International Horticulture & Marketing

1. InternationalHorticulture & Marketing Preparation for the Major for 2nd year students Beijing, October 2010 Albertien Kijne Albertien.kijne@wur.nl

2. Meetings 2nd year IHM students • Monday, 13.30-15.30 o’clock, room 2412 Lesson 1: Assignment 3 for IHM students • Tuesday, 19.00-21.00 o’ clock, room 2412 Lesson 2 • Wednesday, 8.00-12.00 o’ clock, room 2106 Your PPT presentations assignment 2 • Wednesday, 13.30-18.30 o’clock, bus Excursion Xiao Tang Shan (XTS) company • Thursday, 19.00-21.00 o’ clock, room 2412 Lesson 3 • Friday, 13.30-15.30 o’clock, room 2106 Lesson 4

3. Supporting lectures about horticultural production • Horticultural production; differences with arable production • Open air cultivation and protected cultivation • Farming systems, especially related to horticultural production • Plant growth and development • Pests and diseases (IPM) • Quality and quality standards • The value chain

4. Horticultural production; Differences with arable production • More capital intensive • More labour intensive • More knowledge intensive • More focus on individual plants (planting, pruning, inspection for diseases, harvesting) • Mostly more perishable products: quick and easy quality loss • Product quality pays more • Different ways of marketing

5. Question What are the differences between horticultural production and arable cropping regarding the use of fertilizer, energy, crop protection agents, waste management and water?

6. Horticulture: open air cultivation and protected cultivation • Open air: • vegetables (cabbages, beans, ...) • fruits (apples, oranges, grapes, raspberries, ...) • garden plants, perennials, shrubs, fruit trees, ... • cut flowers and greens • Protected cultivation • vegetables (cabbages, beans, .) • fruits (apples, oranges, grapes, raspberries, ...) • garden plants, perennials, shrubs, trees, ... • cut flowers and greens

7. Types of protection Small or large tunnels, with a wooden, bamboo or steel construction

8. Types of protection Solar greenhouses (similar to tunnels but now with an extra wall directed to the north to store the warmth of the sun during the day and slowly releasing the warmth during the night) Xiao Tang Shan! Why sometimes like this?

9. Types of protection Modern greenhouses (made of aluminium and glass and mostly with modern climate control (heating, cooling, ...) Xiao Tang Shan!

10. Question What are the differences between a horticultural company with open air cultivation and a horticultural company with protected cultivation regarding the use of fertilizer, energy, crop protection agents, waste management and water?

11. System approach The system approach is useful to analyze situations and to find out what may happen to a system under change • farming system – the whole company • cropping system – greenhouse, rice land, fruit orchard • crop system – Rose, Chinese cabbage • plant system – one single plant • cell system – plant biotechnology • Each (sub) system has inputs and outputs • If there is change in one sub-system there often is influence on the other (sub) system(s)

12. Question What kind of systems do you have for your assignment 3 case situation? Explain.

13. Plant growth and development (1) Question: What is important for plant growth and development? Think of as many things as possible!

14. Plant growth and development (2) Production factors Photosynthesis= 6CO2 + 12H2O + light  C6H12O6 + 6O2 + H2O) carbon water sugar oxygen water dioxide • Needed: CO2, water, light plus nutrients (N, Mg, P, K and others) • The law of the minimum • Environment should be favorable: Temperature, Light, Relative Humidity (RH), (and carbon dioxide)

15. Plant growth and development (3) Temperature • Air temperature, soil/medium temperature, leaf/plant temperature can differ from each other • Recommendations usually about air temperature • Average daily temperature influences the rate of plant development (e.g. flowering and dormancy) • Temperature soil/media is important for germination or rooting of cuttings (should be more > 21ºC) • Optimum temperature= best for the plant development (can vary during development!) • Tolerable temperature= plant does not die, but grows slowly or low quality

16. Plant growth and development (4) Temperature, continued • Some plants need vernalization = effect by cool temperature (1-3 months) for e.g. flowering • DIF= difference day and night temperature. • High DIF gives more stem elongation. • DIF may effect flower size and number • Temp at last stage of culture few degrees lower than optimum to enhance colour & postharvest life • After harvest: cool down to between 0 and 7ºC to slow down deterioration (temp depends on crop!

17. Plant growth and development (5) Light • Gives the energy for photosynthesis • Color, intensity (quantity) and day length (photoperiod) • Physiological responses, e.g. seed germination, flowering, senescence, tuber formation & dormancy • Day length / Photoperiod: a short or long day length can influence reactions in certain plants, e.g. flowering. • Maximize light: plant spacing, extra illumination, use a good greenhouse construction and maintenance • Shading: too much light is unpleasant for plants (and humans), leads to e.g. yellow leaves

18. Plant growth and development (6) Light • New development: LED light In future, perhaps: - we do not need the sun anymore - we can cultivate more plants on a smaller area….

19. Plant growth and development (7) Water • The right amount should be given • Quality is important • Different ways of watering Relative humidity (RH) • High RH: less chance of plant getting too dry • High RH: more chance for fungi and other diseases

20. Plant growth and development (8) The growth (sigmoid) curve: • exponential, • linear, • Declining Question: Why do you think growth takes place like this?

21. Plant growth and development (9) The sink source theory • Sinks = parts that demand sugars – young and growing parts • Sources= parts that deliver sugars: leaves, seeds, tubers etc. Sinks compete with each other → removing apples, pruning tomato side branches, removing grape branches. Explain!

22. Pests and diseases (1) • Pests and diseases: • Affect quantity (yield): worldwide 30% of agricultural production is lost • Affect quality (price) • Are a big barrier for international trade • Pesticides can harm: • Food • Health employees that use pesticides • Environment

23. Pests and diseases (2) Question: What kind (categories) of pests and diseases exist in horticulture?

24. Pests and diseases (3) Pests: • Insects • Spider mites • Nematodes • Rodents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

25. Pests and diseases (4) Diseases: • Fungi Spores (water, wind) • Bacteria Insects, water, soil 1. 2. • Viruses Sucking insects, tools, hands 3.

26. Pests and diseases (5) Question: How can you control pests and diseases?

27. Pests and diseases (6) How to control pests: • Biological (organic farming) • Chemical with crop protection agents • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

28. Pests and diseases (7) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) = combination biological and chemical: • cultural control (good environment) & breeding strong varieties • scouting = visual inspection: • physical control (mechanical or by hand) • biological control • Predators: eat pests • Parasites: live on pests, e.g. put eggs inside larvae • chemical control only when there’s no other solution, pesticides which do not harm biological control

29. Pests and diseases (8) Question: Why should a farmer use Integrated Pest Management (IPM)? How can the yellow and blue plates help?

30. Weeds Weeds also harm the production. Questions: - Why? - How can you control weeds?

31. See you tomorrow for your presentation of assignment 2 and for excursion to Xiao Tang Shan Excursion every one year 2009! Assignment: see handout.