About business unit Greenhouse Horticulture

In the Netherlands and various regions in the world, the research of the Greenhouse Technology team is focused on the development of sustainable systems for greenhouses and indoor farming production with increased productivity and increased resource use efficiency. Experts in greenhouse climate, energy, modelling, greenhouse coverings and screens, data science and sensors work together in multidisciplinary projects with experts on crop physiology and production, root zone dynamics, crop protection and robotics. We do this together with experts from science and business.

In an ambitious research program we are working on energy saving in Dutch greenhouse horticulture, helping to make the sector more sustainable. In the coming years, Dutch greenhouses must be free from using fossil energy and causing emissions. On behalf of the government, suppliers and growers, we provide answers to research questions, stimulate innovations and help to implement them in practice.

Our expertise is also used to transform the Netherlands and Europe to a circular economy, an economy in which as many sustainable, renewable raw materials and products as possible are used, reused and last in cycles for as long as possible. We use our knowledge to quantify and reduce raw material consumption with the aim reduce environmental impact.

With our research we are working towards autonomous greenhouse systems in which cultivation is controlled remotely via artificial intelligence, with the help of intelligent sensors to achieve a sustainable and profitable cultivation system. Together with partners in science we lay the foundations in autonomous research and translate them together with industrial partners to practically applicable solutions.

Internationally, research questions are often related to design integral greenhouse production systems aimed at local growing conditions and achieving high yields with a minimal use of resources such as water and energy and towards more autonomous production. In a number of (longer-term, out-of-the-box) projects we are pushing the boundaries of what is technologically possible in the future.

WUR LightLab is a laboratory as part of the Greenhouse Technology team and carries out research to develop improved greenhouse covering and screen materials for horticultural applications. Improvements in the optical properties of materials for an improved crop production and increased energy savings are central to this. Research takes place in collaboration with companies, guidelines for new materials are developed and the potential of new materials is investigated by measurements, models and/or experiments. Another important activity is carrying out standard measurements of commercially available materials on behalf of companies. WUR LightLab is an ISO17025 accredited test laboratory.

In greenhouse horticulture, AI, machine learning and robotics are increasingly being used to achieve sustainable high productivity. In the Greenhouse Automation and Robotics team, we use these different areas of expertise in our projects. Whether it concerns assessing the ripeness of tomatoes or extracting other crop characteristics, we use, for example, colour, spectral or 3D cameras. The data collected with these sensors can be converted into data for climate control in the greenhouse or robotisation of crop handling. By combining correct measurements, application of machine learning and interaction with the crop with robots, we are able to investigate automation issues for greenhouse horticulture.

The plant health team develops methods and techniques that contribute to the sustainable cultivation of greenhouse horticultural products, avoiding the use of chemical crop protection products as much as possible. The team's spearheads are developing resilient cultivation systems, optimizing biological control in the greenhouse, understanding the mechanisms of plant resilience and integrating these insights and knowledge into the cultivation system.

The team of 27 people has access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and greenhouse experiments. We conduct research for governments, grower associations and companies. We mainly focus on cutting-edge innovations that can contribute to sustainability greenhouse horticulture in 5 to 10 years time.

The team Physiology and Product Quality contributes to a cultivation system that can be planned, with a good production and product quality, and a reduction in use of fossil energy, water and other inputs. Understanding the crop and the harvestable product in protected cultivation is pivotal in our work.

We research the effects of the greenhouse climate (light, CO2, temperature, air humidity) and cultivation measures on growth, development, production and product quality by studying the underlying physiological processes and consequences for crop architecture. Examples are photosynthesis, assimilate partitioning over organs, transpiration and taste of fruits. We then integrate these components to knowledge at the levels of plant and crop, enabling use in practice.

We research this in greenhouses and Vertical Farms. We develop and use crop growth models and contribute to the development of sensors and data processing to reach data-driven cultivation systems. We collaborate with growers, government and the private sector, for instance, lamp suppliers, plant propagation companies and breeders.

Our taste laboratory is specialized in determination of consumers’ perception of fresh products, for which we use the combined knowledge provided by consumer and expert panels. Linking product quality with cultivar selection and crop management in the greenhouse leads to a product that matches desires and needs of the consumer.

We contribute internationally to the development of protected horticulture, with similar goals as in The Netherlands. We advice on the important steps to take, considering local circumstance with regards to climate, knowledge and economic possibilities.

A healthy rootzone is the basis for a well-functioning crop. Optimization of physical, chemical and microbial circumstances is necessary to prevent disease infestation and create a highly productive crop. Changing societal demands for a more circular economy and a decrease in the availability of crop protection agents require adaptations to the current methods for crop production. The team develops:

• Insight in below-ground microbial circumstances and methods to manage these
• Development and implementation for new growing media and circular fertilizers;
• Methods for measuring and managing water quality;
• Measures to prevent and reduce damage by plant viruses.

The Crop Management & Cultivation systems team focuses on the optimisation of crop production systems both in greenhouse horticulture and for the flower bulb sector. In addition to optimising crop quality and production, improving product quality (shape, firmness, colour, shelf life, taste) and increasing sustainability and efficiency are important goals.

In our research, we focus both on improving existing cultivation systems for ornamental crops and greenhouse vegetable crops and developing cultivation systems for new (greenhouse) crops such as vanilla, cotton and black pepper. Areas of special interest include resource efficiency, lighting optimisation, innovative propagation and resilience.

We collaborate extensively with other research units, as crop management expertise is needed for almost all topics covered by the business unit. Furthermore, we have a close collaboration with, among others, growers (groups), extension agents and other research centres.

De Businessunit Glastuinbouw heeft op haar onderzoeklocatie in Bleiswijk ruim 12.000 m2 beschikbaar voor onderzoek. Deze oppervlakte is verdeeld over 104 compartimenten, variërend in grote van 25m2 tot 500m2. Het Team Facilities bestaat uit circa vijftien teeltmedewerkers met diverse disciplines en vijf medewerkers technische dienst. De werkzaamheden van de teeltmedewerkers zijn vooral gericht op het verzorgen van de gewassen die voor de verschillende onderzoeken in de kascompartimenten staan. Daarnaast houden zij zich ook bezig met het beheer van de kassen, onderhoud van de gebouwen en de aanwezige installaties en het beheer van een instrumentenpoule. Deze instrumenten kunnen bij de projecten worden ingezet.

De faciliteiten van de Businessunit Glastuinbouw is ISO 9001-2015 geaccrediteerd.