Systems innovation is complex. This is also true for new cultivation systems for soil-grown crops. Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture developed a checklist for the conditions that need to be met by a new cultivation system. This list helps advisors to support growers with innovation plans.
Changing from cultivation on soil is quite complex for many crops. Thinking about new cultivation systems for crops that are now still grown on soil is necessary because soilless cultivation will be unavoidable in the near future. Firstly to be able to meet the Water Framework Directive which stipulates that leaching of nutrients should be restricted to the minimum in 2027. Secondly, to improve efficiency by improved crop management, more efficient space utilisation, and more hygiene.
In principle, any crop can be grown on a non-soil substrate. But the development of a new cultivation system is a complex matter. This is why the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) did last year organise a discussion for twelve crop groups to identify the bottlenecks.
Joint approach
“For the successful development of a new system you must start with the crop and not the other way around. Designing a system and then see whether a crop can be grown in such a system usually is not successful,” argues researcher Tycho Vermeulen.
Following the discussions in the various crop groups Vermeulen has, together with his colleagues, identified all bottlenecks. They then listed the points that need to be taken into account when developing a new cultivation system. The list contains fifty points dealing with issues such as water supply, crop protection, controllability of the system, and emission.
Vermeulen: “Using the checklist shows whether all aspects have been taken into account. It is a very extensive list, which does not make things simple. The list indicates the conditions required for success and enables us, together with growers who have ideas for development of a new system, to estimate the chance of success beforehand.”