GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGY

Author: Colin Wiltshire Ministry of Agriculture

Background
Agricultural lands reduced over decades

FAO ranked Barbados as water scarce nation

Top ten most densely populated nations

Imports an inordinate volume of vegetables

Greenhouses require less space and yield four ten times higher

One major local operation

Limited knowledge locally

Research
Several research trials were completed since

establishment of system Some research findings will be briefly analyzed today Thyme Cauliflowers Sweet Peppers Lettuce

Methodology
Two sheltered systems Tunnel 30 x 96 feet Aluminum frame, netting attached to sides and has a double layer roof Plants are grown in soil and irrigated using 12 drip Greenhouse has an aluminum frame, netting attached to sides and a single layer roof Plants are grown in pots and irrigated with spaghetti drip tubing

Thyme
One variety of thyme was cultivated

Plants first harvested at 6 weeks

Plants were harvested at three week intervals

Plants were cut at approximately 3 above the ground

.Experiment was expected to continue for 1 year,

however, plants became infected with a fungal problem aborted after 7 months.

Thyme
There was consistency in
Average weights over 7 harvests
0.12 0.1 0.08
Kg

0.06 0.04 0.02 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Series1

plant yields Growth was generally uniform Average weight at 1st harvest was 0.0965 kg / 0.21 lbs per plant Reduced to 0.0447 /0.098 lbs at final harvest

Thyme
At 1st harvest plants averaged 1.9 lbs per

square foot This gradually reduced to 0.89 lbs per square foot at final harvest

Thyme
In 2004 IICA carried out a study which revealed

that local restaurants and hotels require 187 lbs of thyme per week or 9724 lbs per year A tunnel with dimensions 30 x 96 feet can produce 120 lbs weekly for first 4 harvests 60 lbs weekly for last three harvests Thyme retails at an average price of $7 per lb

Cauliflower
Rich in vitamins and minerals Harvested for the edible curd(head) leaves also used as side dishes Local production low, retailers normally skeptical

as result of pest problems Cool season crop favors 18 20 C range However in California daytime temp range from 17 29 C still yield 6 T per acre (1)

[1] Horticultural Information Leaflets, Cauliflowers. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North

Carolina State University

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-10.html

Cauliflower
Established trial in cool season (late

November) 19 35 C Aim to determine most appropriate water requirement Greenhouse divided into three (3) zones Receiving 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 L three times weekly

Cauliflower
Vegetative growth was uniformed and

vigorous Photo showing plants at 4 weeks Used organically approved insecticides and encountered no serious pests problems

Cauliflower
Heads harvested at approximately 3.5

months Plants which received 1.5L averaged 0.75 lbs 1L averaged 0.81 lbs 0.5L averaged 0.55 lbs

Cauliflower
Other factors

Plants closer to the front section of building which received shading from polyethylene

side generally yielded higher Plants in center and rear of building aged prematurely and generally yielded lower

Cauliflower
High quality head Very easily marketed

Cauliflowers
Photo showing plants

aging pre-maturely More research will have to be done with respect to shading and ventilation/cooling Attempts will also be made to source varieties which are adapted to this region

Sweet peppers
Annually imports range

from 65 277 T (2001 2006) Planning Unit Imports from Middle East, Cbean, Europe & Africa Locally there is one major greenhouse producer of sweet peppers with a number of small operation

90 80 300 70 250 60 50 200 40 T 150 30 100 20 50 10 00

Chart Showing Imports of Sweet Pepper 2001 - 2006

East West North

1 2 1st 2nd 3rd3 4th 4 Year Qtr Qtr Qtr Qtr

Sweet peppers
This trial analyzed the performance of four

Israeli varieties of sweet peppers under local greenhouse conditions Varieties analyzed are Baltasar, Canon, FAR 7200 & FAR 7227 Established on September 7

Fruit weight
Moderate differences

were recorded among analyzed cultivars Canon produced the heaviest fruit 168.167 g FAR 7200 second at 164.39 g Baltasar third at 159.035 g FAR 7227 fourth at 140.062 g

Fruit weights
200 150

(g)

100 50 0 Baltasar Canon FAR 7200 Variety FAR 7227

Average fruit weights after 15 harvest

There was consistency in fruit
Yields after fifteen (15) harvests
200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

BALTASAR CANON FAR 7227 FAR 7200

weights over harvesting period Gradual increase in weight for first four harvest Peaked around 10 11 harvest and gradually reduced

(g)

Fruit weight
Comparison with Zeraim Gedera found

that their anticipated yields were higher Baltasar 19.471% Canon 18.929% FAR 7200 12.537% FAR 7227 14.235%

Graph comparing actual with expected yields

250 200

(g)

150 100 50 0 Baltasar Canon FAR 7200 Variety FAR 7227

Fruit weight
In Israel research usually carried out in fully

climate controlled greenhouse Pruning is practiced Based on research carried out at Regional Research Institute AVDC Taiwan shows pruningIncreases fruit weight by around 13% Can decrease fruit number by as much as 33% http://www.arc-avrdc.org/pdf_files/Soem(17N).pdf

Fruit set
Under open field

conditions sweet peppers usually yield 4 6 peppers FAR 7200 yielded highest 29.174 Baltasar second 27.136 Canon third 23.017 FAR 7227 fourth 19.621

Yields per m2
Overall goal to achieve

75kg/m2 over 9 11 month period Many factors can affect including pest and disease, DTH interval of pesticides Experiment was aborted after 4 months which is half potential life FAR 7200 recorded 43.163 kg/m2 Baltasar recorded 38.840 kg/m2 Canon recorded 34.836 kg/m2 FAR 7227 recorded 24.733

Comparison of Yields at 4 months

50 40

kg/m2

30 20 10 0 Baltsar Canon FAR 7200 Variety FAR 7227

Actual Half way

Sweet peppers
Varieties performed well with respect to -fruit

mass, fruit set, flower to fruit conversion, leaf growth Good rate of fruit set was achieved Fruit number vastly exceeded Indian study, almost doubled More effort must be made to extend period of harvest

Production
Barbados provides a large market for
Chart showing local production of lettuce compared to imports

1500000 1000000 Kg 500000 0 2005 2006

Local Production Imports

lettuce In 2005 1388050 kg were produced and 59050 kg imported In 2006 1324210 were produced locally and 34100 kg imported

Survey
In 2004 a survey carried out by MARD

revealed that over 90% of vegetable retailers preferred larger heads of uniform size It also showed farmers were dumping many small heads

Experiment
On December 19, 2006

three varieties Empire, Romain & Salad Bowl Red were planted Greenhouse Graeme Hall Ch Ch Pilgrim Road Ch Ch Both plots were treated identically in terms of irrigation, fertilizer treatment and weed management

Comparison of growth rate for cultivar Empire

Empires in the

greenhouse grew more rapidly the ones in the field During the first week the difference was an average of 2.25 cm Increased to 3.9 cm during third week During the final week slowed off to 2.93 cm

Comparison of Empire in field and greenhouse

25 20

Height (cm)

15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4

Greenhouse Open field

Average yields
First random samples

were taken Jan 23 2007 at 31 days from field and greenhouse Romains in greenhouse averaged 0.368 kg while the open field plants weighed 0.215 kg on average which is 0.153 kg less

Comparison of yield between greenhouse and open field

0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 Weight (kg) 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 Rom SBR Empire

Average Yields
Empires in the greenhouse weighed 0.3185 kg

on average while their counter parts in the field weighed 0.1246 kg less at 0.19386 kg SBR under protected environment weighed an average of 0.1661 kg and 0.091 kg under open filed conditions

Average yields
A second random sample

was taken on Jan 31 at 39 days The greenhouse plants still out weighed the ones cultivated in open field The romains sampled from the greenhouse averaged 0.3566 kg while the plants cultivated in open field averaged 0.3051 kg.

Yeilds at second harvest

0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 Weight (kg) 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 Romain Empire Salad bow l red

Greenhouse (kg) Open Field (kg)

Average yields
The cultivar empire produced an average

head weight of 2884 g in the greenhouse and a significantly lesser weight in the open field of 1655g Likewise the SBR in the greenhouse weighed 2037 g with the ones in open field weighing 1524 g

Reduced days

to harvest

Lettuce cultivated in greenhouse matured in

31 days Lettuce cultivated in the open field matured in 39 days

Conclusion
Greenhouses provide the operator with the

option of producing organically or implementing more Integrated Pest Management techniques

Greenhouses produce greater output for land use area More effort must be made to extend period of harvest A higher level of quality is achieved

An evaluation of the most suitable parsley under protected systems

Mr. Colin Wiltshire BSc. Agricultural Sciences Honors (UWI) MSc. Environmental Engineering & Project Management (University of Leeds)

Introduction
Locally parsley is cultivated under open field conditions where yields are typically low as result

of fungal problems During the rainy season (June November) these diseases become particularly troublesome Harvesting maybe limited to two or in extreme cases one harvest before the plot is abandoned

Introduction
Parsley is used in production of seasonings, preparation of salads and pudding and souse

(local delicacy) Processors use fresh as well as dried parsley Joycelyn Headley of Amandas Seasoning prefers dried ground parsley with the stems removed Shelf life of dried parsley is longer than fresh parsley

Introduction
Tremendous volume of parsley is imported annually-

exact figures are unknown In 2003 IICA estimated that 42 of 73 local hotels and 31 of 87 restaurants use 2056kg annually

Introduction
Locally no research has been done concerning production of parsley under protected systems

It is therefore difficult to make recommendations concerning its management or most appropriate varieties This trial proposes to evaluate the most suitable parsley cultivar for production under protected systems

Introduction
Results displayed during this presentation are based

on information analyzed over the past 7 months. Greenhouse trial is still ongoing. All open field comparisons are based on results obtained from a study completed by A. Philips & S. Skeete 2009

Material & Method

Involved four cultivars of curly parsley petroselinum

crispum Banquet Green River (normally cultivated under open field conditions locally) New curl summer Triple Curl

Material & method

Plot layout randomized block design with replicates

Irrigated using 12 drip irrigation

At harvest the entire plant was cut to a height of 3 above ground level Immediately after harvest plants were treated with mancozeb (fungicide) and a systemic

insecticide as well as micro nutrients

Material & Method

Weights of the plants were recorded Processable biomass was calculated by removing the

petioles and recording the leaf weights- The difference was expressed as a percentage Dry matter content was calculated by drying the processable biomass in a convection oven at 600 C for 9 hours.

Materials & method

Data was analyzed statistically using soft ware

programs Mini Tab 15 and Genstat v 5.3 cluster is used to describe each plant as in some cases more than one seed may have germinated in cell

Results & Discussion

For the first three weeks the rate of
GROWTH CURVE
70 60 50
(cm)

growth was uniform amongst all varieties After the first harvest cultivar triple curl grew more rapidly than other varieties (F pr>0.003)

BANQUET TRIPLE CURL NEW CURL GREEN RIVER

40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Results & Discussion

During the following weeks trend did not continue Growth remained generally uniformed

Results & Discussion

Please view photo showing parsley at 17

days All varieties displayed similar plant architectural characteristics to green river Uniform growth amongst all cultivars

Growth Rate
Please view photo

showing parsley at 38 days All varieties continue to display similar plant architectural characteristics to green river Growth continues to be uniform amongst cultivars

Average yields
Average yields

Cultivar triple curl

produced highest yield per plant with an average of 0.204 kg. There is no information available concerning the performance of this cultivar under open field conditions
Differences highly significant
(F pr.< 0.002) SEM 0.498

0.25 0.2 0.15

(g)

0.1 0.05 0 BANQUET GREEN RIVER TRIPLE CURL NEW CURL

Yields
Variety
Banquet Green River New Curl summer Triple Curl

Kg/plant
0.1541 0.1663 0.1331

Kg/Ha
16781 18110 14495

0.2038
SEM=0.0421

22194

Comparison of open field and greenhouse

After 6 months

greenhouse vastly exceeded open field production Banquet 47.5% higher Green River 58.5% higher New Curl Summer 65.4% higher Yields obtained after six harvests from greenhouse and two from open field (A. Philips & S. Skeete 2009)

Comparison of greenhouse and open field

25000 20000
Kg/Ha

15000 10000 5000 0 BANQUET GREEN RIVER TRIPLE NEW CURL CURL

Greenhouse Open field

Processable biomass
Calculated by weighing entire plant, then removing

the stems and expressing difference as a percentage Processors prefer to have stems removed

Processable biomass
Banquet provided the
PERCENTAGE PROCESSABLE BIOIMASS
58 57.5 57 56.5 56 55.5 55 54.5 BANQUET TRIPLE CURL NEW CURL GREEN RIVER 57.4 56.8 55.5 56.6

highest percentage with 57.4 and new curl was lowest with 55.5 Highly significant differences in processable biomass
(F pr.< 0.002) SEM 0.798

Processable biomass
Variety
Banquet Green River

Kg per plant (cluster) 0.1541

0.1663

Kg
0.088 0.094

New Summer Curl Triple Curl

0.1331
0.2038

0.075
0.113

Dry matter Content

Calculated by drying leaves in convectional oven Dried leaves have longer shelf life

Some processors requests dried parsley

Dry matter content

Triple curl yielded the highest percentage
PERCENTAGE DRY MASS
40 35 30 25 % 20 15 10 5 0 BANQUET GREEN RIVER TRIPLE CURL NEW CURL 27.8 33

with 34.5 while cultivar Banquet yielded the lowest with 27.8
Differences highly

34.5 30.8

significant (F pr.< 0.001) SEM 0.798

Dry matter content

Variety
Banquet Green River

Kg/plant (processable) Kg/plant after drying 0.088 0.025

0.094 0.031

New Curl summer Triple Curl

0.075
0.113

0.023
0.039

Disease occurrence
The plot was generally well maintained There was no occurrence of die back or any other

serious disease problem for the first six months During the 7th month die back occurred in the guard rows on the eastern side of the building A point to note is the plants were not treated with mancozeb fungicide at the 6th harvest

Disease occurrence
Plants at 6.5 months with no evidence of

die back or any serious disease problem

Disease occurrence
Along the guard row there was a section which was more highly affected Through casual observation it was noted that the section which was affected to a lesser degree received unrestricted air flow. While the section which was more severely affected received less air flow. There is another building located to the east of

the greenhouse in which trial was done

Disease occurrence
Photo showing area along guard row which

became affected by die back

Disease occurrence
Variety
Banquet Green River

Percentage population affected 3.5

4.2

New Curl Summer

Triple (F pr.< 0.001)

5.3
3 SEM 0.365

Conclusion
Greenhouse allows for extended harvesting period.

Increased number of harvests

Plants display higher resistance to fungal infestation Cultivar Triple Curl displays great potential for greenhouse production as well as processing

There appears to be no interaction between number of petioles and overall plant weight

Recommendation
More research should be carried out to determine if there is an interaction between the application

of mancozeb (fungicide) and aeration on the expression of die back in parsley. A density trial should be designed with varying number of plants in each cell to decide if there is an interaction between number of plants per cell and overall yields

Recommendation
More research should be carried out to determine if there is an interaction between the application

of mancozeb (fungicide) and aeration on the expression of die back in parsley. A density trial should be designed with varying number of plants in each cell to decide if there is an interaction between number of plants per cell and overall yields

Acknowledgement
Author would like to express appreciation to all

persons who lent assistance Special thanks to Mr. Adrian Kirton BADMC Mr. Damien Hinds IICA Mr. Selwyn Brathwaite MA