The cucumber growing sector has gone through significant changes in the last decades. Starting from the simple A-frame greenhouses in the 50s, the industry has welcomed successful, practical innovations such as the tube rail system, CHPs, substrates, growing lights, and biological pest control. Cucumber cultivation is developing towards more efficient, higher-yielding, and more sustainable production.
So how will the coming 10, 20 and 30 years look like?
Together with Certhon, Koppert Biological Systems and Crux Agribotics, BASF has given this a thought and designed how cucumbers might be grown and consumed in our near and more far future.
The four partners are convinced that the horticulture industry with its entrepreneurial mindset will move towards a more connected, data driven, automated and sustainable vegetable production with a stronger consumer focus in mind.
The fourth edition of the BASF’s series high-wire cucumber whitepapers entitled ‘On the Way to Smart, Automated and Consumer-oriented Cucumber Growing’ sketches an image of the cucumber cultivation of the future. It focuses on cultivation-related topics such as labor, food safety, crop protection and sustainability and touches on the changes in the run-up to 2030 and on to 2050. It also sheds light on the consumer side, demonstrating how recent consumer trends will move cucumbers out of the commodity and how this will impact the cultivation in high-tech greenhouses.
Are you excited to look into the future with us and share your own thoughts? Download our whitepaper here or visit our high wire cucumber webpage and get in touch with us.
As global ambassador in high wire cucumber cultivation and market leader in The Netherlands, we share our long-term experience and expert knowledge. Our special series of white papers, ‘The Only Way is Up’, gives practical insights for experienced high wire growers and newcomers. Consultants, traders and retailers can also find valuable information as well as tips and tricks.