Greenhouses
Chinese greenhouse promotes healthy food
With the increasing demand for healthy and safe food in China , the emphasis is on the production of leafy vegetables of good quality and with fewer resources , which requires efficiency and technologies such as intelligent systems and automation .
The aim of the owner of the Lüwochuan farm Ben Zhu is to ensure that all Chinese citizens have access to healthy fresh food . To produce more and the best quality , the company uses technology by partners Codema Systems Group , Hoogendoorn Growth Management and Industrial Product Solutions .
Feeding China , one of the worlds ’ largest countries is a challenge , but securing its safety is an even bigger challenge , says the partnership .
Promoting healthy food in China and boosting consumer confidence is thus essential , particularly in local produced food . According to Zhu , owner of Lüwochuan farm , it is especially important as local green vegetables could not always be trusted to guarantee consumer health .
Automated greenhouse
Zhu ran his own plastic factory for about 28 years . But , in 2010 he started his own greenhouse project called Lüwochuan farm . This is a 2 hectare automated high-tech plastic greenhouse . Zhu partnered with André van der Stoel , owner of Industrial Product Solutions , who is a co-creator of this project and designer of the greenhouse . To bring healthy organic food to the Chinese consumer , Lüwochuan recently opened its own exclusive store .
Besides delivering to supermarkets , where Chinese consumers can taste and buy their products . On top of that , Lüwochuan organizes educational tours for e . g . schools , other growers and consumers .
By monitoring and controlling factors such as greenhouse climate and water , which have an impact on crop growth , quality and production , Lüwochuan farm contributes to food safety and enlarges trust in locally produced food in China .
The Codema irrigation system contributes to the good quality of water and filters the water and conducts nutrient detection tests every day . The advanced and flexible Hoogendoorn iSii process computer enables to control all processes in the greenhouse , from irrigation to climate and energy . On top of that , the system is available in the Chinese language and is controllable from an iPad or Smart Phone , making it a userfriendly system .
Acknowledgements : We would like to thank the following persons for their assistance with this article - Prof . Martin Steyn , Department of Plant and Soil sciences , University of Pretoria Randy Kumasamba , Department of Plant and Soil sciences , University of Pretoria Tielman Roos , Limpopo Department of Agriculture
SABI | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2016 27