Project R-7212

Project Collaboration Agreement between Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy (NIBIO) and Universiteit Hasselt (UH) for the Biofresh project : Bioeconomic production of fresh greenhouse vegetables in Norway. (Research)

The Project Bioeconomic production of greenhouse vegetables in Norway (BioFresh) will bring together scientific knowledge on plant physiology, climate and construction technology, and microbiology with the goal to produce fresh, healthy high quality vegetables using natural Norwegian resources. The ultimate goal is to produce these fresh vegetables year-round without the use of fossil energy, chemical plant protection, and without emission of CO2, fertilizer or other waste fractions. To achieve this, greenhouse plant production techniques must be changed and adapted due to dramatic changes in the climate in Norwegian greenhouses. Photosynthetic activity, transpiration and the uptake of water and nutrients must be balanced by developing new protocols for temperature, light, humidity and CO2 regulation, irrigation techniques and cultural measures. Recirculation of drainage water, while incorporating liquid organic waste fractions, will require new knowledge on how to support favourable microbial communities in the root environment. In the project, producers and consumers will cooperate in order to achieve the highest possible fraction of high quality vegetables, thus reducing losses. Innovation will only occur if new technological developments will give rise to economic and/or environmental value. In order to quantify these values, a recent developed modelling approach will be adapted and validated for Norwegian conditions. Specialized consultants are engaged to support implementation in practice.

01 January 2016 - 31 December 2019