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30 years of Angus Soft Fruit

‘Run your business like you are going to run it for 100 years’

A fully automated cherry truss tomato harvesting robot to hit the market

MOU signed with Bom Group

Beijing HortiPolaris to expand with 10 ha in Yunnan

© Hwongcc | Dreamstime.com

Estonian growers battling with ongoing night frosts

Simon Ackermann GmbH
Dario Plesa from Simon Ackermann Ltd in Koblenz: "Late start of the Savéol season"

Germany: "Slight increases in Torino beefsteak tomato volumes"

US: How Michigan growers can benefit from electric utility rebates and incentives

Sector | Greenhouse expansion projects

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Vegetable sowing areas in the Lviv region, Ukraine are set to expand, particularly for cabbage, onions, and cucumbers

US (WA): 242,000 sqft lettuce greenhouse debuts
© Photographerlondon | Dreamstime.com

Us (PA): Greenhouse in community garden helps to feed community

Hong Kong: New project launched at University to yield data

CAN (BC): Large quantity of fill being placed for future East Ladner greenhouse

Philippines: Smart greenhouse project for cooperatives launched in Batangas

CAN (QC): New ECP3 greenhouse unveiled at McGill university

Sector | Cultivation

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Potential alternative crops for investment and growth
Vegetable now recognized as high-value crop

Zucchini cultivation is expanding in Bangladesh

Slower start and softer demand for California lettuces

More than half of the Philippines’ provinces are in drought

Vietnam: Agri businesses emphasize improving product quality to maintain competitive edge

Smart garden developer scores $194,197 grant

New trial looks into ToBRFV-resistant tomato varieties

Sector | Technique

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Greenhouse netting project in tomato cultivation attracts attention with independent choices
Moving away from substrate:

A propagation and plant-growing device in one

UK: Aeroponic system installed at University of Essex
Round 2 of the AGROS project is coming up

Step taken towards autonomous cultivation
Juan Pablo Saucedo Romero of AgroSense México

“We found an effective means to minimize labor in Mexican greenhouses”

Towards a more sustainable cultivation of plants and berries with nano-oxygen water
Israeli agtech company pioneering water lentil production

Add fresh greens to any meal with water lentils. Vertical farming’s new superfood?

Sector | Climate

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Vegetable farming concerns in regions of Bangladesh

"The situation forces us in Finland to find alternative origins for Spain and other southern producer countries"

Vegetable production crisis looms in Manipur due to hailstorm

Sweltering heat is impacting Thailand's agriculture

PBL: There is a future for climate-neutral greenhouse horticulture in the Netherlands

Local cucumbers will arrive later than usual in Moldovan markets this year
How fixing a customer's problem turned these guys into night-time heat loss science nerds:

Blazing hot by day but freezing at night

Sector | Company News

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Mary Quaney and Johanna Brenninkmeijer appointed to COFRA’s Board of Directors

NL: SchermNed acquires Alsemgeest Scherminstallaties

CEO of HortNZ resigns

Premier of Alberta joins official opening of Calgary facility

Pompentechniek West joins forces with Johnson Pump for swift repair solutions
© Stephanie Berg | Dreamstime.com

US (MO): Greenhouse opens at Urban League of St. Louis
Payday: €500k in cash and €40,3M in credit bid

Infarm bankruptcy update

Sector | Grower in the Spotlight

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US (NH): Grants help farmers implement systems to fight climate change
Ricardo Ramírez, Hortícola Greenfield

"Size is a crucial factor for success in mini pepper production"

Odessa regional growers increased area under vegetables by 6.5% in 2024

US (MN): McGhee family usess sustainable farming practices
© Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com

British grower voices concern over Brexit, climate change
Local Bounti wants to expand further

US (WA): New Pasco lettuce facility officially opened
Tennessee

Severe weather impacts Grainger County tomato farm

Sector | Crop Protection

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New field trial with bionfugicide has started
© Palex66 | Dreamstime.com

Launch of the UPOV international certificate on plant variety protection

Knowledge transfer brings good results in India

Foliar nematodes in strawberry crops in Australia

Root knot nematodes can reach plants via water on ebb and flow floors

Smart greenhouse cleaning

CHV partners with Green Search to enter the Canadian market with Croptimum

Sector | Market Information

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India: Tomato wholesale prices up by 62% YoY in April

New measures to boost agriculture in Uzbekistan
Red Egg, Mini Red Egg and Chica tomatoes - Hoogsteder

“We have the volume, quality and price to satisfy the French market”
Green leaf and root vegetables now 20 to 25 percent cheaper than last year

Fresh fruit and vegetable prices drop in New Zealand
Targeting illegal entries from Russia

Lithuania tightens controls on vegetable imports to counter smuggling

Pune experiences reduced arrivals of fruits and vegetables

Strong California strawberry supplies throughout the coming months

Sector | Energy

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China: Rural vitalization supported by State Grid's safety services

'Running a farm at twice the efficiency, half the cost'
Launch of RE-Greenhouse, an Interreg North-West Europe-project

Speeding up the uptake of renewable energy sources in greenhouses
© Trebro | Dreamstime.com

How greenhouse horticulture can benefit from carbon capture

Effect of different photovoltaic modules on cucumber crops in a greenhouse agrivoltaic system

Wind energy v. solar energy: Which is a better renewable for your production?
© MartinBergsma | Dreamstime.com

Trinidad and Tobago: Girls College gets solar-powered greenhouse

Sector | Fertilizers

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Ostara gets organic registration of recovered nutrients

Ginkgo Bioworks acquires AgBiome
© Ian Allenden | Dreamstime.com

Certis Belchim partners up with Landlab
© Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com

HotiNigeria empowers 23 agro-input dealers to boost horticulture
© Kingan | Dreamstime.com

Organic farms can have mixed effects on pesticide use depending on their neighbors

New Iron Powder launched as a sustainable organic solution for plant health

"We help plants to cope with drought and salt stress"

Sector | Breeding

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More vegetable seed accessions sent for safety duplication

Genomic tools to accelerate Tozer’s plant breeding programs.
© Mulderphoto | Dreamstime.com

When might farmers access gene-edited varieties, and will they know what they're growing?

US (FL): Researchers work to make beer hops a Florida crop
PU

Purdue-USDA team develops fast-track process for genetic improvement of plant traits

Proprietary jumbo and pink blueberry varieties unveiled

Camposol seeks to expand its portfolio with new blueberry variety

Sector | Product Info

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The exclusive Japanese OKU Berry strawberry arrives in Spain

Hybrid mango cultivation in Himachal Pradesh

Guinness World Record for largest fruit display set in Dallas, Texas
Ben Goodchild - Nationwide produce

"We are now seeing very good volumes arriving but quality is also very mixed"

Increasing fruit and vegetable intake among adults

40th year celebration brings new product offerings

'UK should introduce a Horticulture Strategy to boost fruit and vegetable consumption and production'

Sector | Open field vegetables

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Bonduelle Group:

Business activity slightly down on Quarter 3 in a climate of constrained consumption

India: AI-based device to aid in cultivation of horti crops
A product by Soft NW:

Non-woven fabric resistant to frost

Sector | Substrates and starting materials

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Microchips in coconut substrate for increased rootable volume
Cocogreen receives King's Award

UK award for coco producer

What's a good substrate without rock wool?

Soil-less substrates for greenhouse strawberry production

New algorithms for sensors in 'green' substrates

"The certified organic growing media performs like a conventional growing media"
"When buying in bulk, growers can make the investment back in 1-2 years"

Moving away from substrates comes with its benefits...

Sector | Organic cultivation

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Ukrainian farmers are offering organic produce amidst the war
“a breakthrough for organic growers in North America"

On-farm bioreactor enables conversion of residual proteins into liquid organic solution
Jordi Querol, CEO and founder of Dreiskel Biodinámica, a pioneering company in biodynamic agriculture:

"Finding an aisle with only biodynamic foods in Germany is as common as finding one with organic products here"

Ukraine: The largest mushroom farm in the Ternopil region won the "Course for Independence" project
Transcarpathian farm on track to double blueberry plantations with new technology:

Ukrainian grower upscales hydroponic blueberry production
Efficient use of space, reduced land costs, environmental sustainability, and crop diversity

The advantages of vertical farming in Ukraine
Within a year, the "MicroGreen Prykarpattia" relocated to a significantly larger space:

Ukraine: Business cultivates and sells microgreens and edible flowers

Sector | Today on social media

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Johny Shajahan
Commercial Director at Royal Brinkman

Jan Schuttrups

The Plant Company
@regaceproject

REGACE Project

A visit to Sustenir Group

India and Japan horticulture

Berries on the way

Sector | Food Safety & Sanitation

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Food safety is focus of leadership class seminar
Vegetables and pulses outlook: April 2024

U.S. vegetable sales soar by 82 percent amid declines in harvest area and farms

Philippines: Dept of Ag bolsters health and nutrition, urban agri, food security initiatives
UV-C air disinfection in pepper packing hall:

“I have never had issues with mold again”
© Photographerlondon | Dreamstime.com

UK: Farming Unions urge major retailers to back British farming
© Gajendra Bhati | Dreamstime.com

Turkmenistan introduces new sanitary standards for greenhouses

US: Basil sold across 29 states linked to salmonella infection

Sector | Events

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Webinar:

High tech agricultural technology in greenhouse production
October 1-2, 2024, Danville, VA

Call for speakers at the CEA Summit East 2024
Trade show to be held in Izmir on 26 to 28 September

"Interfresh Eurasia trade show to become Türkiye’s showcase"
Organic Produce Summit:

Panel to explore regional differences in organic produce sales
© Dragoscondrea | Dreamstime.com

US (ID): Governor declares May as horticulture month
Melbourne Convention Centre, 3-5 June, 2024

Tickets selling fast for Hort Connections 2024

CPMA Convention and Trade Show event summary

Sector | Labor and automation

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Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology

UK: Experts help assess potential for robotics and automation to alleviate labor shortages in UK food chain
UK government announces five-year extension

NFU secures win for Seasonal Workers Scheme
© Davidleshem | Dreamstime.com

CAN (AB): Drought and Flood Protection Program now open

Farmworker Awareness Week continues to gain awareness

Improving protections for H-2A workers in the United States
'potentially balance labor cost advantages of other countries'

Florida shifts towards mechanized tomato harvesting

Greenhouse cucumbers are taken to a landfill in Russia due to labor deficit

Sector | Retail

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Dreamstime
Foodstuffs: 21 different fruit and vegetable items see double-digit price falls, year-on-year

Particularly fruit and vegetables accounted for 41% of Dino Polska's revenue

IFPA honors front line with Retail Produce Manager Awards
Dreamstime
Vegetable wholesaler Farm Price announced net profit

Amazon: New online store in Ireland in 2025
Dreamstime
Welsh exotic mushroom farmer wins life-changing Aldi contract

Waitrose to source fruit and vegetables from UK farms which use regenerative practices by 2035
Dreamstime
Major Australian supermarket fruit and veg supplier into administration

Morrisons has acquired 38 stores in the Channel Islands

Australia: Senate Inquiry confirms unconscionable treatment of growers by big supermarkets and Bunnings
Dreamstime
Asda has refinanced over 3.2bln pounds of debt

Asda has announced new price cuts on strawberries and raspberries

Sector | Lighting

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LED lights give strawberries special diet powers, reveal Scots researchers
© MartinBergsma | Dreamstime.com

Evaluation of compact pepper cultivars using LED lights and sunlight
A webinar:

Illuminating a path toward season extension

MechaTronix expands its presence to Canada with two new companies

What is light spectrum vs intensity and why are they important?

Mastering the move from HPS to LED lighting
Gardin:

Tackling the challenge of LED optimization

Sector | Irrigation

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Clean water for improved hydroponic lettuce cultivation
First increase in groundwater supplies in 4 years

Groundwater supplies increase in California
© Freshhouse | Dreamstime.com

Protecting blueberry bloom from extreme heat using overhead irrigation

Can waste water help fuel an aquaponics surge in Europe?
Robert de Hoo, Ultramins

"Less dirty water systems facilitate crop rotation"
© Jerome Chalk | Dreamstime.com

Malta: Clay-based irrigation technology being tested in Gozo could slash water use

CAN: Cleantech projects selected as “Innovations for the Future” by Axelys

Sector | Medicinal production

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"Indoor crops could be key for future food security"

Sector | Post-harvest & Packaging

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Team develops technology for producing bioplastics from agricultural and food byproducts
Fairmiles Roundtable:

'Banning airfreighted fresh produce puts millions of livelihoods at risk and does not help Net Zero'

Driscoll's Maroc is building a berry processing plant in Larache

USDA announces new fee rates for Specialty Crops Inspection Grading, Audit Services

The plant for processing fruits and veg in Galilee, Israel is closing down

Home compostable produce label launches with cost-effective advantage
AgroFresh -

12th annual Post-Harvest Academy hosted in Washington

Sector | Education and research

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Cotton sprouts as potential vegetable source:

Alterations in metabolomics and transcriptomics between light and dark growth conditions
Don Campbell/ U of T

CAN (ON): Toronto university plant biologists use high-tech growth chambers to develop stronger crops
© Sarit Richerson | Dreamstime.com

Research discovers plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider mites

US: $1M USDA training grant enables students to work in studies in aquaponics

US: Collaboration expanded to bring indoor garden curricula to more communities

CAN (SK): USask agriculture research receives $25M boost
© Kingan | Dreamstime.com

US (ID): Idaho Falls School District 91 cuts ribbon on new greenhouse

Sector | Cartoons

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Diet rich in fruits and vegetables linked to enhanced relationship satisfaction

Carrot harvest uncovers ancient coin treasure

Broccoli haircut is a hot trend

Pilot tattoos favorite crop: courgette

Man made a flute out of a carrot and it works perfectly

Why are vegetarian meals on planes so bad?

Students innovate with eco-friendly inks from fruit and vegetable leftovers