Examining Scandinavian greenhouse automation and climate-driven pest management
Source: HD.com
Examining Scandinavian greenhouse automation and climate-driven pest management During an intensive ten-day study tour across Denmark this past May, Edgars Kneksis had the opportunity to explore first-hand how Scandinavian growers are responding to increasing global industry pressures. Faced with rising energy costs, strict carbon taxation, and persistent labour shortages, the Danish greenhouse sector is undergoing a significant transition, from reactive pest control to highly automated, preventative production systems.
"At Nordic Greens Bellinge A/S, I observed full environmental control in practice, with advanced hydroponic systems supported by tailored LED lighting to ensure consistent crop quality throughout the Scandinavian winter," Egdar says. "In contrast, at Gartneri 7eren, the focus shifted to addressing labour constraints through mechanisation.
The use of Bugline technology, a system that moves across crop canopies to deploy biological control agents, demonstrated how automation can significantly reduce manual input while maintaining effective pest control." © LSA Charitable Trust One of the most striking insights from the tour was the extent to which pest management is now driven by climate control. By precisely balancing temperature, humidity, and airflow, growers are increasingly using the greenhouse environment itself as an active tool to reduce pressure from key pests such as aphids, thrips, and whiteflies.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
