Life cycle perspectives on the sustainability of Ontario greenhouse tomato production: Benchmarking and improvement opportunities

Dias, Goretty; Ayer, Nathan W.; Khosla, S.; Acker, Rene Van; Young, Steven B.; Whitney, Stephanie; Hendricks, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.039

Cited by 88 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…Soilless culture systems are commonly integrated in controlled environment agriculture, i.e., heated greenhouses, that in turn are associated with environmental concerns and the production of high amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Indeed, major studies conducted showed that from an environmental point of view, plants cultivated directly in soil in tunnels or greenhouses without using auxiliary systems perform better than those with heating in SCS [32][33][34]. However, even if the heated protected cultivation systems present a good opportunity to move from soil to SCS, we do not have to associate SCS only with heated greenhouses.…”

Section: Soilless Culture and Growing Media: Pros And Consmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

2019

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Decreasing arable land, rising urbanization, water scarcity, and climate change exert pressure on agricultural producers. Moving from soil to soilless culture systems can improve water use efficiency, especially in closed-loop systems with a recirculating water/nutrient solution that recaptures the drain water for reuse. However, the question of alternative materials to peat and rockwool, as horticultural substrates, has become increasingly important, due to the despoiling of ecologically important peat bog areas and a pervasive waste problem. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive critical review of current developments in soilless culture, growing media, and future options of using different materials other than peat and rockwool. Apart from growing media properties and their performance from the point of view of plant production, economic and environmental factors are also important. Climate change, CO 2 emissions, and other ecological issues will determine and drive the development of soilless culture systems and the choice of growing media in the near future. Bioresources, e.g., treated and untreated waste, as well as renewable raw materials, have great potential to be used as growing media constituents and stand-alone substrates. A waste management strategy aimed at reducing, reusing, and recycling should be further and stronger applied in soilless culture systems. We concluded that the growing media of the future must be available, affordable, and sustainable and meet both quality and environmental requirements from growers and society, respectively.

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Section: Soilless Culture and Growing Media: Pros And Consmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

2019

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“…Greenhouse cultivation allows intensive plant production supported by ingenious management of crop environments, assisted with fossil fuel and grid electricity supplies. Demands for fuel and electricity have increased as growers strive to improve crop yield and quality and to extend cultivation seasons and geography, partly because of expectations to feed the increasing populations [1]. As the dependence on fuel and grid electricity increases, the risk of losing stability of growers' profits increases because of the fluctuating prices of energy resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrical Energy Producing Greenhouse Shading System with a Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic Blind Based on Micro-Spherical Solar Cells

Yano

Cossu

et al. 2018

Energies

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An increasing population and limited arable land area endanger sufficient and variegated food supplies worldwide. Greenhouse cultivation enables highly intensive plant production and thereby enables the production of abundant fresh vegetables and fruits. The salient benefits of greenhouse cultivation are supported by ingenious management of crop environments, assisted by fossil fuel and grid electricity supplies. To reduce dependence on traditional energy resources, various studies have investigated exploitation of renewable energies for greenhouse environment management. Among them, solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies are anticipated to feed electrical energy to greenhouse appliances for microclimate control. This study proposes a venetian-blind-type shading system consisting of semi-transparent PV modules as blind blades based on micro-spherical solar cell technology to achieve greenhouse shading and electricity production concurrently. In response to the solar irradiance level, the PV blind inclination was altered automatically using a direct current (DC) motor driven by electrical energy generated by the PV blind itself. The PV blind was operated continuously during a five-month test period without outage. Moreover, the PV blind generated surplus electrical energy of 2125 kJ for blind system operations during the test period. The annual surplus energy calculated under the present experimental condition was 7.8 kWh m −2 year −1 , suggesting that application of the PV blind to a greenhouse roof enables sunlight level control and electrical appliance operations in the greenhouse with a diminished fuel and grid electricity supply, particularly in high-insolation regions.Energies 2018, 11, 1681 2 of 23 produces carbon dioxide emissions, the amounts of which should be reduced in the agricultural sector [2]. Under these circumstances, various studies have been conducted to use renewable energy for managing greenhouse crop environments [3,4]. Among them, solar photovoltaics (PVs) are expected to feed electricity to appliances that are used for greenhouse environment management [5].Deploying PV arrays on the sunny ground beside a greenhouse is the simplest and most effective mode of electrical energy generation. For instance, fan and pad cooling systems in Saudi Arabia [6] and in Arizona [7], a fog cooling system in Malaysia [8], and heat pump systems in Italy [9,10] were operated with power from ground-mounted PV arrays. Nevertheless, installing PV arrays partially on a greenhouse roof might be preferred if the PV panels are intended as shading materials. Shading is a fundamentally important practice for greenhouse cultivation in high-insolation regions, such as Spain [11] or Saudi Arabia [12]. Previous studies conducted in Japan [13] and in the Mediterranean region [14,15] demonstrated that an adequate level of shading mitigates excessive temperature rises in greenhouses in summer, improving crop growth and quality [16,17]. Conventionally, nets [14,15,18] and reflective coatings [18,19] have been used as practical ...

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“…Cellura et al, 2012;Dias et al, 2017;Ntinas et al, 2017;Payen et al, 2015;Torrellas et al, 2013). In the study of Cellura et al (2012), the environmental and energy performances of peepers, tomatoes, melons, zucchini and cherry tomatoes were investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, Payen et al (2015) found that energy use required in France for growing tomatoes in heated glasshouses was responsible for being worse with respect to global warming and energy use than importing tomatoes grown without heating from Morocco, even when considering the food miles. Dias et al (2017) also studied through an LCA the sustainability of greenhouse tomato production in Ontario. Similar to the aforementioned studies, heating with fossil fuels was found to be the main contributor towards cumulative energy demand and global warming.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As it is common in LCA studies (Cellura et al, 2012;Dias et al, 2017;Ntinas et al, 2017;Page et al, 2012;Payen et al, 2015;Torrellas et al, 2013), the analyses are based on either specific production systems or annual average production performances, and rely on energy input data obtained from questionnaires/surveys. Therefore, they serve a different purpose from the work presented in this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A generic tool for quantifying the energy requirements of glasshouse food production

Georgiou

Acha

Shah

et al. 2018

Journal of Cleaner Production

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a b s t r a c tQuantifying the use of resources in food production and its environmental impact is key to identifying distinctive measures which can be used to develop pathways towards low-carbon food systems. In this paper, a first-principle modelling approach is developed, referred to as gThermaR (Glasshouse-Thermal Requirements). gThermaR is a generic tool that focuses on the energy requirements of protected heated production, by integrating holistic energy, carbon, and cost modelling, food production, data analytics and visualization. The gThermaR tool employs historic data from weather stations, growing schedules and requirements specific to grower and product needs (e.g. set-point temperatures, heating periods, etc.) in order to quantify the heating and cooling requirements of glasshouse food production. In the present paper, a case study is reported that employs a database compiled for the UK. Another relevant feature of the tool is that it can quantify the effects that spatial and annual weather trends can have on these heating and cooling requirements. The main contribution of this work, therefore, concerns the development a tool that can provide a simple integrated approach for performing a wide range of analyses relevant to the thermal requirements of heated glasshouses. The tool is validated through collaborations with industrial partners and showcased in a case study of a heated glasshouse in the UK, offering the capacity to benchmark and compare different glasshouse types and food growth processes. Results from the case study indicate that a significant reduction in the heating requirement and, therefore, carbon footprint, of the facility can be achieved by improving key design and operational parameters. Results indicate savings in the peak daily and annual heating requirements of 44e50% and 51e57% respectively, depending on the region where the glasshouse is located. This improvement is also reflected in the carbon emissions and operating costs for the different energy sources considered. Furthermore, the temporal variability/uncertainty of the annual energy requirements and of the peak daily energy requirements are found to be considerably lowered through improvements to the glasshouse attributes. Overall, gThermaR proves its value in quantifying and identifying key factors that have a significant impact on energy requirements of heated glasshouses. Such valuable outputs are invaluable for stakeholders in the food industry that have an interest in mapping the sustainability and mitigating the carbon footprint of their supply chain processes.

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Life cycle perspectives on the sustainability of Ontario greenhouse tomato production: Benchmarking and improvement opportunities

Cited by 88 publications

References 20 publications

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

Electrical Energy Producing Greenhouse Shading System with a Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic Blind Based on Micro-Spherical Solar Cells

A generic tool for quantifying the energy requirements of glasshouse food production

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