Abstract
The ecological surface water quality in areas with intensive glasshouse horticulture in the
Netherlands is not fulfilling the goals of the EU Nitrates Directive and Water Framework
Directive. Opposite to soilless grown crops with obligatory recycling of drainage water,
emission in soil based growing systems is difficult to manage. For some crops the conversion
from soil based to soilless systems is economically (e.g., chrysanthemums) or principally
(organic horticulture) not an option. In the Netherlands a steady approximately 20% of the
total glasshouse horticulture is therefore soil based. Since greenhouse production occurs yearround
and at a high level, the amounts of water and nutrients used are much higher than in
field crops. Thus emission of excess water and nutrients to the ground water and open surface
water is likely to occur. The Dutch policy is aiming to tackle the problem of emission at its
source. Therefore, we need methods to apply water and nutrients at rates equal to the crop
demand. We recently started a project to develop a decision support system for the growers
for achieving this goal and thus to minimize the leaching to the ground water and discharge to
open surface water. The system exists of a lysimeter in the glasshouse to collect excess water
and nutrients, water content sensors inside and outside the lysimeter, and models to
determine, guide and predict evapotranspiration and leaching. At eight commercial farms the
system has been implemented. Via local discussion groups neighboring growers can discuss
the findings obtained at the test locations. These discussions are then used to further develop
the decision support system and to develop best practices for the growers. We will present our
approach and give some first illustrative results.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Wageningen Conference on Applied Soil Science - Soil Science in a Changing World - 18 - 22 Sept. 2011, Wageningen, The Netherlands |
Editors | S. Keesstra, G. Mol |
Place of Publication | Wageningen |
Publisher | Wageningen UR |
Pages | 259 |
ISBN (Print) | 9789461731685 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Event | Soil Science in a Changing World, Wageningen, the Netherlands - Duration: 18 Sept 2011 → 22 Sept 2011 |
Conference
Conference | Soil Science in a Changing World, Wageningen, the Netherlands |
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Period | 18/09/11 → 22/09/11 |