The most advanced planting equipment in the agricultural field belongs to the fully automated glass greenhouses in the Netherlands. So why is the facility agriculture in the Netherlands so advanced? Let’s look at a set of data: In 2017, the export of Dutch agricultural products was 113.5 billion U.S. dollars, second only to the United States. 140.5 billion US dollars. Among the world's top five exporters of agricultural products (the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Brazil), the Netherlands has the highest latitude and the smallest land area, only 1/16 of that of France. The Netherlands is a world leader in the seed industry, with an export value of nearly US$1.7 billion in 2016, but there are no genetically modified seeds. Tomatoes are originally produced in the Americas and are tropical crops, but the Dutch export volume of tomatoes can steadily rank first in the world, exporting more than 2 billion U.S. dollars a year. In China’s greenhouses, tomato production is 10 to 15 kg per square meter, but the Netherlands can reach 70 to 80 kg. The reason for these achievements is the Dutch smart greenhouse.

The composition of the Dutch glass greenhouse system

The appearance style of the patterned glass greenhouse is three spires, the top is covered with high-transmitting diffuse reflection glass, and the surrounding is covered with glass. The frame of the greenhouse adopts hot dip galvanizing and plastic coating process, assembly structure technology, and the main body of the greenhouse has a one-time investment and service life. It will be more than thirty years. The Dutch glass greenhouse adopts a unique climate control system tailored for specific planting varieties. The single-cell area of the greenhouse will develop towards a large area. At present, the single-cell area in China ranges from more than 10,000 to 100,000 square meters.

In addition to the frame system of the glass greenhouse, it also includes the internal environmental control system, planting system, logistics system, heating system, and irrigation system.

The advantages of Dutch glass greenhouses

The most suitable climatic conditions for growth

The glass greenhouse will provide the most suitable growing climatic conditions for growing tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers, etc. In winter, there will be gas heating equipment, and the heat dissipation pipes will be installed by picking rail cars and hanging columns. In summer, there is a natural ventilation system and a high-pressure spray system to adjust the temperature and humidity in the room.

Efficient soilless cultivation and planting mode

Greenhouse growers in the Netherlands use agricultural rock wool or coconut health as the planting carrier to avoid soil-borne diseases and insect pests. Therefore, the vegetables grown are less pesticides, higher quality and safer. At the same time, the planting greenhouse is only responsible for planting, and there are professional seedling farms to provide them with large seedlings, shortening the seedling time and improving the production cycle.

Precise water and fertilizer integration equipment

Fertilizer integration technology is a new agricultural technology that integrates irrigation and fertilization. The soluble solid or liquid fertilizer is mixed with the irrigation water according to the soil nutrient content and the fertilizer requirement law and characteristics of the crop type. Drip irrigation integrates water and fertilizer, and directly transports the fertilizer needed by the crop to the root of the plant with the water, which greatly improves the utilization rate of fertilizer, can reduce the fertilizer consumption by 50%, and the water volume is only 30%-40% of furrow irrigation. . The switch of water and fertilizer is realized by the data analysis of the sensor and the computer end to control the switch of the solenoid valve.

Carbon dioxide concentration management

The Dutch greenhouse production is equipped with a carbon dioxide humidification system, which can maintain the carbon dioxide concentration in the greenhouse at about 900 μmol/mol and increase the output by more than 30%. Carbon dioxide is produced by heating natural gas boilers and is an accessory to greenhouse heating, which is rarely used in domestic greenhouse planting.

Automated environmental control system

After decades of data accumulation and development, various temperature, humidity, light, and carbon dioxide concentration monitoring points are set up inside the greenhouse to collect data from the outdoor weather station. After being sent to the computer and analyzed, it will automatically control shading, ventilation, shading, heating, and cooling. As well as the start and stop of the planting system, only human monitoring is required, which completely changed the situation of relying on experience instead of data.

The domestic application of Dutch glass greenhouses is facing problems

High technical requirements

Glass greenhouse technology includes automated control systems, biological prevention and control systems, etc. Different from traditional planting modes, each system includes countless links. It requires the controller to truly understand these procedures and be able to solve problems in time.

High investment cost

The investment cost of a whole set of Dutch glass greenhouses per square meter is 1500~2000 yuan per square meter. It is difficult for ordinary growers and their agricultural companies to bear such high prices. At the same time, the domestic agricultural products prices are not very high, and the return on investment is time. Slightly longer.

Summary: Advanced technology and experience are developed and summarized in years of practical work. We must introduce, digest and absorb, and improve the development of national conditions suitable for localization. The road to modern facility agriculture is a long way to go and cannot be accomplished overnight.