Future floriculture with less waste, better plant quality and a high focus on innovative and alternative technologies

Greenhouse production of ornamental plants is one of the most important
sectors in Denmark. With an annual production value of 1.9 billion, the sector
is larger than the sector for fruit and berries, and vegetables together. The
Danish ornamental plant sector operates internationally, both with
manufactured goods and, even more important, with protected varieties such
as cuttings / small plants, which are sold to growers all over the world. The
long transport of cuttings is costly and have high demands to quality. Poor
cutting quality typically appears late in production, as plants that will not root,
weak root systems or poor growth. A large part of resources is wasted on
plants that are discarded, even before they reach maturity.
There is a great need to find solutions that will ensure protected plant
production in the future in an extremely variable climate and subjected to
increased demand of sustainability. In the project, we will focus on
increasing quality, and at the same time reduce waste and energy
consumption throughout the production chain from stockplant to cutting, and
to finished product. Climate-adapted management of the greenhouse
climate, as well as future-proofing of the production by moving parts indoors,
will be investigated with the aim of reducing costs for transport and energy.
New disruptive methods for rooting ability and quality will be tested. All in all,
a significant boost to sustainable horticulture, with both green and economic
impact.