Lettuce and herbs flourish under ReduSol
When growing salads and herbs in greenhouses, these plants may experience stress from high temperatures in the greenhouse and excessive solar radiation in spring-summer period. “Agrocombinat “Moskovsky” is sharing its successful experience with ReduSol of keeping their crop growing and keeping its freshness.
“As soon as the temperature in the greenhouse rises above 25°C with fully open vent windows, this is the sign to start shading,” says Andrey Yakovlevich Radchenko, the company’s chief technologist for the production of salads and herbs. The greenhouse glass covers 75 hectares, of which 12 ha are with salad lines. “If we do not shade, the air temperature inside the greenhouse can rise above 30°C. Such high temperatures can lead to wilting of leaves, affecting the growth and development of plants. The plants’ quality can decrease very much, they develop dried leaf edges, it slows the growth and the crop’s colour is light. ReduSol significantly improves quality: the crop maintains a better colour and taste. When using ReduSol on the greenhouse roof, plants are better able to withstand the afternoon heat, leaves are not exposed to direct sunlight, leaf surfaces and equipment in the greenhouse are not heated to extreme temperatures.”
Based on 7 years of experience with ReduSystems, “Agrocombinat “Moskovsky” applies 10-12 buckets of ReduSol per hectare. The thicker the layer, the longer the product stays on the greenhouse roof surface. Applying does not present any problems and removing is easy with ReduClean specially developed for cleaning ReduSystems coatings.
Andrey Yakovlevich Radchenko
Nicer working climate
Andrey Radchenko: “After applying ReduSol to the greenhouse roof, it becomes more comfortable to work in the greenhouse. This is reflected in the productivity, which has increased, because employees tire out less quickly.”
The coating affects the deployment of the movable screen and opening the vent windows. The length of time that the screen is closed has dropped. This provides for a more active climate. “After coating, we open the vent windows on the south side by no more than 40%. We do this to prevent direct sunlight from falling on the crop through these windows,” he explains.
Top quality
Why does “Agrocombinat “Moskovsky” make use of ReduSystems products? “First of all, because of the high product quality. It is perfectly white in contrast to the products of some competitors. It is very easy to dilute with water, which makes it possible to test various concentrations for achieving optimal light reduction for a certain crop. Another important consideration for us is that ReduClean, the agent we use to remove the coating, is easy on the pumps we use for coating the greenhouse and applying the removal agent.”
Agrocombinat “Moskovsky” has successfully used ReduSol since 2013.
