Translating Research Into Action
North Carolina State University’s Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Coalition is reshaping research by letting growers and suppliers dictate project priorities. The coalition’s three‑pillar model—industry‑driven focus, shared infrastructure, and multidisciplinary expertise—has attracted funding and accelerated solutions for greenhouse challenges. A flagship collaboration with LLK Greenhouse Solutions and aerospace engineer James Braun cut computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling time from days to minutes, enabling rapid airflow analysis for new greenhouse designs. With two years of research and growing federal grant interest, the coalition aims to scale its impact across the CEA sector.
Russia Rejects Tomato Shipments over Quarantine Pests and Viruses
Russian phytosanitary officials have repeatedly blocked tomato imports in early April 2026 after detecting the South American tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta) and Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). Shipments from Turkey, Turkmenistan, China, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan totaling over 200 tonnes were...
"Resistance to Bremia Is One of the Main Strengths of Our Lettuce Range"
Bejo has unveiled a lettuce portfolio that emphasizes disease resistance, especially against Bremia, while catering to diverse market segments from fresh grocery to 4th‑range supermarket sales. Flagship varieties include VITABEL batavia for vigor, ADORABEL with multi‑disease resistance, CHARLICE iceberg for...
Australian Growers Urge Retailers to Accept Price Increases
The National Freshfood (NFF) Horticulture Council has sent an open letter to Australia’s major supermarket chains urging them to accept cost‑reflective price increases from fresh‑produce growers. Rising fuel, levy and freight surcharges – in some cases up to 65% of...
Ireland Maps the Road for Horticulture Leading up to 2030
Ireland’s Teagasc Horticulture Road Map 2030 outlines a sector that contributed roughly $702 million in 2025, with potatoes alone accounting for $240 million of that output. The industry supports about 7,000 primary‑production jobs and another 11,000 in downstream services, despite occupying less...
New Innovations in Fresh Snacking and Packaging
Mastronardi Produce will unveil two SUNSET® innovations at the 2026 Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) Convention in Toronto. The SUNSET Tomato Branch offers vine‑grown micro‑grape tomatoes in a triangular paperboard package, while SUNSET Pop Its are 2‑inch snack cucumbers, the...
3D Models of Plants for Research Available at Purdue Ag Alumni Seed Phenotyping Facility
Purdue's Ag Alumni Seed Phenotyping Facility (AAPF) now offers fully automated 3‑D plant models created from multi‑spectral RGB images and an X‑ray CT root scanner. Computer engineer Xiaomeng Liu developed an algorithm that stitches 2‑D photos into accurate three‑dimensional representations,...
European Fresh Produce Shifts Sustainability Toward Costs
European fresh‑produce companies are moving sustainability from a branding exercise to a cost‑control imperative. 2026 priorities now focus on measurable variables such as yield stability, batch quality, shrink, packaging expenses and verifiable environmental data. Soil degradation alone costs the...
"Is the Traditional Glass Greenhouse Model Still the Most Secure Investment, Given the Scale of Capital Required?"
Filclair, a fourth‑generation family firm, is questioning whether traditional glass greenhouses remain the safest long‑term investment amid rising capital costs and energy volatility. Under new COO Victoire Thery, the company is pushing a "green safety" strategy that blends climate control,...
Kyrgyzstan Growers Using "Smart Greenhouses" For Strawberries
In Batken’s Leilek district, a group of 25 villagers formed a cooperative to grow strawberries using a "smart greenhouse" system. The method, championed by farmer Azzamkul Tashbekov, delivers clean, high‑quality fruit that commands about 1,500 som (≈$13) per kilogram on...
Pest Pressure and Disease Reduce Tomato Greenhouse Yields in Paraná
Greenhouse tomato growers in northern Paraná faced heightened pest pressure in early 2026, as a hot, dry spell spurred whitefly and leaf‑miner outbreaks that transmitted geminiviruses. In response, many switched to virus‑resistant varieties, which softened losses, but March’s return of...
Tomatoes From Malaga Cost Nearly 3 Euros per Kilo at Origin
Tomato prices in Málaga’s greenhouse sector have surged to about €3 per kilogram, roughly $3.25, a record high. The Andalusian Price and Market Observatory reported average prices over €2/kg, nearly double the previous season and three times the first half...
Airfreight Rates Surge up to 95% on Capacity and Fuel Costs
International airfreight rates surged as much as 95% between February and March 2026, driven by sharp capacity cuts and soaring fuel costs linked to the Iran conflict. The most dramatic jumps were seen on the Shanghai‑Dubai lane, now costing $8.60...
Morrisons: A Range of Fresh Market Street Produce Will See Price Reductions
British supermarket Morrisons announced price reductions on a selection of fresh Market Street produce, including bananas, baby potatoes, corn cobettes and plum tomatoes. The cuts bring flagship items such as Fyffes Loose Bananas to 90p and baby potatoes to £1.09,...
"Maintaining the Right Vegetative–Generative Balance While Protecting Root Health"
April is a critical period for Central European greenhouse tomato growers, as rapid canopy expansion and the 10th truss flowering demand precise crop steering. Cultilene advises a tight vegetative‑generative balance through controlled slab moisture (55‑60% early month, rising to 70‑75%...
WUR Develops Simulated Greenhouse Environment for Faster Robot Development
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is building a simulated greenhouse digital twin to test tomato‑harvesting robots. The environment combines 3D plant models with robot dynamics, reproducing growth, leaf orientation and fruit placement variations. Partnering with DENSO and Certhon, the simulation...
"Time to Show Us More"
Albers Alligator, a Dutch specialist in manure and water storage, has joined the greenhouse‑technology association AVAG during its 125th anniversary. The company, now led by Michael van der Windt and Lennard Blijdorp, aims to raise its profile and accelerate international...
UF/IFAS Breeding Disease-Resistant Lettuce
University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is close to releasing disease‑resistant lettuce varieties, backed by a $500,000 USDA‑NIFA grant. Researchers are leveraging a rare Macedonian lettuce that naturally resists bacterial leaf spot and have bred hundreds of...
"If You're Not Doing Data Collection Today, You Really Need to Start"
Bosch Rexroth is positioning its ctrlX AUTOMATION platform as a unified solution for controlled‑environment agriculture, merging motion control, environmental regulation, and data collection. The open, app‑based architecture lets growers add third‑party and custom apps, while a virtual control environment enables risk‑free testing...
From Photobiology to Dynamic Lighting Strategies in Greenhouse Production
RED Horticulture is shifting greenhouse lighting from static schedules to dynamic, plant‑response‑driven strategies based on photobiology. By integrating light intensity and spectrum management through its MyRED platform, growers can tailor light recipes to crop stages while monitoring energy use. The...
Gearbox Appoints Kees De Jonge as Head of Commerce
Gearbox, the Dutch horticultural automation specialist, has appointed Kees de Jonge as Head of Commerce. De Jonge arrives with over 25 years of senior leadership experience, including a stint as Director Food & Agri at Rabobank, bringing a deep network across the sector. His...
"We Can Better Align the Expected Supply From Our Growers with the Demand From Our Retail Customers"
Source.ag has launched its AI‑driven Harvest Forecast solution for bell peppers, extending the technology previously used for tomatoes. The model delivers weekly harvest predictions up to eight weeks ahead and has already cut three‑week forecast error by more than 40%...
EU to Enforce New Packaging Rules From August 2026
The European Union will enforce Regulation 2025/40 on Packaging and Packaging Waste starting 12 August 2026, with a phased rollout extending to 2040. The rule applies to all food packaging, including imports, and mandates recyclability by 2030, higher recycled‑content thresholds for plastics, and...
“Managing the Full Water Cycle Starts with Water Quality for the Crop and Continues with Reusing Water Whenever Possible"
Italian greenhouse equipment supplier Vifra has broadened its portfolio to include water‑treatment solutions that combine ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) for irrigation and nutrient recovery. The company stresses that high‑quality water is the foundation of a full‑cycle management approach,...
New Plastic-Free Fiber Pot for Retail and Landscaping Crops Introduced
Jiffy has launched Jiffy Pot R3, a plastic‑free, fiber‑based container designed for retail bedding plants, herbs, perennials and landscaping crops. The pot is fully recyclable in the paper waste stream and can be planted directly into soil or larger containers. Compared with...
"Limited Volumes Available, but €80 per Kilo Still Hard to Sell"
Van Ooijen Citrus received its first Spanish greenhouse cherries, delivering 60 kg today with an additional 100 kg expected next week. The fruit is priced at €80 per kilo, a level the company admits is hard to move. Buyers view these early‑season cherries as...
“Biosolutions Are Already a Structural Change in Crop Protection”
BioWorks Europe, part of the BioFirst group, is expanding its footprint across Europe as biosolutions transition from niche alternatives to a structural component of modern crop protection. The company highlighted its biodegradable pheromone diffusion clips for Lobesia botrana in vineyards...
"The Chill Requirement for Cherries Is Met Earlier in the Greenhouse"
A trial in Turkey’s 900‑metre‑high Afyon/Sandıklı region demonstrates that greenhouse cherry production can meet the chill requirement earlier by leveraging cold winters, abundant sunshine and geothermal water for heating. The natural chill combined with controllable heat accelerates phenology, enabling an...
Weighing System Becomes Scalable for Pepper and Eggplant Growers
Wireless Value partnered with Van der Knaap Group to create a load‑cell weighing system that measures substrate moisture for pepper cultivation. Together with BBM Company, the solution was re‑engineered into a modular, greenhouse‑agnostic frame that can be installed quickly, even...
Strawberry Market Sees Higher California Supply and EU Price Pressure
The global strawberry market is diverging regionally as spring unfolds. California is set for a high‑volume season, with the Santa Maria area leading peak conventional output in April and organic supplies arriving later. Florida’s winter‑freeze damage has trimmed yields, while Mexican...
Morocco Expands Airport Cold Storage for Fresh Produce Exports
Royal Air Maroc Cargo is expanding its cold‑storage footprint at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport, adding a 590 m² warehouse with five temperature‑controlled chambers—three for imports and two for exports. The upgrade targets the growing demand for fresh‑produce, flower and pharmaceutical shipments...
