Good Agricultural Practices for greenhouse …

1 Principles for sustainable intensificationof smallholder farms230 ISSN 2070-2515 FAOPLANTPRODUCTIONAND PROTECTIONPAPERGood Agricultural Practicesfor greenhouse vegetable production in the SouthEast European countriesFAO PLANT production AND PROTECTION PAPER 230 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONSRome, 2017 Good Agricultural Practices for greenhouse vegetable production in the South East European countriesEditorial board:Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsPlant production and Protection DivisionWilfried Baudoin, Avetik Nersisyan, Artur Shamilov, Alison Hodder, Diana GutierrezInternational Society for Horticultural ScienceStefania De Pascale, Commission Protected CultivationSilvana Nicola, Vice ChairpersonUniversity of Bonn, Department of HorticultureNazim GrudaUniversity of Avignon et des Pays de VaucluseLaurent UrbanVolcani Center, Agricultural Research OrganizationJosef TanyEditorial support and layout.

2 Ruth Duffy, English Language EditorPrinciples for sustainable intensification of smallholder farmsThe designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of 978-92-5-109622-2 FAO 2017 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product.

3 Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO s endorsement of users views, products or services is not implied in any requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via or addressed to information products are available on the FAO website ( ) and can be purchased through vPreface viiList of acronyms and abbreviations xPART I: INTRODUCTION1.

4 Regional Working Group on greenhouse Crop production in SEE: history and development (FAO) 3A. Hodder, W. Baudoin, A. Nersisyan, Y. T zelc & A. Balliu2. Current situation and future trends of protected cultivation in South East Europe 17N. Gruda & G. PopsimonovaPART II: THEMATIC APPROACH1. Structures: design, technology and climate control 29C. Kittas, N. Katsoulas & T. Bartzanas2. Soil conservation, soil fertility and plant nutrition management 53D. Savvas, G. Ntatsi & Barouchas3. Irrigation management: challenges and opportunities 79S. De Pascale, G. Barbieri, Y. Rouphael, M. Gallardo, F. Orsini & A. Pardossi4. Crop diversification, management and practical uses 105Y. T zel & ztekin5. Integrated pest management 123S. Masheva, V. Yankova & Rondon6. Seedling production 189A.

5 Balliu, Mar i & N. Gruda7. production systems: integrated and organic production , and soilless culture 207G. Popsimonova, B. Benko, L. Karic & N. Grudaiv8. Sustainability of vegetable production systems evaluated by ecological footprint 227M. Bavec, M. Roba er, D. Stajnko, T. Vukmani & F. Bavec9. Profitability, marketing, and vegetable loss and waste 245S. Nicola & G. PignataPART III: CROP TECHNOLOGIES1 Tomato 271Y. T zel & ztekin2. Cucumber 287N. Gruda, G. Sallaku & A. Balliu3. Pepper and eggplant Dr ghici, Brezeanu, P. Mu oz & C. Brezeanu4. Lettuce and other leafy vegetables Mar i 5. Early production of melon, watermelon and squashes in low tunnels 341A. Balliu & G. Sallaku6. Root and onion vegetables 353J. Gvozdanovic-Varga & V. Rosca7. French bean 373B.

6 Benko8. Kohlrabi and kale 381B. Benko9. Early potato 389 .M. Ilin, B.. Adamovi , Ilin & D. nidar i 10. Strawberry 403P. Lieten & N. GallaceANNEXC orporate working library 415vAcknowledgementsThis document is the result of a cooperative effort of a team of scientists who have provided their voluntary contributions under the aegis of the FAO Regional Working Group on greenhouse Crop production in SEE. The genuine cooperation, professional commitment and dedication of the authors, co-authors, reviewers and collaborating scientists, as illustrated in Part I, Chapter 1, are gratefully acknowledged and most appreciated. Special recognition is given to the peer reviewers, Prof. Laurent Urban, University of Avignon, France, Dr Josef Tanny, Volcani Center, Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel, and Dr Nazim Gruda, University of Bonn, Germany.

7 Their diligence and scrupulous analysis of the text are highly very significant event in the history of the world was mankind s domestication of plants the moment when humans ceased to depend on harvesting from the wild. This enabled sedentarization, and people began to explore the planting of seeds or cuttings to propagate a wide range of plants close to their dwellings. The need to protect these domesticated plants from abiotic and biotic stress factors subsequently led to another important Agricultural breakthrough: protected cultivation. Protected cultivation made it possible to protect crops from adverse weather conditions and predators, allowing year-round production and the application of an integrated crop production and protection management approach for better control over pests and diseases.

8 greenhouse crop production is now a growing reality throughout the world with an estimated 405 000 ha of greenhouses spread throughout Europe, of which some 105 000 ha are located in the South Eastern European (SEE) countries. The degree of sophistication and the technologies applied depend on local climatic conditions and the socio-economic production originated in northern Europe, and experience there stimulated development in other areas, including the Mediterranean, North America, Oceania, Asia and Africa, with various degrees of success. Experience has shown that a mere transposition of north European technologies to other parts of the world and different agro-ecological environments is not a valid process.

9 Technologies must be adapted to match the local requirements and further research is needed in each last 20 years have seen a revolution in greenhouse production in terms of structure design and type and quality of covering materials; plant nutrition management; mulching; use of high-yielding hybrids and cultivars; plant training and pruning techniques; integrated pest management; use of pollinator insects; climate control; soil solarization and other technologies. Just a few years ago, a tomato yield of 100 tonnes/ha in a greenhouse was considered a good performance. Today, a harvest of 600 tonnes/ha is not unusual in high-tech SEE countries, protected cultivation is still in a period of transition following a decline in importance in the wake of the social changes of the 1990s.

10 The shift from centrally controlled greenhouse industrial units to small-scale family enterprises has been slow as a result of dependency on the technological capacity and investment potential of small-scale growers. viiiAt present, the total protected cultivation area in South East Europe amounts to about 104 560 ha, accounting for approximately percent of total vegetable cultivated area. A large proportion of greenhouses are low tech and covered with plastic. Heating and advanced climate control are not yet widespread, although in several countries there are many examples of successful implementation of high-tech greenhouse cultivation. As a result of improving living standards, the demand for high-quality and safe horticulture produce is increasing in SEE countries, where the consumption of a diverse range of fruits and vegetables is still below the daily intake of 400 g per capita recommended by WHO.