ISHS Acta Horticulturae 1051: Middle East Horticultural Summit
BEST HORTICULTURAL PRACTICES FOR GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST |
| Author: | A. Hanafi |
| Keywords: | integrated pest management, pests and diseases monitoring, biological, physical, mechanical, cultural control, host plant resistance, good agricultural practices in vegetable nurseries and greenhouse crops |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1051.4 |
| Abstract:
Appropriate adoption of the best horticultural practices helps improve the safety and quality of food and other agricultural products. It may help reduce the risk of non-compliance with national and international regulations, standards and guidelines (in particular of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the International Plant Protection Convention IPPC regarding permitted pesticides, maximum levels of contaminants (including pesticides and mycotoxins) in food and non-food agricultural products, as well as other chemical, microbiological and physical contamination hazards. Awareness raising is needed for ‘win-win’ practices that lead to improvements in yield and production efficiencies as well as environment and health and safety of workers. Adoption of best horticultural practices helps promotes sustainable agriculture and contributes to meeting national and international environment and social development objectives. Growers with small or large acreage can use protected cultivation effectively. The basic principles and intensive management required to operate a greenhouse operation successfully are similar, regardless of the size of an operation. One needs to integrate the best horticultural practices of a protected cultivation system. These practices can be grouped into management and control practices. The best management practices include: 1- adequate greenhouse site selection; 2- appropriate greenhouse design and cover; 3- choice of the right cultivar and production/acquisition of clean and vigorous planting material; 4- adapted greenhouse production technology (greenhouse climate management, adequate soil, adapted soilless system; adequate irrigation and fertigation management). On the other hand, the best control practices include: 1- legislative control; 2- mechanical control; 3- physical control; 4- cultural control; 5- biological and microbial control; and 6- pests and disease monitoring and guided chemical control. This paper outlines briefly some of the best agricultural practices in greenhouse crops in the Middle East, to ensure good yield and quality while minimising the use of chemicals and safeguarding the environment, the applicator and the consumer; to meet existing quality standards like GLOBALGAP. | |
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