COST Action BioGreenhouse comprises a network of institutions and experts, including ORC, from 27 countries together with experts from Canada, Jordan and Egypt. The network has published 10 scientific reviews and papers (4 published and 6 in print) about major issues in organic greenhouse horticulture. It has also published 6 books/booklets and 17 factsheets, and gave more than 50 presentations in 12 workshops at the Symposium from 11-14th April 2016 in Izmir. These covered nursery management, soil fertility, compost, water management, pest management, sensible use of energy, marketing, and food safety. Guidelines for organic horticulture research and tools for sustainability assessment have also been produced.
The publications represent a valuable source of the latest information on organic greenhouse/protected horticulture for growers, suppliers, consultants, students, teachers, researchers and policy makers. The publications are freely available at the website of the COST Action through the following link: http://biogreenhouse.org/public-documents They will also soon be available through www.agricology.co.uk
Roger Hitchings, ex ORC and representing IFOAM EU commented: “These comprehensive and detailed publications represent a considerable amount of hard work and will be a major resource for both growers and researchers in the years to come.”
Uygun Aksoy of IFOAM International said:”Scientific results and pieces of work, as those produced by the COST Action BioGreenhouse surely contributes to the progress of organic agriculture throughout the World. We really appreciate the work done by many experts from 27 countries and believe that these documents will guide both the researchers, farmers and consultants especially in the field of protected crop production.”
Also see Protected cropping in organic systems at the Organic Producer Conference – January 2016