Irrespective of changing climates, growers can continue to offer consumers good quality fresh produce using controlled environment horticulture production systems.

Extension horticulturist at the Gosford Horticultural Institute, Jeremy Badgery-Parker, says controlled environment horticulture offers one of the most outstanding opportunities for sustainable, reliable production of quality safe food in times of climate change or variability, water scarcity and rising energy costs.

"Controlled environment horticulture is the most sophisticated form of greenhouse horticulture," Mr Badgery-Parker said.

"It is a high efficiency, high output production system that combines greenhouses with hydroponic growing systems.

"As growers use more complex systems to manage and control the growing environment, the need to get everything right becomes even more important.

"It can be a technically challenging system for many and NSW DPI is involved in a number of programs to assist greenhouse growers."

Efficient water using is one of the many advantages that greenhouse and hydroponic production offers.

Mr Badgery-Parker says greenhouse systems can use as little as one fifth the amount of water to produce a kilogram of high quality tomatoes that conventional field production requires.

"Growing capsicums is even more efficient - it can take more than 300 litres of water to produce a kilogram of capsicums in the field, but in a controlled environment, less than 30 litres per kilogram," he said.

Hydroponic production of leafy vegetable crops including lettuce and a number of Asian greens enables growers to produce crops 10 to 15 times more valuable per megalitre used.

There are also a lot of water efficiency gains in collecting, treating and reusing water in the greenhouse.

While it can be difficult for small growers to raise the capital to invest in recycling systems in the short term, Mr Badgery-Parker says improvements can cost as little as $2000 up front per megalitre of water saved with significant on-going annual water savings.

With rising costs across all areas of greenhouse production, Mr Badgery-Parker is leading a new Horticulture Australia supported project due to begin towards the end of 2008.

It will develop a grower friendly business and productivity analysis tool for the greenhouse vegetable industry.

"Controlled environment horticulture also offers more efficient energy use and the establishment of the new Somersby research station will provide an opportunity for more research into this," Mr Badgery-Parker said.

Dr Sophie Parks, a research horticulturist also based at the Gosford Horticulture Institute, is leading a three year project, supported by the industry levy, to better understand the performance of lower technology greenhouse systems and, with minimal capital input, achieve better crop production and efficiency.

"Almost three quarters of the Australian greenhouse industry is currently using low to medium technology greenhouses.

"It is important that growers are able to get the most out if these productions systems so that they can continue to invest in more efficient greenhouses," Mr Badgery-Parker said.

Contact Jeremy Badgery-Parker, Gosford, (02) 4348 1920, jeremy.badgery-parker@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Further reading

Greenhouse horticulture