Japanese grower achieves 12.5kg strawberry per m2 with lifting system

A Japanese farmer has achieved a yield of 12.5kg of strawberries per square meter in his greenhouse with Hydroponic Systems' lifting system. This is sensational data since this type of cultivation lines manufactured by the Spanish company managed to minimize the shading levels in the plants, maximizing their production capacity.

In this sense, in the last harvest, the lifting cultivation lines achieved a little more than double the strawberry production per square meter compared to other soilless plantations in greenhouses in Japan that do not have Spacer units. More specifically, it obtained 1kg per plant in the lifting system with twelve rows per canopy, while the average yield is 0.6kg in other hydroponic units without this Hydroponic Systems patented part formed in 6 or 8 rows.

Lifting system
This is a linear cultivation unit with vertical movement capability, i.e., the crop rows are raised or lowered to create aisles for harvesting or plant inspection. Thus, the lifting system allows for an increase in planting density since it is not necessary to take into account the spaces for the aisles in the greenhouse design. Moreover, as the results of this Japanese farmer show, it is able to circumvent the shading levels between rows. Thus, it is possible to double the total production, reaching over 125,000 plants per hectare.

These units are topped by the Spacer, a patented piece that allows maximum use of the surface for the substrate bags while favoring drainage and avoiding humidity and consequent diseases. Under the Spacer is a gutter that can be installed in various ways depending on the customer's needs.

Production increases
The case of this Japanese grower is not the only one of success that has occurred in Japan for Hydroponic Systems. A few months ago, a strawberry grower (Beni Hoppe variety) carried out a study of his production to confirm that thanks to the use of hanging drainage harvesting units he had achieved in his first experience an increase in yield above the average in Japan, that is, one ton more, an extra 12% between one cycle and the next.

For their part, farmers and researchers in Mexico certified that the use of Hydroponic Systems' Spacer and metal trough systems could improve plant yields in a greenhouse by 5% compared to other similar metal trough systems available on the market.

Hydroponic Systems is a Spanish company that designs, manufactures, and markets professional drainage collection systems on which millions of crops are grown worldwide after almost a decade of international operations. Its Spacer growing systems are part of agricultural installations on five continents.