaves. In that case, throwing the leaves on the ground is a very bad practice; the source of the infection is again inside the greenhouse and putting the leaves on the ground will boost the infection due to the increased temperature of the heating pipes.

Spraying in hot temperature is a bad practice, inefficient and more expensive. Why?

Because in the increased temperatures, the stomata's are close or almost close. They do not absorb the solution of spraying and the spraying efficiency is reduced. So, the result is double negative; putting the plant under the excessive stress with a negative impact to the production and making spraying more expensive because it is necessary to do it once more.


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2009 608/1824=0.3333 2010 641/1919=0.3340 2011 698/2067=0.3376 2012 673/2272=0.2962 2013 783/2400=0.3262 2014 839/2550=0.3290 …as a result there is a very tiny

increase in the last year, which means that even when the acreage is increased, production is in the same level or a slight increase but even though is lower than 2009

Annual progressive index

Using data of 2009 as a reference, let us analyze other consecutive years.So, the annual sale is divided by acreage and the result is called annual progressive index.In that index three factor are integrated as price, production and acreage.

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Average annual growth greenhouse vegetables chart (2009,10,11,12,13,14) Ontario

Last six years greenhouse index development chart

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Increase of farm gate sale and production during 20 years period(On) statistics Canada, Catalogue No. 22-202-X

Farm gate value 1992-2012 according the calculations the development of peppers to tomatoes was 3.4 faster,combining sales with production

Total production 1992-2012

Sale mil cdn 1992 2012tomato 18.7 257.5peppers 4.32 198.15cucumbers 21.12 203.3

prod ton 1992 2012

tomato 12.1 176.5

peppers 1.35 70.9

cucumbers 22.5 227.8

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Chart of development of vegetable greenhouse industry 1992 -2012,final gate sale and the amount of production…..tomato, peppers and cucumbers (fold)

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tomato

peppers

cucies

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

1992-2012 greenhouse veg-etables final gate sale increase

in ontario

tomato

peppers

cucumbers

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

1992-2012 greenhouse veg-etables production increase in

ontario

21

Average production and gross profit/m 2Ontario 2010-2011-2012-2014

Production and gross profit per m 2 are calculated .It is obvious that gross profit per m2 is lowered for two reasons :the production m2 is not increased and there is a negative impact of the price of unit/production.According to the OMAFRA experts expectation in the greenhouse industry is to grow locally at a rate of 2%-5% annually.

Anne M. MiskovskyEconomic Development Officer OVGV OCTOBER 18, 2011

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010 011012013014 010 011 012 013 014010 011012013 014

tom pepp cuc

kg/m 4947.150.5

51.1

50.2 24.5

23.923.6 25.424.7 ?

51.8247.450.948.7

cdn/m86.477.873.6

84.5

86.7 70.9

77.465.6 73.375

98.793.876.8 8482

increasedicrease % % %011

Prod 4 2

cdn 10 9 5

012

Prod 7 2

cdn 5 15

18

013Prod 2 7cdn 14 12 9

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Production equivalenceWith that term, I am trying to calculate the same amount of output, received from different amounts of production as gross profit. So for example, the same amount of money should not be received from the same quantity of different vegetables; everything depends from the market price and the cost per F.U.(functional unit – kg or m2)

Referring to the average market price of different greenhouse vegetables in Ontario for 2002-2012, and considering the cost of growing for specific vegetables,the equivalence of production, as a trend, is calculated below:

Tomato 55 kg/m2(1.6cdn/kg) Bell peppers 25 kg/m2(3.004 cdn/kg) Cucumbers 52 kg/m2(1.7cdn/kg) ….but that calculation depends from the growing season

and is orientative. For example if the tomato is produced during cold season (Winter , Spring and Fall)50 kg/m2 will be equivalent with 70 kg/m2 (Spring , Summer and Fall).


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2010,2011,2012 vegetable greenhouse industry growth chart in Ontario

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tom pepp cuc10 11 12 11 12 11 12

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

kg/m2cden/m2

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Production kg /m2 of greenhouse vegetables

Production of greenhouse vegetables/m2 010,11,12,13

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Production kg/m2 Tom Pep Cuc

2010 49 25.4 ?

2011 47.1 23.950.

8

2012 50.5 23.647.

4

2013 51.1 25.450.

9

2014 50.2 24.748.

7

tomato peppers cucumbers0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

201020112012

25

Knowing the situation is only the first step. Everyone could compare his situation with the average situation. Collecting data is not difficult. The difficult part is knowing how to interpret and to find out how to fit all the factors in a proper manner, with the aim to reduce the cost and to increase the efficiency for a better production. Being competitive means to integrate all the factors of the production through a scientific management, to optimize them and to do everything on time, in quality and quantity based on plants necessity, technically and monetary, performing knowledge, skill and experience.

Observation

I have collected some data to create an appropriate idea about the average general expenses of the process of producing vegetables in greenhouses in Ontario..The region where greenhouses of the province are built is the area of EKL(Essex-Kent-Lambton)and the greatest concentration is in the region of Leamington (83-85%).Being so, the deviation from the average data, might not be considered; instead should be taken to be appropriate in specific terms for a 10 acres greenhouse.

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Gross profit/m2

E.g. 100 cdn/m2 What to do? Let us do some math and harmonize the

necessary expenses within greenhouse, based on technique and organization.

It is necessary to analyze them one by one and at the end to try to put them together.

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Heat

Is the part of expenses that is second most expensive part . To keep heating a greenhouse during the year takes in average 20-35 % of general investment.A flexible use of heat, can increase or reduce the cost of production.

Let us say: keeping the heat to make it “cool”22.6.2015

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Heat calculation

How much heat is necessary to produce a certain quantity and how much is too much?

Let us calculate based on the heating degree days, and that number for the region of Leamington is 3600 heating degree days

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Let us calculateThere are 3600 heating degree days and is necessary to provide 3600 cal/gr water(amount of heat to boil 3600 g water from 0 -100 centigrade )that means 14500 joules for the cold season, with the reason to supply the condition of growing with a temp 18 degree Celsius. When the temperature is above 18 degree Celsius, there is not necessary any heat.

Based on calculations, the monthly heat request is (in %)Heating deegre day is a unit to tell how many centigrade is daily temperature differ tfrom18(e.g.18

Jan 20 % Feb 17 % March 15 % Apr 9 % May 3 % June July Aug Sept 2 % Oct 6% Nov 11% Dec 17 % ( addition as a reserve - 10% of the amount)

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Based in the number of heating degree days , the calculation is 1.9 Gj/m2.

So, to keep the greenhouse warm that amount is necessary.

However, we have to calculate the efficiency of boilers, heat loss from the isolation of greenhouse, loss of heat from ventilation and from the coverage as well.

At the end, the result is 2.4-2.5 Gj /m2The cost of heating, depends from the kind of supplies we use and the price of fuel.

Yearly heat /m2

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Growing specific heat request of vegetables Tomato For every kg of tomato to be ripened, 50

Mj is necessary.

That amount of heat is necessary to match with the amount an the intensity of light. If there is a imbalance, that amount could be reduced or exceeded.

Specific heat coefficient of vegetables compared to tomato

Tomato- 1 Cucumber- 1.04 Eggplant- 1.4 Pepper- 1.73

Peppers

For every kg of peppers to be ripened, Approximately double the mount is necessary approximately double amount compared to tomato - around 85 Mj /kg

In the cold season, it is necessary to be supplied by heating system.

note: to know how much heat is necessary for a certain vegetable we have to multiple the coefficient by specific heat of tomato….e.g. for eggplant 1.4x50=70,so 70 Mj heat are necessary for a kg eggplant to be ripen.

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Monthly heating chart based on heating degree days

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Series1

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Monthly percentage heat

jan feb march apr may june sept oct novemb dec0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Series1

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Heating and cooling degree days

Jan 699 Feb 610 March 520 Apr 326 May 128 June 25 July 2 Aug 5 Sept 63 Oct 216 Nov 404 Dec 608

Jan 0 Feb 0 March 0 Apr 1 May 15 June 68 July 134 Aug 105 Sept 38 Oct 2 Nov 0 Dec 0

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Light(PAR) and energy22 dec Light 17 mol Erg 9 mj

21 march Light 40 mol Erg 21 mj

22 june Light 60 mol Erg 32 mj

21 sept Light 40 mol Erg 21 mj

Latitude 42 north

daylight hrs 22 dec 9 hrs

22 june 15 hrs

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Light and energy chart(mol&j)

1-Mar 1-Apr 1-May 1-Jun 1-Jul 1-Aug 1-Sep 1-Oct 1-Nov 1-Dec0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

17

40

60

40

9

21

32

21

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Monthly light percentageTo have a better perception about light percentage all year around, I want to bring in your attention the quantity of it.Based on the percentage given, we can judge when is less, enough and too much.

Is the percentage of light sufficient on December and January?

Jan- 14 Feb- 27 March - 50 April- 65 May-Sept- 100 Oct- 41 Nov- 32 Dec- 14

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Percentage of light all year around

jan feb march apr may june july aug sept oct nov dec0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

month

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PAR of tomato and peppers

Tomato

Min 10 -12 mol

Good 14- 20 mol

High 22- 30 mol

Peppers

Min 10-12 mol

Good 14-20 mol

High 22-30 mol

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Saturation points and good light quality

Tomato 25 mol (400 -600 mmol/m2/sec) 13 mj

Pepper 43 mol (800-1200 mmol/m2/sec) 23 mj

Saturation point of those vegetables stands in that amount of light and above that quantity there is not any increase of photosynthesis efficiency and as a result no more organic matter is produced on leaves.

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Compensation pointCompensation point is the moment when all the organic matter produced during the daylight hours is consumed totally by the plant during night hours to do the respiration and nothing is left for reserve.(e.g.70 w/m2 tomato) Above that point, the plant begins to reserve organic matter and to give it to fruits.

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The ideal situation is to have a crop sitting in the range above the light compensation point but just at or below the light saturation point for the whole canopy. This will produce the best responsepossible for the light energy input.

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“Harnessing the sun”

Is necessary to manage the light and to match with the quantity of heat that we can supply.

At a certain point, we should have a complexity of different components such as light, temperature and CO2

Right combination of them, enhances the efficiency of photosynthesis----e , g for tomatoes is 1.8 g dry matter/ mj depend from L.A.I. (tomatoes -2.3,cucumbers -3.4 and bell peppers- 6.3) (highest value of L.A.I)

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Plant architecture

On “harnessing the sun”, it is important to have an optimal designation of plant – with the aim of sending the amount of organic matter on the leaves, as much as possible to the fruits.

The most worthy thing is to create a good balance between “sink” and “source”.

Creating a good balance fruits /leaves is a positive action.

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Heat usage and movement

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Combination of factors

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Monthly solar energy kw/m2/day in Windsor and Chatam-Kent(opt year)

jan 2.23feb 2.8march 3.69apr 4.33may 4.6june 4.89july 5.04aug 4.76sept 4.58oct 3.66nov 2.49dec 2.09

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Monthly solar daily energy(kw/m2) in Windsor and Chattam –Kent(opt year)


1

2

3

4

5

6

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Hourly energy(w/m2) all year around in flat surface

jan feb march apr may jene july aug sept oct nov dec0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Series1Series2

150

250

410

555

780

884

887

738

590

370

213

151

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Available energy from sun/m2

Saturation of tomato leaves inside the canopy happens at 170 w/m2 and for outer leaves at 210 w/m2

The main problem is how to manage the light and energy during months of December and January and to have production in winter.

Solar radiation inside the greenhouse is in average 400 w/m2,in June is 730 w/m2 and in December 220 w/m2

(Papadopoulos and Pararajasingham 1996)

P.S. There is an amount of sunshine electric energy all year around in that area approximately 1300-1400 kw/m2 .

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The optimal photosynthesis

Harmonizing light, temperature and carbon dioxide in the right amount is important for growers. Best conditions there are 45-60 % light intensity and temperature 22-25 centigrade (in greenhouse), which means March and April .

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Summary

Considering heat as an important part of production that increases the cost, it is necessary to manage it with efficiency, with the aim to reduce the expenses without decreasing production.

Is it possible?22.6.2015

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Labor

Labor expenses take the second top place in the cost of production . On average they take approximately around 20 % within the greenhouse of cost of production. Keeping a tight budget as well as doing a good plan is an important step to go forward for management. Being flexible and realistic is necessary to combine all the factors together.

Labor and agro technique used for the crops are in a close relationship

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Planning

A good and detailed plan, is base of all the positive results. Putting together two ends of the rope, will tell us the best way to achieve the goal and to determine the necessary steps.

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Keeping data in greenhouses

Tomato Bell peppers

Data is kept on two greenhouses, respectively 10 and 4 acres during growing season for crop work processes and picking.

Data is based on two greenhouses 10 and 6 acres for the production and the harvest is compared year to year.

Also the picking time for a carth is compared

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….how to use workforce?If we have to produce a certain quantity of kilos per m2, it is necessary to calculate the appropriate budget per kg and not per m2.Calculating per kg is most accurate than per m2.That way of calculation will help us to be more concrete ,more flexible, and to use with better efficiency workforce.

Example -let us suppose,that is given

….10 cdn/m2. One m2 could produce 40-60 kg and the amount is the same. In that case could have been better to give the money based on the quantity of production.

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Matching and timing

Different processes of labor have to take the necessary amount of time to be completed – giving more time to one process instead of the other will destroy the harmony that exists between them.

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Timing tomatoes

Tomato crop work 61kg/m2 (2.65 pl/m2)

-clipping 6.6 s -support(J-hook) 4.7 s -deleafing 1.8 s -lowering 5.6 s

Time is calculated per 1 clipp, j-hook, leaf and plant

Per plant there were putt

-40 clipps -31 supports -85 leaves deleafed -19 lowerings 30 prunnings….all year around

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Timing tomatoes (continued)

-Clipping ….other crop work

Since there were 2.66 pl/m2,were putt 106.4 pieces.

Multiplied with the time/piece,there were 702 sec/m2.or 11.7 min.

The same calculation was done for other processes and at the and the time of doing crop work/m2 was 50 minutes.

Picking took 17 min/m2;so altogether 67 min there was the time/m2.

Knowing the production was 61 kg/m2,to produce 1 kg,1.1 minute was needed.

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Yearly hours in two greenhouses

10 acres area 4 acre area 19 lower 3027 40 clip 7509 31 supp 4145 85 leaves 4352 spray 1000 30 pruning 2015 39 wk pick 13065 cleaning , botrytis etc 9109

total 44222 Picking time 31-Mar 26-Dec

14 lower 1004 24 clip 2027 19 sup 1434 70 leaves 1613 spray 300 18 prune 580 29 wk picking 3893 Cleaning, botrytis 2242 Total 13113 Picking time 13-Jun 27-Dec

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Production data(10 and 4 acres)(beefsteak tomato)kg /m2

cdn/m2

cdn plant

cdn/kg/total

min/plant

cent/kg/picking

cent/cr wrk/plant

61.25 40.9 10.6 6.47 4 2.8 0.19 0.16 26 17.5 5.3 5 13.7 11.5

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2009 production data

Year 2009

crop timeframe production hrs -c wr -pick

Min/kg product

Week picking

Cost/unit/labor

4acres cucumber 2 jan-30 april

38 piece/m2

5467 3765 1702

0.43/pc 17 0.07 cdn/piece

4 acres tomato 5 may-26 dec

40.9 kg/m2 13113 10851 2262

1.1 29 6.5 cdn/m2

6 acres Bell pepper

7 jan -30 dec

27.5 kg/m2 17142 10966 6176

1.43 42 6.3 cdn/m2

10 acres tomato 19 jan-25 dec

61.25 kg/m2

44222 31157 13065

1.1 39 10.5 cdn/m2

Year

2009 crop

tomatoTimeframe

prod hrs-cr wrk

-pick

Mn/kg/prod

Wkpicking

Cost/Unit/Labor

4 acres Cucies2 jan

30 apr

38 piece/m2

5467-3765

-1702

0.43 mn/pc 17

0.07 cdnpiece

4 acres Tomato5 may

26 dec

40.9Kg/m2 13113

-10851

-22621.1 29

6.5Cdnm2

6 acresBell

Pepper

7 jan

30 dec

27.5Kg/m2 17142

-10966

-61761.43 42

6.3Cdnm2

10 acres

Tomato19 jan

25 dec

61.25Kg/m2 44222

-31157

-130651.1 39

10.5Cdnm2

Total lab

10 cdnm2

10,6,4acres

+ forklift

w.o includ hrs of cleaning

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Monthly production index(planted 19.01.2009)first picking date(01.04.2009)Based on first month picking

Monthly production index chart 1 April 1 2 May 1.46 3 June 1.55 4 July 1.45 5 August 1.18 6 September 0.9 7 October 0.7 9 November 0.86 10 December 0.92 (there is an artificial increase in

november and december due to spraying with ethrol) april msay june july august sept oct nov dec

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

Series1

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Correlation between prod. and PAR tomatoMonthly production PAR and monthly index

April 6.1 kg/m2 May 8.9 June 9.6 July 8.7 Aug 6.5 Sept 5.8 Oct 4.8 Nov 5.5 Dec 5.7

>40 1 40-50 1.46 = 60 1.55 60-50 1.45 50-40 1.18 =40 0.9 40-30 0.7 30-20 0.86?(ethrol) =17 0.93??(ethrol)

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Correlation chart(prod/PAR) tomato

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90

10

20

30

40

50

60

PARkg/m2/mnth

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Monthly bell pepper production chart

may10% june

15%

july15%

qaug18%

sept16%

oct11%

nov8%

dec7%

mnth bell pepper prod

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Monthly picking and production indexUsing that index, we can easily predict production and picking.E.g. if there are 100 carths picked in May, in June around 150 could be expected to be produced, and so on… ending in December with around 65 of them.

may 1 june 1.5 july 1.45 aug 1.8 sept 1.6 oct 1.1 nov 0.8 dec 0.65

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Greenhouse tomato production

Average Ontario 2010 Our Yield 2009(plant one) Based on some data of greenhouse

production, average greenhouse tomato production in Ontario for

2010 was 49 kg/m2. The average greenhouse tomato

production in Netherland for 2002-

2006 was 47 kg/m2. Annemarie Breukers

Olaf Hietbrink Marc Ruijs

Aug 2008

Based on the data of production collected, in accordance with the data from sale collected by the office , the yield of tomatoes in plant had been 61 kg/m2 in 10 acres.

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Analysing crop work

There are some processes on crop work to be done and a right combination of them resulted in that amount of yield.

But , which one was the predominant?

Let us see….

….doing calculations. The performance for

total number of weeks for crop work is compared with number of picking weeks and week coefficients are found out.

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Calculating coefficients

19 lower 14 lower 1.3/1.36= 0.95

40 clip 24 clip 1.3/1.66= 0.81

31 supp 19 sup 1.3/1.63= 0.83

85 leaves 70 leaves 1.3/1.21= 1.12

30 pruning 18 prun 1.3/1.66= 0.8

39 wk pick 30 wk picking 1.3/1.3= 1

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Predominant factor Having those coefficients found out, we can realise

easily that deleafing had been the predominant factor that lead to the increase of production.

The influence of deleafing over the production had been 1.12, compared with the other factor equal 1 or lower that 1.

As conclusion , due to a propriate manner of deleafing,12% more production was received and if the deleafing has had been inappropriate,the production has had been 54.7 kg/m2( 61.25/1.12=54.7)

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10 acres,hrs and skids chart


200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

hrsskids

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….and

The influence of other factors over the production had been

1.lower 0.95 2.clipping 0.81 3.supporting 0.83 4.prunning 0.8

So, we could adjust the time of clipping, supporting and prunning. The analyse has revealed that those processes should have been cycled more than one week

…e.g. 7/0.81=8.5 that means one cycle of clipp should have taken 8.5 days instead of 7 and so on.

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4 acres,hrs and skids chart


100

200

300

400

500

600

700

hrsskids

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78

Tomato fruits size and quality The average weight of fruits in 10

acres had been 185 gr and in 4 acres 225 gr.

Due to the fact that in 10 acres at the end of harvest, they were destroyed from botrytis and canker in total 40% of productive plants, a plant of tomato has produced 27.5 28 kg .

There was not any significance of bad quality or abnormality and during the year there was no rejection.

In general , in both greenhouses , four fruits for every set were harvested and the fruit coefficient/set was 4 from the average 3.5.


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Bell peppers data -2008 (17 kg/m2) 2009 (27.5 kg/m2)

Month Hrs/acre Kg/acre Min/carth(crth 128kg)May 08 27,5 4056 69.2May 09 50.2 7035.16 65.7June 08 104.7 16525 74June 09 111 14429.1 60.5July 08 98.7 12178 62.5July 09 99 12438.4 61Aug 08 120.4 11867 77.4Aug 09 140.1 18192.1 60.9Sept 08 124 11507 82.7Sept 09 118.3 15458 61.2Oct 08 87.8 10310 66.8Oct 09 107.6 13969 60.1Nov 08 70 6587 81.7Nov 09 62 8177 63


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Fertigation

It is a very important part of expenses that is related very close to the growth and production of plants. A proper formula of fertigation, means very productive and easy going with other components as heat,labor etc.

On the other side,the fertigation not composed right,could cause upside down effects.


81

Ec and Ph

Both are indicators of the composition of nutrient solution and the lower and upper threshold could not be tolerated . The tolerance of them , cause decrease of the production.

Keeping ratios and proportions , not only for chemicals but for water too , is very important and a decisive factor.

The quality of irrigation water could be considered with priority , because water is basic substrate that circulate the nutrition to all the tissues and cells of plant. Without the right quality of water , nutrition will be inefficient.


82

Quality and ….quantityHardness of water has a negative impact on the production and the salt stress , especially on the hot weather . So,that kind of water is not absorbed in the right way , influencing negatively to the absorption ability of root system and increasing the toxicity of growth medium.Combined with fertliser, an increasing of Ec will reduce production regressively.

Influence of Ec on tomato yield reduction

Ec drip - slab 1.7- 2.5 yield 100% 2.3- 3.5 yield 90% 3.4- 5 yield 75% 5- 7.6 yield 50% 8.4- 13 yield 0% Optimum range Ec 2.5-3 Ph 5.8-6.3


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Ec chart numbers (TOV 2011)Date Feed east Slab east Feed west Slab west

30 march 2.71 3.35 2.71 3.79

20 april 2.81 3.36 2.68 3.75

27 april n/a n/a 2.99 3.57

04 may 2.76 3.81 2.86 3.93

11 may 2.54 4.49 1.95 5.02

25 may 2.48 2.67 2.48 3.19

07 sept 2.84 5.85 3.95 7.94


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Ec graph (TOV 2011) 1- good

2 –good

3- good

4- good

5- acceptable

6 -very good

7- bad 1 2 3 4 5 6 70

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

east feed

east slab

west feed

west slab


85

Water consumption

Water uptake Drainwater

For tomato production there are necessary approximately 1300 liter water/m2(20-22 l/kg) and for peppers 1100 and cucumbers.

That quantity is used for evapotranspiration, living conditions and drain.

Approximately 35-40 % of total quantity is used for drainage; since that water is re-circulated, the total yearly amount of water doesn’t change.

Drainage is an undesirable process (but indispensable)that is caused by

-irregular transpiration -irregular nutrient solution -accumulation of salts on growth

media


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…..drain water

So , the quantity of drainwater is an indication of good or bad absorption of nutritive solution and of the total dissolved solids(including pure water salts).

Harder the water , less the absorption. Too much drainwater ( leachate ) ,means too

much salt on the slab. Of course, drainwater could not be

eliminated because it is a necessary evil.Artin Demiri 22.6.2015

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IPM

..dealig with botrytis …what we did Beginning at early April , that

disease sprout out vigorously. Too many factors should have caused it to be so agressive and due to that, the production should have been compromised. During the production season till to the end, 40 % of plants were destroyed by botrytis and canker, which is very significant and very damaging.

As a team we decided to be focused on right time of deleafing.Why?

Because oxygen kills that mold and, deleafing as fast as was necessary,should have helped us to cope that unpleasant situation.It were better not to remove the plants attacked from botrytis.

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Doing our bestBotrytis was everywhere. The situation was very hard and the workers began to be allergic to it;with bloody eyes and sneezing.When plants with botrytis are not removed,there are 30.000. spores in a m3 air,but when there are removed,that number is increased.There are 1.000.000. spores/m3

So, doing deleafing in necessary time and choosing the right moment to cut or not cut the plants with botrytis, we handled the situation as best as we could.

Production was not compromised, but instead was over, in quantity and quality. Financially, the budget was not surpassed

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Dealing with tomato canker

Managing the situation ….did it worked out? Except of botrytis , plants were hit

by tomato canker in the same time. We doubted that the canker should

have been distributed through water and to prevent that, we cut the plants with canker in half, taking out the lower part of the stem, and keeping the part of the stem with two or three sets, leaving the part of the stem hanging on the wire without contact with slabs

It worked out sucessfully and from those plants two or three sets of fruits were taken and that situation was coped.

Even though the situation was detrimental, doing our best, the goal was achieved.

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What we did to realize the duty?Following the rules and combining techniques with the labor, to do everything in time.Keeping an everyday performance and calculating the production and labor at the end of the day, was an important tool to dominate the situation.Also, to enhance the efficiency of labor, we calculated the personal efficiency of each worker with the aim to put them in the right job place.

Work discipline was an important factor that influenced positively over the well going of process. Each worker had to maintain a specific zone and to be responsible only for it. If botrytis and canker had not been managed successfully,the production in 10 acres had been 49 kg/m2.On the other hand,if botrytis and canker,didn’t attack ,the production were not been more than it was .The effect of all kinds of diseases and pests over the loss of production in the area under management,was 0

Doing so, the duty was realized in quantity and quality,staying on budget and being responsible for each dollar of the company.

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Some comparative yields

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Final consideratonsDear SirAll the presentation is based on my experience about the greenhouse industry, as well as online research and direct practical work in a greenhouse.In the first part, energy is analyzed; heating and sun’s energy with the aim to have a proper combination between them and to give the plants as much as they need with low cost providing a high harvest.Data provided on the second and third part are real and elaborated through special formulas for auditing the yields in correlation with crop work with the aim to match and to integrate together all the factors.Arranging all the data that are provided through tables, will lead to an increase in production and maintaining or lowering costs.The yield 75-80 kg/m2 tomato in the region of Leamington is quite possible due to the amount of the sun energy;it is necessary to manage it in a reasonable way. To have that amount of production, artificial light is not necessary – only accurate scientific management is enough.

For a better understanding, allow me to add some additional explanations…

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Explanations

All the presentation is organized in three parts.

Part one deals with the heating and data provided is taken from the internet weather sources near by Leamington and Essex region.

Second and third part is data from production and labor management on the beafsteak tomato production.

Data is proven to be accurate 99.5 % using special formulas,known in agriculture science.

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…..behind the numbersPerformance Working for the future

Performing data diligently, for every day and every process, made me aware about the importance of keeping evidence and forecasting the situations; being careful which step to put first and which after . This, helped me to have the situation on my hand and to judge logically and to prevent any negative phenomenon.

If you do not like data, you won’t like the future. Keeping that in mind, data collected, served me to prepare for the future and for that presentation ,to make my propose and to set my goals for the future.

If the numbers that I presented here should be recomposed in an another order, for an another reality and based in a creative management strategy, the goal will be realized in time,quantity and quality.


95

SupervisingI had to deal with labor management. It was not easy to fix all the processes in order and to choose the importance of everyone ,to integrate them and to keep up the technique used . The technique and labor had to go forehead at the same speed and in harmony, to be balanced, to keep up between them and to be appropriate with weather conditions . Being flexible and creative was important to cope difficult situations.

Giving instruction. It was very important to give instructions clear

and understandable for every process and every worker. At the same time it was important to understand in a right manner all the instructions given by superiors, with the aim to make them more comprehensive. As a first step, I had to convince myself, to adjust in specific conditions and to give to the workers clear and not complicated instructions.

I have to emphasize that the instructions given by superiors, were transmitted to the workers in a comprehensive way and the results were more than 100%. The performance and the production, had been more than expected carrying the duty 103%.


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Results Comparing the labor cost.1.Based in the greenhouse production structure In Ontario for the labor cost…

2.Below is shown a table for the same quantity of production but the labor cost/kg is approximately three times more .In the case below the cost of labor 2.8 times more than our cost ; so relating the labor in our greenhouse was used more efficiently and the cost of our production was cheaper. than the case

At the end of 2009,we made a summary for all the results achieved.In tomato we harvested 61.25 kg /m2 for 10 months harvesting(39 weeks with a labor cost 10.6 cdn/m2 or 67 minutes/m2(18 cent/kg).In bell peppers we harvested 27.5 kg/m2 with a labor cost 6.3 cdn/m2 or 40 minutes/m2(25 cent /kg).Labor cost is crucial over the cost of production . But let us compare between the case and our greenhouse.

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tomato “case” Our greenhouse

Productivity kg/m2

60.31 61.25

Labor/m2 30.12 cdn 10.6 cdn

Labor/kg 0.5 cdn 0.18 cdn

Year 2009 Ontario Our greenhouse

Labor cdn/m2 16.8 9.5

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Comparing production

To have a clear perception if the quantity of production that we harvested was competitive or no, I am showing another table with some average results in Ontario and Canada in 2009.

2009 average tomato peppers

Canada 46.30 kg/m2 25.82 kg/m2

Ontario 49 kg/m2 n/a

Our greenhouse 61.25 kg/m2 27.5 kg/m2

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Reference

For some data and charts taken from internet, there are provided references with the names of the authors

I have based my proposal on my knowledge and experience in greenhouse industry and in a timeframe ,I guarantee to achieve a yield 75-8o kg/m2 but no more focusing myself on…..

… Knowledge and skills of the grower and the labour are even more determining factors for profitability than the greenhouse design, materials and fittings

Peter Stradiot (Innogreen)

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Based on my calculations, an increase to 70-75 kg/m2 tomato and 30-32 kg/m2 peppers, maintaining the same cost or lowering the cost is possible in the region of Leamington (e.g. ,mid tech) or a 25 % equivalent profit more per square meter, compare to actual average gross provincial profit …let us make our attempts to have that increase.

My objective

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Instead of afterword’s

During that presentation of data about operative expenses and management, I tried to summarize and concentrate my knowledge and experience gained on the greenhouse industry related to a better management that will lead to improve the situation. I am convinced, that through a management based over scientific criteria, the objective of increasing efficiency, lowering the cost of production or even though maintaining in the same level will be realized.

Thank youArtin Demiri

AgronomistBachelor of agricultural science Windsor 22.01.2014

22.6.2015

Food

Greenhouse management