ABSTRACT
Organic greenhouse tomato production Martine Dorais, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Laval University, Quebec, Canada
1 Introduction
2 Principles and standards of organic greenhouse cultivation
3 Expansion of organic protected tomato cultivation around the world
4 Types of greenhouses used for organic tomato cultivation around the world
5 Productivity and profitability of organic greenhouse tomato production
6 Cultivar and rootstock selection and seedling production
7 Organic greenhouse production systems
8 Fertilisation management
9 Water management
10 Plant protection
11 Health and nutritive value
12 Environmental impact of organic greenhouse tomatoes
13 Future trends and conclusion
14 Where to look for further information
15 References
Organic agriculture has a long history (Dorais and Alsanius, 2015; Janick et al., 1992). The use of biodynamics by a group of European farmers in 1924, following Rudolf Steiner’s lectures, was a precursor to the organic farming movement (Janick, 2013; Paull, 2011; Kirchmann, 1994). In England, Sir Albert Howard (1873-1947) and Lady Eve Balfour (1898-1990) developed the modern organic agriculture, promoted by J. L. Rodale (1898-1971) in United States. In 1962, Rachel Carson published the consequences of pesticide abuse and its ubiquitous exposure, stimulating the environmental movement. In 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM, https://www.ifoam.bio) was founded in order to promote the ‘worldwide adoption of ecologically, socially and economically sound systems that are based on the principles of organic agriculture’. Therefore, the goal of organic greenhouse tomato farming is to produce high-quality fruits that satisfy consumer demand
and expectations without placing a burden on the environment (Dorais and Alsanius, 2015; https://www.biogreenhouse.org/). It also includes providing medium-and long-term ecoservices to the public in areas such as food security and well-being while ensuring that farms remain profitable (Reganold and Wachter, 2016). To achieve this equilibrium, several issues need to be resolved by developing and integrating new approaches, technologies and expertise. To enable a full understanding of the constraints, benefits and opportunities of sustainable organic greenhouse tomato production, the principles and standards of organic farming (https://www.ifoam.bio/) and the scale of this horticultural sector are described in Sections 2 and 3, respectively. Since organic greenhouse tomato production systems vary greatly depending on local soil and climate conditions and technological approaches, the types of greenhouses and organic cultural practices used are described in Section 4. The productivity and profitability of organic greenhouse tomato production are outlined in Section 5, which explains the differences between organic and conventional production systems and proposes new strategies. Since one major determinant of farm profitability is the selection of the best cultivars for the eco-agrosystem and targeted markets, challenges related to the availability of robust plant material are covered in Section 6. Organic soil-grown, soilless and aquaponic systems as well as their recent advances are described in Section 7. Nutrient and water management issues are outlined in Sections 8 and 9, respectively, together with alternatives that increase the sustainability of organic greenhouse tomato production. Given that plant protection in organic greenhouse farming involves biological control or integrated pest management techniques relatively similar to those used in conventional greenhouse farming using biological control or integrated pest management, only key aspects directly related to organic cultivation are covered in Section 10. The health and nutritional value of organic tomato is described in Section 11, while the environmental benefits of growing greenhouse tomatoes organically are set out in Section 12. Finally, Sections 13 and 14 summarise the main points of this chapter and suggest future research trends for promoting this important horticultural sector and enhancing its sustainability.
