ISHS Acta Horticulturae 633: XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Protected Cultivation 2002: In Search of Structures, Systems and Plant Materials for Sustainable Greenhouse Production
PRODUCTION OF SPECIALTY CROPS IN GREENHOUSES - WASABI AS A CASE STUDY |
| Authors: | D.L. Ehret, K. Ng, B. Oates, P. Delaquis, G. Mazza |
| Keywords: | isothiocyanate, Cruciferae, Wasabia japonica, nitrogen nutrition, hydroponics |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.633.55 |
| Abstract:
Recent interest in specialty crops derives in part from the economic need to diversify within the horticultural sector, but is also driven by increased consumer acceptance of new food and medicinal crops. The opportunities are great, but potential growers must be aware of the challenges as well. Careful market research and consultation with buyers is essential, as is the need for local infrastructure (warehousing and processing facilities, etc.). Production factors such as disease and pest control, quality, cost of production, and yield must all be considered. Production issues become all the more important in the context of greenhouse-growing, where start-up and maintenance costs are much higher than in other areas of horticulture. With this in mind, we review the opportunities and problems involved in growing greenhouse wasabi (Wasabia japonica), a food crop which has gained substantial interest in recent years. We also describe a greenhouse experiment in which plant yield and growth were found to increase with increasing N content of the nutrient feed. Flavour components were unaffected by N. | |
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