Fresh vegetables, salads and fruit crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicum peppers, lettuce and strawberries are extensively grown in commercial greenhouses in countries such as the Netherlands and New Zealand.
In this environment, light, water, temperature, nutrient supply and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are controlled to create growing conditions that optimise both crop yield and quality.
Annual worldwide production under glass continues to grow year-on-year, driven largely by investment in smart vertical farming techniques in hot and arid countries, such as Australia and Saudi Arabia. In cold climates it has been, and remains, common practice to burn propane or natural gas in the greenhouse to generate the required heat and to elevate the CO2 levels to enhance crop growth. In warmer countries this heat addition is not always required and independent CO2 dosing from a bulk supply is therefore common.
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