Production In Detail
Each greenhouse measures approximately 6,000 m2, with a central road and plants on two sides. The structures and construction are from China; polycarbonate coverings and environmental controls are from Israel. An inside screen is used to reduce radiation and temperature. Hot water pipes run through the floors and the warm air heats the greenhouse. Each 5-hectare greenhouse section has its own computer system, which controls climate and environmental controls.
Each pot has individual drippers, fed through central irrigation. Rainwater is collected and stored in a reservoir, where it is disinfected and UV-treated. The facility stores rainwater for 5 hectares more than is needed because there are periods when there is no rain. Each greenhouse section has its own water system. Sprinklers are used to regulate humidity and ultra low volume foggers for applying insecticides and fungicides. Plant growth regulators are applied by hand.
For media, Eastfields uses volcanic rock that comes from China's border with Russia. While the material is cheap, transportation is expensive, and the volcanic rock, acting as a buffer, takes longer for plants to respond. Growers conducted experiments with perlite, which allowed a faster plant response time. As a result, all the plants in the new houses were planted in perlite.
Plants are grown pot to pot and spaced later in the season as growth warrants. Eastfields projects potential productivity to be 30 cuttings per pot.
The newer E2 location was constructed with rolling benches, which is less convenient for workers because there are fewer aisles and movement is limited, but it has also increased usable greenhouse space by 40 percent, allowing an additional 200,000 plants to be grown there. The bench design was also lowered to increase worker productivity.
The greenhouses in E2 were also built taller to accommodate growing potted plants.
Each greenhouse bench also is barcoded for variety indexing. Workers receive a cut list and harvest according to the index. Otherwise, plants are harvested heavier in some areas than others. The indexing allows stock plants, and therefore cuttings, to remain very uniform. Plants are harvested for several months for buildup and because Eastfields moves from harvesting for stock buildup to harvesting for growers, plant growth regulator rates change and some growers may receive cuttings with larger leaves. Because Eastfields growers use hardly any PGRs, the cuttings are more likely to be larger with larger leaves anyway; however, cutting specs for growers are different than specs for stock.
Postharvest, cuttings are taken to the coolers within 30 minutes,
where they are precooled to slow metabolism as quickly as possible. Quality control continues in the coolers to ensure that the correct varieties are barcoded and packed correctly. Boxes leaving Eastfields enroute to their final destination should be leaving the Shanghai Pudong International Airport within four to five hours. Fischer is currently working with Federal Express to determine if it is a better option than AirFreight to expedite shipping to the United States.
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