Greenhouse management

GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION
MANAGEMENT
Tomato and bell peppers
1Artin Demiri 22.6.2015

Preface
 Let me start the
presentation by laying
down a question: is it
possible to increase
production in
greenhouses without
increasing the cost?
 ….I will say yes!
2Artin Demiri
 Combining and
harmonizing all the
factors while growing
vegetables in a
greenhouse with mid
tech technology, that
target will be realized
successfully.
22.6.2015

Overview
Specific expenses
1-Heat
2-Labour
3-Nutrition+IPM

Artin Demiri 4
Greenhouse vegetables
OPERATION COST AND RENTABILITY
22.6.2015

 Desire for keeping a tight budget,
appropriate to all the steps for a
better production practice, made
me aware of the importance of
dealing with statistics and judge
the situation from the viewpoint
of improvement.
 Progressive steps and generating
positive ideas, and should be
seen as tools to improve the
situation, being as productive as
is necessary.
Knowing the situation
To have a good understanding of
the greenhouse vegetable
situation, I have been focused on
specific data provided by OGVG.
Observing over that data, I created
my opinion about the expenses
and the production of greenhouse
vegetables in Ontario for at least
five years. I also kept an eye on
statistics Canada about the
situation of greenhouse vegetables
in Ontario, production and
expense, as well as sales. With the
aim to calculate narrowing of
difference output/input and to
have a maximized net profit, I
overviewed the average expenses
of the production vegetables
greenhouses in Ontario.
Artin Demiri 522.6.2015

Real average gross profit m2 in greenhouses
of Ontario
Data provided in those
tables, is a summary of
data presented by OGVG
for years 2009, 2010 and
2011,2012 and OMAF/MRA
Based on that evidence
about the farm gate sale
and the total greenhouse
acreage in Ontario for four
consecutive years, easily
the gross profit/m2 could
be calculated.
(Fact sheet 2010,2011,
2012,2013
OGVG)
statistics Canada,
Catalogue No. 22-202-X
Farm
Gate
Sale
Acreage
Tomato
Peppers
Cucies
Gross
Profit
/m2
Consecut
ive
increase
Sales
Consecut
ive
increase
Acreage
2009 608 1824 82.3 N/A N/A
2010 641 1919 82.5 6 % 5 %
2011
2012
2013
2014
698
673
783
839
2067
2272
2400
2550
83.4
73.2
80.5
81.3
8 %
-4 %
14%
6%
7 %
8 %
5.5 %
6.7%
Artin Demiri 6
Author
:
Siva
Mailvaganam -
Statistician -
OMAF/MRA 2009 608
Last
Review
ed :
April 2015
2010 667
2011 700
2012 673
2013 783
2014 839
22.6.2015

Ontario greenhouse acreage
Acreage and gross
profit /m2 for four
consecutive years
Acreage chart 011,012,013,014
22.6.2015Artin Demiri 7
acre tom pep cucs
2011 893 603 571
2012 865 753 654
2013 921 819 658
2014 936 891 726
gross
profit/
m2 tom pep cucs
2011 78 77.5 93.8
2012 73.6 65 76.8
2013 84.5 73.3 84
2014 86.7 75 82
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
2011 2012 2013 2014
tomato
peppers
cucumbers

Source:StatistiqueCanada CANSIM ,Tableau001-0053,Enquetteannuellesur lesserres…..2010
Ontario 2010( statistic canada 2010)
Artin Demiri 8
Materials
for growing
Gross
payroll
E
L
C
T
R
I
C
I
T
Y
Fuel
Other
crop
expenses
Other
op
expenses
Total
op
expenses
46
(9%)
130.5
(25%)
18
(4%)
92.5
(18%)
66
(13%)
160
(31%)
513
(100%)
22.6.2015

Average greenhouse expenses chart
Artin Demiri 9
0 200000000 400000000 600000000
mat for growing
gross payroll
electr
fuel
other cr exp
other op exp
total op exp
22.6.2015

 Material for growing 5.8cdn
 Gross payroll 16.8 cdn
(only unskilled workers)
 Electricity 2.3cdn
 Fuel 11.9 cdn
 Other crop expenses 8.5 cdn
 Other op. expenses 20.6cdn
 ….. …………. Total=66.cdn/m2
 N.O.during that year total payroll
 (skill + unskill) was 270 mil or 34.8
cdn/m2) ref ANNE MISKOVSKY,
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER -
OGVG

Averageoperativeexpenses/m 2 in Ontario
vegetablegreenhouses2010
Total acreage of vegetable
greenhouses in Ontario for
2010 was 1919
Average operative expenses
for that acreage counted 513
mil Cdn.
Calculated through that data,
we could have a detailed
substrate about the
expenses indicators per m2 .
According to statistic Canada
during that year there were
2970 permanent workers
and 2580 seasonal workers ;
in total 5550 workers
(unskilled labor).

Averageoperativeexpenses in greenhouse industry
Canada(2010)
Total operative expenses, cdn/m2
and percentage
Chart of operative expenses
cdn/m2
operative 2010 cdn/m2 %
plant mat for
growing
5.46 7.69
gross payroll 18.2 25,64
electricity 2.38 3.35
fuel 12.05 16.97
other crop
expenses
9.03 12.73
other op.
expenses
23.85 23.61
total operating
expenses
70.97 100
0 10 20 30
plant mat for
growing
gross payroll
electicity
fuel
other crop
expenses
other op.
expenses
Series1

Production and value of production in Canada
cdn/m2
The table
shows some
data about the
production and
gross margin
of three main
kind of
vegetables
grown in
greenhouses.
2010
tomatoes production 50.87 kg/m2
value of production 92.57 cdn
cucumbers production 13.63 dz/m2
peppers production 24.43 kg/m2
average 85.38 cdn/m2

Modeling production and gross profit
Average
price/kg
Ontario tomato
bell
pepper cucumber
average
cdn/m2
Ontario
Year 2009 1.674 2.5151.203 82.3
Total area
82500 m 2(20
acres)
2009
production
plant one Quantity
Ontario
average
price cdn 38500 m2 19500 m2 cdn/m2 Average
Tomato kg
3155675 1.674 5282600 2358125 1335099 102.5
Bell peppers kg
667775 2.515 1679454 24500 m2 66.5
Cucumber
pc/kg 702000pc4
56300 kg 1.203 548930 19500 m2
28 cucumbers
+68.5 tomato
Average
91
cdn/m2
22.6.2015
Artin Demiri
13

Explanations
(comparing to Ontario average)
(2009)
 In all the greenhouses described , there was a gross profit 91
cdn/m2 that means 9 cdn more than the Ontario average.
Except of that, the expenses of production labor were
reduced from 16.8 to 9.3, so 7.5 cdn less. In total, the profit
was 16.5 cdn more (+7.5) compared to Ontario average,
combining the production increase with the lowering cost of
labor, 18% more profit was received. In that case, the gross
rentability was 40% compared with Ontario average rentability
of 20%. The amount of production is real; the price per kg is
average of Ontario.
 Due to the fact that the labor and the production variate in a
dynamic way, other operative expenses are considered to be
static. The rational labor usage, is a key factor that leads to the
increase of production

Analyzing expenses in greenhouse production
Operative expenses during 2009.
During that year , operative
expenses in greenhouses were
513 mil CA. I believe this amount
to be too much, especially the
labour portion.
Having considered the structure
of production in Ontario in 2009,
based on my experience and
specific calculations, there was a
misusage of labor approximately
40%. So from 26% of general
expenses, labor should have been
around 15%. (only for growing).
Efficiency of expenses of labour
usage will combine all other
expenses and would contribute to
reduce them or to excess them as
well . A knowledgeable and
intuitive manager or supervisor,
could contribute to reduce cost of
production and increase the
production.
 Why the difference?
 ….management of labor is not a simple
practice . It is necessary to combine different
concepts of labor organizing , technical
abilities, knowledge about the living conditions
of plant, how to keep up crop work with the
phase of plant, weather, pest and diseases, etc.
 Neglecting to do that combination in the right
time and right way, would compromise the
production and budget . Labor management is
not a static scenario; instead it is flexible and
adaptive, considering always which step is
more important and urgent, which is wrong
and which is good.

Some examples
Deleafing Spraying
 Deleafing is an important part of
crop work process and of course part
of general expenses. With deleafing,
old leaves are taken off to make the
distribution of organic matter more
efficient. But the old leaves could be
infected with fungal diseases or eggs
of different pests. In that case de-
leafing has double function; to take
of the old leaves and to do
mechanical cleaning of infected
leaves. In that case, throwing the
leaves on the ground is a very bad
practice; the source of the infection
is again inside the greenhouse and
putting the leaves on the ground will
boost the infection due to the
increased temperature of the
heating pipes.
 Spraying in hot temperature is a bad
practice, inefficient and more
expensive. Why?
 Because in the increased
temperatures, the stomata's are
close or almost close. They do not
absorb the solution of spraying and
the spraying efficiency is reduced.
So, the result is double negative;
putting the plant under the
excessive stress with a negative
impact to the production and
making spraying more expensive
because it is necessary to do it once
more.

 2009 608/1824=0.3333
 2010 641/1919=0.3340
 2011 698/2067=0.3376
 2012 673/2272=0.2962
 2013 783/2400=0.3262
 2014 839/2550=0.3290
 …as a result there is a very tiny
increase in the last year, which
means that even when the acreage is
increased, production is in the same
level or a slight increase but even
though is lower than 2009
Annual
progressive index
Using data of 2009 as a
reference, let us analyze
other consecutive years.
So, the annual sale is
divided by acreage and
the result is called
annual progressive
index.In that index
three factor are
integrated as price,
production and acreage.

Average annual growth greenhouse
vegetables chart (2009,10,11,12,13,14)
Ontario
Artin Demiri 18
 Last six years greenhouse index development
chart
22.6.2015

Increase of farm gate sale and
production during 20 years period(On)
statisticsCanada,CatalogueNo.22-202-X
Farm gate value 1992-2012
according the calculations the
development of peppers to
tomatoes was 3.4 faster,
combining sales with production
Total production 1992-2012
Sale mil
cdn 1992 2012
tomato 18.7 257.5
peppers 4.32 198.15
cucumbers 21.12 203.3
prod ton 1992 2012
tomato 12.1 176.5
peppers 1.35 70.9
cucumbers 22.5 227.8

Chartofdevelopmentofvegetablegreenhouseindustry1992-2012,finalgatesaleandtheamount
ofproduction…..tomato,peppersandcucumbers(fold)
0 10 20 30 40 50
tomato
peppers
cucies
tomato peppers cucies
Series1 14 45 10
1992-2012 greenhouse
vegetables final gate sale
increase in ontario
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
tomato
peppers
cucumbers
tomato peppers cucumbers
Series1 14 53 10
1992-2012 greenhouse
vegetables production increase
in ontario

Average production and
gross profit/m 2
Ontario 2010-2011-2012-
2014
Production and gross
profit per m 2 are
calculated .It is obvious
that gross profit per m2 is
lowered for two reasons
:the production m2 is not
increased and there is a
negative impact of the
price of unit/production.
According to the OMAFRA
experts expectation in the
greenhouse industry is to
grow locally at a rate of
2%-5% annually.
Anne M. Miskovsky
Economic Development
Officer OVGV OCTOBER
18, 2011
Artin Demiri 21
010 011012013014 010 011012 013 014010 011012013 014
tom
pep
p cuc
kg/m 49
47.
1
50.
5
51.
1
50.
2 24.5
23.
9
23.
6 25.424.7 ?
51.
82
47.
4
50.
948.7
cdn/m
86.
4
77.
8
73.
6
84.
5
86.
7 70.9
77.
4
65.
6 73.375
98.
7
93.
8
76.
8 8482
increa
se
dicrea
se % % %
011
Prod 4 2
cdn 10 9 5
012
Prod 7 2
cdn 5 15 18
013
Prod 2 7
22.6.2015

Production equivalence
With that term, I am
trying to calculate the
same amount of output,
received from different
amounts of production
as gross profit. So for
example, the same
amount of money
should not be received
from the same quantity
of different vegetables;
everything depends
from the market price
and the cost per
F.U.(functional unit – kg
or m2)
 Referring to the average market price of
different greenhouse vegetables in Ontario for
2002-2012, and considering the cost of
growing for specific vegetables,the
equivalence of production, as a trend, is
calculated below:
 Tomato 55 kg/m2(1.6cdn/kg)
 Bell peppers 25 kg/m2(3.004 cdn/kg)
 Cucumbers 52 kg/m2(1.7cdn/kg)
 ….but that calculation depends from the growing season
and is orientative. For example if the tomato is produced
during cold season (Winter , Spring and Fall)50 kg/m2 will
be equivalent with 70 kg/m2 (Spring , Summer and Fall).

2010,2011,2012 vegetable
greenhouse industry growth chart in
Ontario
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
tom pepp cuc
10 11 12 11 12 11 12
kg/m2
cden/m2

Production kg /m2 of greenhouse vegetables
 Production of greenhouse
vegetables/m2 010,11,12,13
Produc
tion
kg/m2 Tom Pep Cuc
2010 49 25.4 ?
2011 47.1 23.9
50.
8
2012 50.5 23.6
47.
4
2013 51.1 25.4
50.
9
2014 50.2 24.7
48.
7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
tomato peppers cucumbers
2010
2011
2012

 Knowing the situation is only the first
step. Everyone could compare his
situation with the average situation.
Collecting data is not difficult. The
difficult part is knowing how to interpret
and to find out how to fit all the factors
in a proper manner, with the aim to
reduce the cost and to increase the
efficiency for a better production. Being
competitive means to integrate all the
factors of the production through a
scientific management, to optimize them
and to do everything on time, in quality
and quantity based on plants necessity,
technically and monetary, performing
knowledge, skill and experience.
Observation
I have collected some data to
create an appropriate idea
about the average general
expenses of the process of
producing vegetables in
greenhouses in Ontario..
The region where greenhouses
of the province are built is the
area of EKL(Essex-Kent-
Lambton)and the greatest
concentration is in the region
of Leamington (83-85%).
Being so, the deviation from
the average data, might not be
considered; instead should be
taken to be appropriate in
specific terms for a 10 acres
greenhouse.

Gross profit/m2
 E.g. 100 cdn/m2
 What to do?
 Let us do some math and harmonize the
necessary expenses within greenhouse, based
on technique and organization.
 It is necessary to analyze them one by one
and at the end to try to put them together.

27
Heat
Is thepartofexpenses thatissecond most
expensive part.To keepheating a
greenhouseduringtheyear takes inaverage
20-35%ofgeneral investment.
Aflexible useofheat,can increase orreduce
thecost ofproduction.
Let ussay: keepingtheheattomakeit“cool”

Heat calculation
How much heat is necessary to
produce a certain quantity and how
much is too much?
Let us calculate based on the heating
degree days, and that number for the
region of Leamington is 3600 heating
degree days 28Artin Demiri 22.6.2015

Let us calculate
There are 3600 heating
degree days and is
necessary to provide
3600 cal/gr
water(amount of heat to
boil 3600 g water from 0 -
100 centigrade )that
means 14500 joules for
the cold season, with the
reason to supply the
condition of growing with
a temp 18 degree
Celsius. When the
temperature is above 18
degree Celsius, there is
not necessary any heat.
Based on calculations,
the monthly heat request
is (in %)
Heating deegre day is a
unit to tell how many
centigrade is daily
temperature differ
tfrom18(e.g.18
 Jan 20 %
 Feb 17 %
 March 15 %
 Apr 9 %
 May 3 %
 June
 July
 Aug
 Sept 2 %
 Oct 6%
 Nov 11%
 Dec 17 %
 ( addition as a reserve - 10% of the amount)

Based in the number of heating degree days , the
calculation is 1.9 Gj/m2.
So, to keep the greenhouse warm that amount is
necessary.
However, we have to calculate the efficiency of boilers,
heat loss from the isolation of greenhouse, loss of heat
from ventilation and from the coverage as well.
At the end, the result is 2.4-2.5 Gj /m2
The cost of heating, depends from the kind of supplies
we use and the price of fuel.
Yearly heat/m2

Growing specific heat request of
vegetables
 Tomato
For every kg of tomato to be ripened, 50
Mj is necessary.
That amount of heat is necessary to
match with the amount an the intensity
of light. If there is a imbalance, that
amount could be reduced or exceeded.
 Specific heat coefficient of vegetables
compared to tomato
Tomato- 1
 Cucumber- 1.04
 Eggplant- 1.4
 Pepper- 1.73
 Peppers
 For every kg of peppers to be
ripened, Approximately double the
mount is necessary approximately
double amount compared to tomato
- around 85 Mj /kg
 In the cold season, it is necessary to
be supplied by heating system.
note: to know how much heat is
necessary for a certain vegetable we
have to multiple the coefficient by
specific heat of tomato….e.g. for
eggplant 1.4x50=70,so 70 Mj heat
are necessary for a kg eggplant to be
ripen.

Monthly heating chart
based on heating degree days
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Series1

Monthly percentage heat
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
jan feb march apr may june sept oct novemb dec
Series1

Heating and cooling degree days
 Jan 699
 Feb 610
 March 520
 Apr 326
 May 128
 June 25
 July 2
 Aug 5
 Sept 63
 Oct 216
 Nov 404
 Dec 608
 Jan 0
 Feb 0
 March 0
 Apr 1
 May 15
 June 68
 July 134
 Aug 105
 Sept 38
 Oct 2
 Nov 0
 Dec 0

Light(PAR) and energy
22 dec Light 17 mol
Erg 9 mj
21 march Light 40 mol
Erg 21 mj
22 june Light 60 mol
Erg 32 mj
21 sept Light 40 mol
Erg 21 mj
 Latitude 42 north
daylight hrs 22 dec
9 hrs
22 june
15 hrs

Light and energy chart(mol&j)
40
60
40
17
21
32
21
9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1-Mar 1-Apr 1-May 1-Jun 1-Jul 1-Aug 1-Sep 1-Oct 1-Nov 1-Dec

Monthly light percentage
To have a better
perception about
light percentage all year
around, I want to bring
in your attention the
quantity of it.
Based on the
percentage given, we
can judge when is less,
enough and too much.
Is the percentage of
light sufficient on
December and January?
 Jan- 14
 Feb- 27
 March - 50
 April- 65
 May-Sept- 100
 Oct- 41
 Nov- 32
 Dec- 14

Percentage of light all year around
38
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
jan feb march apr may june july aug sept oct nov dec
month

PAR of tomato and peppers
 Tomato
 Min 10 -12 mol
 Good 14- 20 mol
 High 22- 30 mol
 Peppers
 Min 10-12 mol
 Good 14-20 mol
 High 22-30 mol

Saturation points and good light quality
 Tomato 25 mol (400 -600 mmol/m2/sec)
 13 mj
 Pepper 43 mol (800-1200 mmol/m2/sec)
 23 mj
 Saturation point of those vegetables stands in that
amount of light and above that quantity there is not
any increase of photosynthesis efficiency and as a
result no more organic matter is produced on leaves.

Compensation point
Compensation point is the moment
when all the organic matter produced
during the daylight hours is consumed
totally by the plant during night hours
to do the respiration and nothing is left
for reserve.(e.g.70 w/m2 tomato)
Above that point, the plant begins to
reserve organic matter and to give it to
fruits. 41Artin Demiri 22.6.2015

The ideal situation is to have a crop
sitting in the range above the light
compensation point but just at or
below the light saturation point for
the whole canopy.
This will produce the best response
possible for the light energy input.

“Harnessing the sun”
Is necessary to manage the light and to match
with the quantity of heat that we can supply.
 At a certain point, we should have a
complexity of different components such as
light, temperature and CO2
 Right combination of them, enhances the
efficiency of photosynthesis----e , g for
tomatoes is 1.8 g dry matter/ mj depend from
L.A.I. (tomatoes -2.3,cucumbers -3.4 and bell
peppers- 6.3) (highest value of L.A.I)

Plant architecture
On “harnessing the sun”, it is important to
have an optimal designation of plant – with
the aim of sending the amount of organic
matter on the leaves, as much as possible to
the fruits.
 The most worthy thing is to create a good
balance between “sink” and “source”.
 Creating a good balance fruits /leaves is a
positive action.

Heat usage and movement

Combination of factors

Monthly solar energy kw/m2/day in
Windsor and Chatam-Kent(opt year)
jan 2.23
feb 2.8
march 3.69
apr 4.33
may 4.6
june 4.89
july 5.04
aug 4.76
sept 4.58
oct 3.66
nov 2.49
dec 2.09

Monthly solar daily energy(kw/m2) in
Windsor and Chattam –Kent(opt year)
50Artin Demiri
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
22.6.2015

Hourly energy(w/m2) all year around
in flat surface
51
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
jan feb march apr may jene july aug sept oct nov dec
Series1
Series2
150
250
410
555
780
884
887
738
590
370
213
151

Available energy from sun/m2
 Saturation of tomato leaves
inside the canopy happens
at 170 w/m2 and for outer
leaves at 210 w/m2
 The main problem is how
to manage the light and
energy during months of
December and January
and to have production in
winter.
Solar radiation inside the
greenhouse is in average
400 w/m2,in June is 730
w/m2 and in December
220 w/m2
 (Papadopoulos and
 Pararajasingham 1996)
 P.S. There is an amount of
sunshine electric energy all
year around in that area
approximately 1300-1400
kw/m2 .

The optimal photosynthesis
Harmonizing light, temperature and
carbon dioxide in the right amount is
important for growers. Best conditions
there are 45-60 % light intensity and
temperature 22-25 centigrade (in
greenhouse), which means
March and April .

Summary
Considering heat as an important part
of production that increases the cost, it
is necessary to manage it with
efficiency, with the aim to reduce the
expenses without decreasing
production.
Is it possible? 55Artin Demiri 22.6.2015

Labor
Labor expenses take the second top place in
the cost of production . On average they take
approximately around 20 % within the
greenhouse of cost of production. Keeping a
tight budget as well as doing a good plan is an
important step to go forward for
management. Being flexible and realistic is
necessary to combine all the factors together.
 Labor and agro technique used for the crops
are in a close relationship

Planning
A good and detailed plan, is base of all
the positive results. Putting together
two ends of the rope, will tell us the
best way to achieve the goal and to
determine the necessary steps.

Keeping data in greenhouses
Tomato Bell peppers
 Data is kept on two
greenhouses, respectively
10 and 4 acres during
growing season for crop
work processes and
picking.
 Data is based on two
greenhouses 10 and 6 acres
for the production and the
harvest is compared year
to year.
 Also the picking time for a
carth is compared

….how to use workforce?
If we have to produce a
certain quantity of kilos
per m2, it is necessary to
calculate the
appropriate budget per
kg and not per
m2.Calculating per kg is
most accurate than per
m2.
That way of calculation
will help us to be more
concrete ,more flexible,
and to use with better
efficiency workforce.
 Example
 -let us suppose,that is given
….10 cdn/m2. One m2 could
produce 40-60 kg and the
amount is the same. In that
case could have been better
to give the money based on
the quantity of production.

Matching and timing
Different processes of labor have to
take the necessary amount of time to
be completed – giving more time to
one process instead of the other will
destroy the harmony that exists
between them.

Timing tomatoes
 Tomato crop work
61kg/m2 (2.65 pl/m2)
 -clipping 6.6 s
 -support(J-hook) 4.7 s
 -deleafing 1.8 s
 -lowering 5.6 s
 Time is calculated per 1
clipp, j-hook, leaf and
plant
 Per plant there were
putt
 -40 clipps
 -31 supports
 -85 leaves deleafed
 -19 lowerings
 30 prunnings
….all year around

Timing tomatoes (continued)
-Clipping ….other crop work
 Since there were 2.66
pl/m2,were putt 106.4
pieces.
 Multiplied with the
time/piece,there were 702
sec/m2.or 11.7 min.
The same calculation was
done for other processes
and at the and the time of
doing crop work/m2 was 50
minutes.
 Picking took 17 min/m2;so
altogether 67 min there
was the time/m2.
 Knowing the production
was 61 kg/m2,to produce 1
kg,1.1 minute was needed.

Yearly hours in two greenhouses
10 acres area 4 acre area
 19 lower 3027
 40 clip 7509
 31 supp 4145
 85 leaves 4352
 spray 1000
 30 pruning 2015
 39 wk pick 13065
 cleaning , botrytis etc 9109
total 44222
 Picking time 31-Mar 26-Dec
 14 lower 1004
 24 clip 2027
 19 sup 1434
 70 leaves 1613
 spray 300
 18 prune 580
 29 wk picking 3893
 Cleaning, botrytis 2242
 Total 13113
 Picking time 13-Jun 27-Dec

Production data(10 and 4 acres)(beefsteak
tomato)
kg /m2
cdn/m2
cdn plant
cdn/kg/total
min/plant
cent/kg/picking
cent/cr wrk/plant
 61.25 40.9
 10.6 6.47
 4 2.8
 0.19 0.16
 26 17.5
 5.3 5
 13.7 11.5

2009 production data
65
Year
2009
crop timeframe production hrs -c wr
-pick
Min/kg
product
Week
picking
Cost/unit/labor
4acres cucumber 2 jan-30
april
38
piece/m2
5467 3765
1702
0.43/pc 17 0.07 cdn/piece
4 acres tomato 5 may-26
dec
40.9 kg/m2 13113 10851
2262
1.1 29 6.5 cdn/m2
6 acres Bell
pepper
7 jan -30
dec
27.5 kg/m2 17142 10966
6176
1.43 42 6.3 cdn/m2
10 acres tomato 19 jan-25
dec
61.25
kg/m2
44222 31157
13065
1.1 39 10.5 cdn/m2
Year
2009
crop
tomato
Time
frame
prod hrs
-cr wrk
-pick
Mn/kg
/prod
Wk
picking
Cost/
Unit/
Labor
4 acres Cucies
2 jan
30 apr
38
piece/
m2
5467
-3765
-1702
0.43
mn/pc 17
0.07
cdn
piece
4 acres Tomato
5 may
26 dec
40.9
Kg/m2 13113
-10851
-2262
1.1 29
6.5
Cdn
m2
6 acres
Bell
Pepper
7 jan
30 dec
27.5
Kg/m2 17142
-10966
-6176
1.43 42
6.3
Cdn
m2
10
acres
Tomato
19 jan
25 dec
61.25
Kg/m2 44222
-31157
-13065
1.1 39
10.5
Cdn
m2
Total
lab
10 cdn
m2
10,6,4
acres
+
forklift
w.o includ hrs of cleaning

Monthly production index(planted 19.01.2009)
first picking date(01.04.2009)
Based on first month picking
Monthly production index chart
 1 April 1
 2 May 1.46
 3 June 1.55
 4 July 1.45
 5 August 1.18
 6 September 0.9
 7 October 0.7
 9 November 0.86
 10 December 0.92
 (there is an artificial increase
in november and december
due to spraying with ethrol)
66
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
Series1

Correlation between prod. and PAR
tomato
Monthly production PAR and monthly index
 April 6.1 kg/m2
 May 8.9
 June 9.6
 July 8.7
 Aug 6.5
 Sept 5.8
 Oct 4.8
 Nov 5.5
 Dec 5.7
 >40 1
 40-50 1.46
 = 60 1.55
 60-50 1.45
 50-40 1.18
 =40 0.9
 40-30 0.7
 30-20 0.86?(ethrol)
 =17 0.93??(ethrol)

Correlation chart(prod/PAR) tomato
68
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
PAR
kg/m2/mnth

Monthly bell pepper production chart
69
may
10%
june
15%
july
15%
qaug
18%
sept
16%
oct
11%
nov
8%
dec
7%
mnth bell pepper prod

Monthly picking and production index
Using that index, we can
easily predict
production and picking.
E.g. if there are 100
carths picked in May, in
June around 150 could
be expected to be
produced, and so on…
ending in December
with around 65 of them.
 may 1
 june 1.5
 july 1.45
 aug 1.8
 sept 1.6
 oct 1.1
 nov 0.8
 dec 0.65

Greenhouse tomato production
Average Ontario 2010 Our Yield 2009(plant one)
 Based on some data of
greenhouse production, average
greenhouse tomato production
in Ontario for 2010 was 49
kg/m2.
 The average greenhouse tomato
production in Netherland for
2002-2006 was 47 kg/m2.
Annemarie Breukers
 Olaf Hietbrink
 Marc Ruijs
 Aug 2008
 Based on the data of
production collected, in
accordance with the data
from sale collected by the
office , the yield of
tomatoes in plant had
been 61 kg/m2 in 10
acres.

Analysing crop work
 There are some
processes on crop work
to be done and a right
combination of them
resulted in that amount
of yield.
 But , which one was
the predominant?
 Let us see….
 ….doing calculations.
 The performance for
total number of weeks
for crop work is
compared with number
of picking weeks and
week coefficients are
found out.

Calculating coefficients
73
19 lower 14 lower 1.3/1.36= 0.95
40 clip 24 clip 1.3/1.66= 0.81
31 supp 19 sup 1.3/1.63= 0.83
85 leaves 70 leaves 1.3/1.21= 1.12
30 pruning 18 prun 1.3/1.66= 0.8
39 wk pick 30 wk picking 1.3/1.3= 1

Predominant factor
Having those coefficients found out, we can
realise easily that deleafing had been the
predominant factor that lead to the increase of
production.
 The influence of deleafing over the production
had been 1.12, compared with the other factor
equal 1 or lower that 1.
 As conclusion , due to a propriate manner of
deleafing,12% more production was received and
if the deleafing has had been inappropriate,the
production has had been 54.7 kg/m2(
61.25/1.12=54.7)

10 acres,hrs and skids chart
75
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
hrs
skids

….and
 The influence of other
factors over the
production had been
 1.lower 0.95
 2.clipping 0.81
 3.supporting 0.83
 4.prunning 0.8
 So, we could adjust the
time of clipping,
supporting and prunning.
The analyse has revealed
that those processes
should have been cycled
more than one week
 …e.g. 7/0.81=8.5 that
means one cycle of clipp
should have taken 8.5
days instead of 7 and so
on.

4 acres,hrs and skids chart
77
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
hrs
skids

Tomato fruits size and quality
 The average weight of fruits in 10
acres had been 185 gr and in 4 acres
225 gr.
 Due to the fact that in 10 acres at
the end of harvest, they were
destroyed from botrytis and canker
in total 40% of productive plants, a
plant of tomato has produced 27.5
28 kg .
 There was not any significance of
bad quality or abnormality and
during the year there was no
rejection.
 In general , in both greenhouses ,
four fruits for every set were
harvested and the fruit
coefficient/set was 4 from the
average 3.5.

Bell peppers data -2008 (17 kg/m2)
2009 (27.5 kg/m2)
79
Month Hrs/acre Kg/acre Min/carth(crth 128kg)
May 08 27,5 4056 69.2
May 09 50.2 7035.16 65.7
June 08 104.7 16525 74
June 09 111 14429.1 60.5
July 08 98.7 12178 62.5
July 09 99 12438.4 61
Aug 08 120.4 11867 77.4
Aug 09 140.1 18192.1 60.9
Sept 08 124 11507 82.7
Sept 09 118.3 15458 61.2
Oct 08 87.8 10310 66.8
Oct 09 107.6 13969 60.1
Nov 08 70 6587 81.7
Nov 09 62 8177 63Artin Demiri 22.6.2015

Fertigation
 It is a very important part of expenses that is
related very close to the growth and
production of plants. A proper formula of
fertigation, means very productive and easy
going with other components as heat,labor
etc.
 On the other side,the fertigation not
composed right,could cause upside down
effects.

Ec and Ph
Both are indicators of
the composition of
nutrient solution and
the lower and upper
threshold could not be
tolerated . The
tolerance of them ,
cause decrease of the
production.
Keeping ratios and
proportions , not only
for chemicals but for
water too , is very
important and a
decisive factor.
 The quality of irrigation
water could be considered
with priority , because water
is basic substrate that
circulate the nutrition to all
the tissues and cells of plant.
Without the right quality of
water , nutrition will be
inefficient.

Quality and ….quantity
Hardness of water has a
negative impact on the
production and the salt
stress , especially on the
hot weather . So,that
kind of water is not
absorbed in the right
way , influencing
negatively to the
absorption ability of
root system and
increasing the toxicity of
growth medium.
Combined with fertliser,
an increasing of Ec will
reduce production
regressively.
Influence of Ec on tomato yield
reduction
Ec drip - slab
1.7- 2.5 yield 100%
2.3- 3.5 yield 90%
3.4- 5 yield 75%
5- 7.6 yield 50%
8.4- 13 yield 0%
Optimum range Ec 2.5-3
Ph 5.8-6.3

Ec chart numbers (TOV 2011)
83
Date Feed east Slab east Feed west Slab west
30 march 2.71 3.35 2.71 3.79
20 april 2.81 3.36 2.68 3.75
27 april n/a n/a 2.99 3.57
04 may 2.76 3.81 2.86 3.93
11 may 2.54 4.49 1.95 5.02
25 may 2.48 2.67 2.48 3.19
07 sept 2.84 5.85 3.95 7.94

Ec graph (TOV 2011)
1- good
2 –good
3- good
4- good
5- acceptable
6 -very good
7- bad
84
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
east feed
east slab
west feed
west slab

Water consumption
Water uptake Drainwater
 For tomato production
there are necessary
approximately 1300 liter
water/m2(20-22 l/kg) and
for peppers 1100 and
cucumbers.
 That quantity is used for
evapotranspiration, living
conditions and drain.
 Approximately 35-40 % of total
quantity is used for drainage;
since that water is re-circulated,
the total yearly amount of water
doesn’t change.
 Drainage is an undesirable
process (but indispensable)that
is caused by
 -irregular transpiration
 -irregular nutrient solution
 -accumulation of salts on growth
media

…..drain water
 So , the quantity of drainwater is an
indication of good or bad absorption of
nutritive solution and of the total dissolved
solids(including pure water salts).
 Harder the water , less the absorption.
 Too much drainwater ( leachate ) ,means too
much salt on the slab.
 Of course, drainwater could not be
eliminated because it is a necessary evil.

IPM
..dealig with botrytis …what we did
 Beginning at early April , that
disease sprout out vigorously.
Too many factors should have
caused it to be so agressive
and due to that, the
production should have been
compromised. During the
production season till to the
end, 40 % of plants were
destroyed by botrytis and
canker, which is very
significant and very damaging.
 As a team we decided to be
focused on right time of
deleafing.Why?
 Because oxygen kills that
mold and, deleafing as fast
as was necessary,should
have helped us to cope that
unpleasant situation.It
were better not to remove
the plants attacked from
botrytis.

Doing our best
Botrytis was
everywhere. The
situation was very hard
and the workers began
to be allergic to it;with
bloody eyes and
sneezing.
When plants with
botrytis are not
removed,there are
30.000. spores in a m3
air,but when there are
removed,that number is
increased.There are
1.000.000. spores/m3
 So, doing deleafing in
necessary time and choosing
the right moment to cut or not
cut the plants with botrytis, we
handled the situation as best as
we could.
 Production was not
compromised, but instead was
over, in quantity and quality.
Financially, the budget was not
surpassed

Dealing with tomato canker
Managing the situation ….did it worked out?
 Except of botrytis , plants
were hit by tomato canker in
the same time.
 We doubted that the canker
should have been distributed
through water and to prevent
that, we cut the plants with
canker in half, taking out the
lower part of the stem, and
keeping the part of the stem
with two or three sets, leaving
the part of the stem hanging
on the wire without contact
with slabs
 It worked out sucessfully
and from those plants two
or three sets of fruits were
taken and that situation
was coped.
 Even though the situation
was detrimental, doing our
best, the goal was
achieved.

What we did to realize the duty?
Following the rules and
combining techniques
with the labor, to do
everything in time.
Keeping an everyday
performance and
calculating the
production and labor at
the end of the day, was
an important tool to
dominate the situation.
Also, to enhance the
efficiency of labor, we
calculated the personal
efficiency of each worker
with the aim to put them
in the right job place.
Work discipline was an important factor that
influenced positively over the well going of
process. Each worker had to maintain a
specific zone and to be responsible only for it.
If botrytis and canker had not been managed
successfully,the production in 10 acres had
been 49 kg/m2.On the other hand,if
botrytis and canker,didn’t attack ,the
production were not been more than it
was .The effect of all kinds of diseases
and pests over the loss of production in
the area under management,was 0
Doing so, the duty was realized in quantity and
quality,staying on budget and being
responsible for each dollar of the company.

Some comparative yields

Final consideratons
DearSir
Allthepresentationisbasedonmyexperienceaboutthegreenhouseindustry,as
wellasonlineresearchanddirectpracticalworkinagreenhouse.
Inthefirstpart,energy isanalyzed;heatingandsun’senergywiththeaimtohavea
propercombinationbetweenthemandtogivetheplantsasmuchastheyneed
withlowcostprovidingahighharvest.
Dataprovidedonthesecondandthirdpartarerealandelaboratedthroughspecial
formulasforauditingtheyieldsincorrelationwithcropworkwiththeaimtomatch
andtointegratetogetherallthefactors.
Arrangingallthedatathatareprovidedthroughtables,willleadtoanincreasein
productionandmaintainingorloweringcosts.
Theyield75-80kg/m2tomatointheregionofLeamingtonisquitepossibledueto
theamountofthesunenergy;itisnecessarytomanageitinareasonableway.To
havethatamountofproduction,artificiallightisnotnecessary–onlyaccurate
scientificmanagementisenough.
Forabetterunderstanding,allowmetoaddsomeadditionalexplanations…

Explanations
 All the presentation is
organized in three
parts.
 Part one deals with the
heating and data
provided is taken from
the internet weather
sources near by
Leamington and Essex
region.
 Second and third part is
data from production
and labor management
on the beafsteak
tomato production.
 Data is proven to be
accurate 99.5 % using
special formulas,known
in agriculture science.

…..behind the numbers
Performance Working for the future
 Performing data diligently, for
every day and every process,
made me aware about the
importance of keeping
evidence and forecasting the
situations; being careful
which step to put first and
which after . This, helped me
to have the situation on my
hand and to judge logically
and to prevent any negative
phenomenon.
 If you do not like data, you
won’t like the future. Keeping
that in mind, data collected, served
me to prepare for the future and
for that presentation ,to make my
propose and to set my goals for the
future.
 If the numbers that I presented here
should be recomposed in an
another order, for an another reality
and based in a creative
management strategy, the goal will
be realized in time,quantity and
quality.

Supervising
I had to deal with labor
management. It was not
easy to fix all the processes
in order and to choose the
importance of everyone ,to
integrate them and to keep
up the technique used .
The technique and labor
had to go forehead at the
same speed and in
harmony, to be balanced,
to keep up between them
and to be appropriate with
weather conditions . Being
flexible and creative was
important to cope difficult
situations.
 Giving instruction.
 It was very important to give instructions clear
and understandable for every process and
every worker. At the same time it was
important to understand in a right manner all
the instructions given by superiors, with the
aim to make them more comprehensive. As a
first step, I had to convince myself, to adjust in
specific conditions and to give to the workers
clear and not complicated instructions.
 I have to emphasize that the instructions given
by superiors, were transmitted to the workers
in a comprehensive way and the results were
more than 100%. The performance and the
production, had been more than expected
carrying the duty 103%.

Results  Comparing the labor cost.
1.Based in the greenhouse production structure
 In Ontario for the labor cost…
2.Below is shown a table for the same quantity of
production but the labor cost/kg is approximately three
times more .In the case below the cost of labor 2.8 times
more than our cost ; so relating the labor in our
greenhouse was used more efficiently and the cost of
our production was cheaper. than the case
At the end of 2009,we
made a summary for all
the results achieved.
In tomato we harvested
61.25 kg /m2 for 10
months harvesting(39
weeks with a labor cost
10.6 cdn/m2 or 67
minutes/m2(18 cent/kg).
In bell peppers we
harvested 27.5 kg/m2
with a labor cost 6.3
cdn/m2 or 40
minutes/m2(25 cent /kg).
Labor cost is crucial over
the cost of production .
But let us compare
between the case and our
greenhouse.
tomato “case” Our greenhouse
Productivity
kg/m2
60.31 61.25
Labor/m2 30.12 cdn 10.6 cdn
Labor/kg 0.5 cdn 0.18 cdn
Year 2009 Ontario Our
greenhouse
Labor cdn/m2 16.8 9.5

Comparing production
To have a clear
perception if the
quantity of
production that
we harvested was
competitive or no,
I am showing
another table
with some
average results in
Ontario and
Canada in 2009.
2009 average tomato peppers
Canada 46.30 kg/m2 25.82 kg/m2
Ontario 49 kg/m2 n/a
Our greenhouse 61.25 kg/m2 27.5 kg/m2

Reference
For some data
and charts
taken from
internet, there
are provided
references
with the
names of the
authors
 I have based my proposal on my
knowledge and experience in greenhouse
industry and in a timeframe ,I guarantee to
achieve a yield 75-8o kg/m2 but no more
focusing myself on…..
… Knowledge and skills of the grower and the
labour are even more determining factors for
profitability than the greenhouse design,
materials and fittings
Peter Stradiot (Innogreen)

Based on my calculations, an increase to 70-
75 kg/m2 tomato and 30-32 kg/m2
peppers, maintaining the same cost or
lowering the cost is possible in the region
of Leamington (e.g. ,mid tech) or a 25 %
equivalent profit more per square meter,
compare to actual average gross provincial
profit …let us make our attempts to have
that increase.
Artin Demiri 99
Myobjective
22.6.2015

Instead of
afterword’s
During that presentation of data
about operative expenses and
management, I tried to
summarize and concentrate my
knowledge and experience
gained on the greenhouse
industry related to a better
management that will lead to
improve the situation.
I am convinced, that through a
management based over
scientific criteria, the objective
of increasing efficiency,
lowering the cost of production
or even though maintaining in
the same level will be realized.
Artin Demiri 100
Thank you
Artin Demiri
Agronomist
Bachelor of agricultural
science
Windsor 22.01.2014
22.6.2015

Greenhouse management

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Greenhouse management

Greenhouse management