Crop Science

Tianjin: EPC+O geothermal-powered greenhouse enters production

Tianjin: EPC+O geothermal-powered greenhouse enters production On September 20, the Tianjin EPC+O (engineering, procurement, construction and operation) project undertaken by Kingpeng entered operation after crop transplanting was completed. It aims to establish a benchmark for modern protected agriculture by integrating four functions: seedling research, smart production, science education and study tours, and agriculture-culture-tourism integration.

By integrating resources from multiple stakeholders, it is designed to achieve whole-life-cycle cost control and revenue optimization, delivering end-to-end implementation from engineering and construction to post-construction operations. As the general EPC contractor, Kingpeng implemented a series of management and control measures to deliver the greenhouse on schedule and to high quality standards.

Once fully operational, its annual output is expected to exceed 700 tonnes, supplying the regional high-end fruit and vegetable market. © Beijing Kingpeng International Hi-Tech Corp Outlook As an integrated protected agriculture service provider, Kingpeng leverages its proven greenhouse engineering technologies and industry-academia-research collaboration capabilities to support the global upgrade of modern protected agriculture toward high-end, intelligent and green development.

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.

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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.

Start-up combines strawberry and trout farming in fertiliser-free system

Source: VFD.com Start-up combines strawberry and trout farming in fertiliser-free system A Japanese company launches fertiliser-free aquaponics system that simultaneously produces strawberries and trout with the help of a special feed that benefits both plants and fish. Yokohama-based Aquponi has begun commercialising its indoor food

Creating business continuity for commercial growers

Source: VFD.com Creating business continuity for commercial growers Greenhouse leaders know that business continuity requires healthy crops, functioning equipment, reliable facilities, and plans for the next disruption. Long-term continuity also depends on the people whose knowledge, relationships, and decisions keep the business moving. Many leaders today are making

Source acquires Optimal for autonomous greenhouse control

Source: HD.com Optimal's AI directly controls greenhouse heating, ventilation, screens, lighting, CO₂, and irrigation through the grower's existing hardware. In a commercial-scale greenhouse in the Netherlands, the world's reference point for greenhouse horticulture, it delivered 13 percent more yield with 27 percent

"Research conducted on systems that reflect what growers use has a more direct path into practice"

Source: VFD.com © AmplifiedAg Container layout built around trial flexibility UGA's requirements called for separating plant groups, controlling irrigation and nutrients, and keeping plants accessible, with flexibility for different types of trials, and that shaped the layout from the beginning. AmplifiedAg built the research containers with insect screening