Greenhouse vegetable production guide ... for commercial growers PDF
Preview Greenhouse vegetable production guide ... for commercial growers
Greenhouse Vegetable Production /dlbcrra AGRICULTURE AGDEX 250/15-1 National Library Bibliotti^que Rationale of Canada du Canada 1+1 Copies of this publication may be obtained from: Print Media Branch Alberta Agriculture 7000 - 1 1 3 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6H 5T6 OR Alberta Agriculture's district offices 1990 02 1M APR 1 2 K Greenhouse Vegetable Production Guide Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/greenhousevegetaOOalbe CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Feeding 24 GREENHOUSE ENVIRONMENT 2 Training the Plants 27 Pruning 28 The Effect of Temperature 2 Renewable Umbrella System 28 Supplemental Carbon Dioxide 3 Fruit Harvest 29 PRODUCTION INFORMATION 5 Grading and Packing 29 Management 5 Storage 29 Greenhouse Soil Management 5 Shelf Life 29 Type and Condition of Soil 5 Disease Control Recommendations 29 Soil Testing 5 Diseases 30 Soil Mixes for Seedlings 6 Nutrient Disorders 33 Pre Crop Application of Fertilizer, Pest Control 35 Straw and Manure 7 Intergrated Control 35 Soil pH and its Correction 7 Insects and Mites 36 Adjustment of Soil pH in a Standing Crop 8 TOMATO PRODUCTION 39 Soilless Culture 8 Varieties 39 Greenhouse Sanitation 9 Cropping Schedules 39 Soil Sterilization 9 Late Spring Single Crop 39 Damping-Off 11 Early Fall Single Crop 39 Water Quality 11 The Two-Crop System 40 Electrical Conductivity 11 Raising Healthy Transplants 40 Special Management Practices 12 Propagation Schedules 40 Acidifying Water Supplies 13 Seed Sowing 40 Phosphoric Acid 13 The Cold Treatment 41 Nitric Acid 14 Transplant Into Pots (Pricking Out) 41 Sulphuric Acid 14 Water and Nutrition of Transplants 41 Hydrochloric Acid 14 Artificial Lighting of Transplants 42 Chlorination 14 Temperature Control 42 Fluoridation 14 Carbon Dioxide Enrichment 42 Boron 1 4 Grafting 43 Sodium 14 Management of Seedlings in Rockwool 43 Pollutants 1 5 Chemical Treatments 43 Alkalinization 15 Plant Density 44 Water Treatment 15 Planting Out 44 Disease Control 15 Pollination 44 Definition of Plant Disease 16 Training 44 Causes of Plant Disease 16 Fertilizing Soil Grown Crops 44 Diagnosing Plant Diseases 1 7 Temperatures 49 Diagnosing Nutrient Disorders 17 Truss Pruning 49 SEEDLESS CUCUMBERS 19 Fruit Harvest 49 General Information 19 Accelerated Ripening 49 Recommended Cultivars 19 Harvesting, Handling and Marketing 49 Seedling Production and Timing 19 Greenhouse Labour Breakdown 50 Artificial Illumination 20 Yields 50 Raising Healthy Seedlings 20 Disease Control Recommendations 50 Growing Systems 21 Diseases 50 Standing Out 22 Nutrient Disorders 53 Planting 22 Insect Control 55 Temperature 23 PEPPER PRODUCTION 56 Carbon Dioxide Enrichment 23 Varieties 56 Irrigation 23 iii Germination 56 Re-entry to Treated Areas 61 Plant Raising 56 Relative Toxicity of Pesticides 61 Plant Density 56 Very Toxic 61 Crop Timing 56 Toxic 61 Training and Pruning 57 Slightly Toxic 62 Climate 57 PESTICIDES 63 Feeding 57 Fungicides 63 Harvesting Insecticides 63 Fruit Disorders Grading and Storage gg Fumigants 63 Disease and Insect Control 5g MMoiltliuscciidceidse 6633 PESTICIDE SAFETY 59 Herbicides 63 Know Your Pesticides 59 Rodenticides 63 Code for the Safe Handling VEGETABLE RESEARCH AND and Use of Pesticides 59 EXTENSION STAFF 64 Protective Clothing 59 Respirators 59 GREENHOUSE SOIL AND ANALYSIS LABORATORIES 66 Indoor Use of Fumigants, Smoke Generators and Foggers 59 METRIC UNITS 67 Disposal of Unwanted Pesticides 60 CONVERSION FACTORS 68 Disposal of Containers Storage 60 SOLUBILITY OF FERTILIZERS IN Records 60 COLD AND HOT WATER 69 After Applying Pesticides 60 Symptoms of Pesticide Poisoning 60 Poison Control Centres 61 IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Commercial Greenhouse Vegetable Production Guide is a combination of production information on seedless cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. The information is based on the experience gained at the Alberta Special Crops and Horticultural Research Center, Brooks and the Alberta Tree Nursery and Horticulture Centre, Edmonton. Information has also been utilized from the Vegetable Production Guides of British Columbia and Ontario. My special thanks to staff of Alberta Agriculture, especially Dr. Ron Howard for his input into the 'Disease' section and other useful suggestions. Mirza Mohyuddin, Ph.D., PAg. Greenhouse Crops Specialist January, 1990 v INTRODUCTION Growing plants out of season when outdoor Suffield gets 13.0% more light annually than conditions are unsuitable is the basic reason for Edmonton. A further comparison of solar radiation growing crops in protected environments, and that for various seasons indicates that Suffield gets is the reason for building greenhouses. Primary 28.0%; 12.0%; 18.0% and 33.0% better light considerations are satisfactory plant growth and respectively for the winter period, spring period, economics. Natural light conditions will affect summer period and fall period. plant growth and are the single most important This means that during the period of most factor that should be taken into account before limiting light, the differential between Suffield deciding on the kind of vegetables to be grown. and Edmonton is high in terms of both hours of sunshine and available solar energy. Conversely, The province of Alberta stretches from 49° north in spring and summer, when plant growth is least to 60° north and the winter light conditions vary from south to north. Light is a critical and a limited by light, the differences between Suffield limiting factor for the production of greenhouse and Edmonton are reduced but still significant. vegetables during winter, but during summer Adjustments in planting schedules are therefore there is an overabundance of light. Consequently necessary. Schedules are suggested for various shading is required. A comparison of solar areas in Alberta in appropriate sections. radiation at Suffield, located just above 50° north, and Edmonton located 53° north shows that 1 GREENHOUSE ENVIRONMENT A greenhouse is a structure designed to control HIGH the conditions surrounding plants. These conditions include the light falling on the leaves, RESPIRATION RATE the temperature and moisture of both soil and air, the nutrient elements available and the diseases (URSEE S EORFV EFSO)O D and insects that attack the plants. Factors such as heat, water, nutrients and diseases can be controlled, but nothing can be done to control light. Artificial light can seldom be added profitably because of cost. LOW LOW MEDIUM HIGH The Effect of Temperature TEMPERATURE The temperature of a plant regulates the rate at Figure 2. The effect of temperature on respiration rate which all the growth processes proceed. Each plant has an optimum temperature for growth, Lowering the temperature conserves the food which varies from crop to crop. For example 1 2 to reserves in the plant. 15°C is highly favorable for the growth of lettuce, but too low for cucumbers. A green plant while in the light is using food but at the same time is producing new food 100 n through— i the process called photosynthesis. The 5 speed at which food production goes on is also o O) 75 controlled by temperature. However, the type of 09 jQ curve is different, as show in figure 3. Since no food is produced at night the 50- temperature should be lowered somewhat. In this way the food produced during the day is conserved 25- by reducing night time respiration. If Lettuce Tomato Cucumber 10 15 —r- —r- temperatures are kept high at night or during dull 20 25 35 weather, spindly, soft plants result. Lowering the 30 night temperature benefits the crop and results in temperature in °C a considerable fuel saving. Figure 1. Idealized growth curves for several crops with changing temperature The respiration and photosynthesis curves vary somewhat for different plants, but the general Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the growth curves of several crops. These growth HIGH curves are idealized, but they demonstrate that a temperature favorable to one crop may be entirely PHOTOSYNTHESIS RATE unsatisfactory for another. The temperature in a greenhouse must not (PRNOEDWU C TFOIOODN) OF fluctuate too widely from the optimum or growth will be reduced. Also, with rapid temperature changes there is danger of condensation on the leaves and an increase in leaf diseases. A living plant constantly uses food in its respiration. The LOW rate at which food is consumed rises with LOW MEDIUM HIGH temperature. Figure 2 shows the type of curve TEMPERATURE obtained with most plants. Figure 3. The effect of temperature on photosynthesis rate 2
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