Economic analysis of organic greenhouse lettuce production in Turkey.

Health issues and environmental concerns have drawn the attention to organic agriculture aiming to protect the natural balance and to produce without damaging the environment. This study aims determining economic feasibility of organic greenhouse lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in an on farm trial, to foster organic greenhouse vegetable production in the preservation area of Tahtali Dam, projected as the sole water resource of Izmir,Turkey’s third largest. A 384 m2 greenhouse, constructed of galvanized metal tubing anchored and covered with a polyethylene was analyzed to identify typical operation procedures,and to determine unitary construction and operation cost. Organic lettuces were produced during autumn season of 2001-2002, testing different organic fertilizer applications, including two rates of farmyard and poultry manure (30 and 50 t ha-1) with and without two organic fertilizers based on either bacteria or algae. Economical analysis was performed according to different organic fertilizer applications. Cost, yield, and price data were analyzed to determine the profitability of a typical operation. Net return obtained from organic lettuce growing ranged between us $0.376 and us$ 0.901 m-2, as a result of different fertilizer applications

Análise econômica da produção orgânica de alface em estufas na Turquia

Health issues and environmental concerns have drawn the attention to organic agriculture aiming to protect the natural balance and to produce without damaging the environment. This study aims determining economic feasibility of organic greenhouse lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in an on farm trial, to foster organic greenhouse vegetable production in the preservation area of Tahtali Dam, projected as the sole water resource of Izmir, Turkey's third largest. A 384 m² greenhouse, constructed of galvanized metal tubing anchored and covered with a polyethylene was analyzed to identify typical operation procedures, and to determine unitary construction and operation cost. Organic lettuces were produced during autumn season of 2001-2002, testing different organic fertilizer applications, including two rates of farmyard and poultry manure (30 and 50 t ha-1) with and without two organic fertilizers based on either bacteria or algae. Economical analysis was performed according to different organic fertilizer applications. Cost, yield, and price data were analyzed to determine the profitability of a typical operation. Net return obtained from organic lettuce growing ranged between us $0.376 and us$ 0.901 m-2, as a result of different fertilizer applications.Preocupações sanitárias e ambientais têm atraído a atenção para a prática da agricultura orgânica como meio de proteger o balanço ambiental e produzir sem danificar o ambiente. Este estudo objetiva determinar a viabilidade econômica da produção em estufa da alface (Latuca sativa L.) em um ensaio de campo, a fim de incentivar a produção orgânica de vegetais na área de preservação do Reservatório Tahtali, projetado como o único recurso hídrico de Izmir, a terceira maior cidade da Turquia. Uma estufa de tubos galvanizados (384 m²), ancorados e cobertos com polietileno, foi analisada para identificar procedimentos operacionais padronizados e determinar custos unitários de construção e operação. Alfaces orgânicas foram produzidas no outono de 2001-2002, testando diferentes aplicações de sobras compostadas e esterco de granja avícola como fertilizantes orgânicos (30 e 50 t ha-1), com ou sem a adição de fertilizantes comerciais bacterianos ou algais. A análise econômica foi feita de acordo com as quantidades de fertilizantes utilizadas. A determinação da lucratividade foi feita com base na análise de dados de custos, produtividade e preço. O lucro líquido obtido da produção orgânica de alface em estufa variou entre US$0.376 e US$ 0.901 m-2

Organic substrate for transplant production in organic nurseries. A review

A transplant can be defined as a seedling or sprouted vegetative propagation material grown in a substrate or in the field, for transfer to the final cropping site. Nurseries use a range of growing media in the production of transplants, and the quality of a substrate may be defined in terms of its feasibility for the intended use and also according to the climatic condition of the production site. Peat is the worldwide standard substrate, but because of its origin and the increasing environmental and ecological concerns, new alternatives have been proposed for organic production. Here, we reviewed these new alternatives, assuming that the proposed growing media will need to respond in a proper way to specific plant requirements while also taking them into consideration to be environmental friendly, at the same time. Appropriate composting management combined with suitable feedstock material can produce substrates with adequate properties to develop transplants. Potential added-value benefits of particularized compost have been highlighted, and these include suppressiveness or capacity for plant pathogen control, biofertilization, and biostimulation. This added value is an important point in relation to the framework of organic agriculture because the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is limited. Different permitted fertilizers are proposed by incorporating them by dress fertilization before planting or by foliar fertilization or fertigation during the seedling production phase. In this context, specific beneficial microorganism inoculation demonstrates better and quicker nutrient solubilization. Its inclusion during seedling production not only facilitates plant growth during the germination and seedling stages but also could bring efficient microorganisms or beneficial microorganisms to the field with the transplants. This review will help to bridge the gap between the producers of compost and the seedling plant producers by providing updated literature

Does mycorrhiza improve salinity tolerance in grafted plants?

WOS: 000314431500010Grafting has been reported to give some benefits against salinity stress, however rootstock genotype plays a key role in this tolerance. Beneficial organisms can also used to enhance plant growth and increase salinity tolerance. The aim of this research was to test the combined effects of grafting and mycorrhizal inoculation under salinity stress conditions. The experiment was conducted in a PE covered greenhouse during the autumn and spring seasons of 2008 and 2009. 'Maxifort' and 'Beaufort' hybrid tomato rootstocks grafted with commercial cultivar '191 (Gokce) F-1' were compared with self-grafted plants in the case of mycorrhizal inoculation or not. Half of the plants were placed in a suspension containing 2.5 kg ha(-1) of EndoRoots (R) which contains the spores of endomycorrhizal (VAM) fungi (Glomus spp.). This was done for one day before transplanting while the rest were planted as controls without any treatment. Plants were grown in perlite culture and the EC level of the solution was increased up to 6 dS m(-1) using NaCl. The experimental design was randomized blocks with 3 replicates. Parameters related to plant growth, yield and fruit quality were determined. The use of rootstocks, in particular Maxifort, inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi increased the total and marketable yield. Although there were no statistical differences in fresh and dry weights of plant parts, mycorrhizal inoculation increased root fresh and dry weights. Of the quality parameters, vitamin C increased when VAM was used while titratable acidity decreased. Dry matter percentage, rind strength, titratable acidity, EC and pH also changed in the VAM inoculated rootstocks. It was concluded that salinity tolerance would be improved if grafted plants were inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Effects of Grafting on Organic Seedling Quality and Tomato Production in Greenhouse

Ege University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, Bornova-Izmir, Turkey *Corresponding author: [email protected] Geliş Tarihi (Received): 01.03.2017 Kabul Tarihi (Accepted): 15.04.2017 Grafting is used as an essential cultural technique to increase tolerance of vegetables against biotic and abiotic stresses. Since grafting contributes to sustainable agriculture by reducing the amount of agrochemicals used for soil disinfection, it is an important strategy in particular in organic production. However, grafted organic seedling production is not a common practice. Thus, this study was conducted in order to determine seedling growth and crop performance of organically grown grafted tomato plants in spring-summer season of 2016. Seeds of rootstocks namely 'Beaufort' and 'Sarafin' and scion cv. 'Melis' were sown in vermicompost:local peat (1:1.5 v/v) mixture and after germination in growth chamber, seedlings were moved to a greenhouse. When they had 3-4 fully developed leaf, they were grafted with tube grafting method. Self-grafted seedlings were used as control. Grafted seedlings were left in a healing unit for 10 days and placed again into greenhouse for adaptation. One week later, ten seedlings from each replicate were harvested to measure seedling performance and others were transplanted in greenhouse in order to determine their biomass, yield and fruit quality performance. The results confirmed that the use of rootstock affected root and stem length, stem diameter, shoot and root fresh and dry weights of seedlings; yield and plant growth of plants significantly. However, fruit quality did not change. The use of rootstocks increased the seedling quality, total and marketable yield and plant growth. Among the tested rootstocks 'Beaufort' was found more appropriate due to the highest performance on organic seedling growth and tomato production under greenhouse conditions.Ege University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, Bornova-Izmir, Turkey *Corresponding author: [email protected] Geliş Tarihi (Received): 01.03.2017 Kabul Tarihi (Accepted): 15.04.2017 Grafting is used as an essential cultural technique to increase tolerance of vegetables against biotic and abiotic stresses. Since grafting contributes to sustainable agriculture by reducing the amount of agrochemicals used for soil disinfection, it is an important strategy in particular in organic production. However, grafted organic seedling production is not a common practice. Thus, this study was conducted in order to determine seedling growth and crop performance of organically grown grafted tomato plants in spring-summer season of 2016. Seeds of rootstocks namely 'Beaufort' and 'Sarafin' and scion cv. 'Melis' were sown in vermicompost:local peat (1:1.5 v/v) mixture and after germination in growth chamber, seedlings were moved to a greenhouse. When they had 3-4 fully developed leaf, they were grafted with tube grafting method. Self-grafted seedlings were used as control. Grafted seedlings were left in a healing unit for 10 days and placed again into greenhouse for adaptation. One week later, ten seedlings from each replicate were harvested to measure seedling performance and others were transplanted in greenhouse in order to determine their biomass, yield and fruit quality performance. The results confirmed that the use of rootstock affected root and stem length, stem diameter, shoot and root fresh and dry weights of seedlings; yield and plant growth of plants significantly. However, fruit quality did not change. The use of rootstocks increased the seedling quality, total and marketable yield and plant growth. Among the tested rootstocks 'Beaufort' was found more appropriate due to the highest performance on organic seedling growth and tomato production under greenhouse conditions

Effects of Grafting on Organic Seedling Quality and Tomato Production in Greenhouse

Grafting is used as an essential cultural technique to increase tolerance of vegetables against biotic and abiotic stresses. Since grafting contributes to sustainable agriculture by reducing the amount of agrochemicals used for soil disinfection, it is an important strategy in particular in organic production. However, grafted organic seedling production is not a common practice. Thus, this study was conducted in order to determine seedling growth and crop performance of organically grown grafted tomato plants in spring-summer season of 2016. Seeds of rootstocks namely ‘Beaufort’ and ‘Sarafin’ and scion cv. ‘Melis’ were sown in vermicompost:local peat (1:1.5 v/v) mixture and after germination in growth chamber, seedlings were moved to a greenhouse. When they had 3-4 fully developed leaf, they were grafted with tube grafting method. Self-grafted seedlings were used as control. Grafted seedlings were left in a healing unit for 10 days and placed again into greenhouse for adaptation. One week later, ten seedlings from each replicate were harvested to measure seedling performance and others were transplanted in greenhouse in order to determine their biomass, yield and fruit quality performance. The results confirmed that the use of rootstock affected root and stem length, stem diameter, shoot and root fresh and dry weights of seedlings; yield and plant growth of plants significantly. However, fruit quality did not change. The use of rootstocks increased the seedling quality, total and marketable yield and plant growth. Among the tested rootstocks ‘Beaufort’ was found more appropriate due to the highest performance on organic seedling growth and tomato production under greenhouse conditions

EFFECTS OF OXYFERTIGATION AND PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING RHIZOBACTERIA ON GREENHOUSE LETTUCE GROWN IN PERLITE

WOS: 000519784900009This study was conducted in order to determine the effects of oxygen enrichment of nutrient solution coupled with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on soilless grown iceberg lettuce (cv. 'Papiro') production. Seeds were treated with Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas putida, P. fluorescens, P. punonensis and combined application of B. subtilis + P. fluorescens and were sown into vermicompost : peat (1 : 1.5, v/v) mixture on January 14th, 2015. After germination in growth chamber, seedlings were moved to a greenhouse for seedling growing till they were ready for planting. Seedlings were transplanted to the polyethylene greenhouse 35 days after sowing. Perlite as growing medium was used in open-system soilless culture. Nutrient solution was aerated with an air compressor and applied to plants 2 days after planting with drip irrigation. To diffuse oxygen into nutrient solution in large bubbles, a circular air-stone commonly used in fisheries was used. the nutrient solution without oxyfertigation and plants not treated with bacteria constituted the control treatment. Experiments were conducted in randomized plots design with 2 factors and 3 replications. I leads were harvested 2 months after transplanting. Yield and head quality parameters of head were determined. It was concluded that oxygen enrichment of nutrient solution through a compressor (aeration) provided increases in yield and plant growth. Especially root development, head size and leaf number were higher in plants grown with aerated nutrient solution. Among the tested bacteria, B. subtilis, P. fluorescens and B. subtilis + P. fluorescens were found promising due to the their higher performance under aerated conditions on greenhouse lettuce grown in perlite