US (TX): RiceTec opens new greenhouse in Alvin
Source: HD.com
The milestone was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by RiceTec employees, members of the RiceTec Board of Directors, and project team members who helped bring the facility from vision to reality. The greenhouse expands RiceTec's capacity to advance breeding and research initiatives, accelerate the development of new technologies, and support the company's mission to passionately innovate to deliver value for rice farmers.
Attendees also learned about the facility's advanced infrastructure and its role in supporting RiceTec's long-term growth and development efforts. As a member of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein and Chair of the Liechtenstein Group, RiceTec's long-term owner, her participation highlighted the organization's enduring support for scientific advancement and agricultural progress.
More than a greenhouse, the Alvin facility reflects what can be achieved through teamwork and a shared vision to cultivate people-centric technologies that bring prosperity to agriculture, generation after generation. The new greenhouse strengthens RiceTec's ability to deliver technologies that help farmers increase yields, improve resource efficiency, and contribute to global food security.
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.
