Greenhouse horticulture is becoming increasingly intelligent. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), sensors and automation, growers can manage their greenhouses with greater precision. But how far can this technology take us? Could greenhouses eventually operate entirely on their own, or will the knowledge and experience of growers remain essential?
In episode 3 of De Groeikamer, host Robin de Wever and co-host Wouter Kuiper explore this question together with Ronald Hoek, CEO and co-founder of Blue Radix, and Paul Zandman, greenhouse grower and co-owner of Brasander.
How can AI contribute to more efficient and future-proof food production?
Growing crops requires knowledge and experience. Temperature, humidity, water and light all influence plant development. Growers must continuously respond to changing conditions to maintain the right balance.
AI can support them in this process. By analysing greenhouse data and automatically adjusting climate settings, intelligent systems can take over more routine tasks. This allows growers to focus on other important aspects of their business.
While growers traditionally had to check and adjust their climate computers several times a day, autonomous systems can now take over much of this work.
Blue Radix, for example, develops technology that automatically adjusts greenhouse climate settings based on data and predictions. The system learns from previous growing decisions and makes adjustments every five minutes when needed.
This enables greenhouses to respond more precisely to changing conditions. At the same time, it can reduce the daily workload for growers and support businesses facing a shortage of experienced cultivation professionals.
However, technology cannot do everything. An experienced grower can sometimes see, feel or even smell changes in a crop before a system detects them.
Paul Zandman explains how his daily walks through the greenhouse help him identify small changes, such as the first signs of a fungal infection. By taking action early, further spread can potentially be prevented.
This shows how AI and human expertise complement each other. Technology helps process large amounts of data, while growers use their practical experience to assess crop development and make informed decisions.
Beyond autonomous climate control, AI also creates opportunities to automate physical tasks in the greenhouse. Examples include harvesting tomatoes, removing leaves and detecting pests and diseases at an early stage.
However, challenges remain. Plants do not all grow in the same way, and every tomato cluster or leaf can be positioned differently. Tasks that come naturally to humans require robots to perform complex movements with a high level of precision.
Greenhouse design also plays an important role. As robotics continues to develop, it could influence how future greenhouses are designed and constructed.
AI and automation offer opportunities to make food production more efficient and easier to manage. At the same time, challenges remain in areas such as crop protection, robotics and harvest forecasting.
The transition towards autonomous growing therefore requires a combination of technology, practical experience and continuous innovation.
The key message from this episode? Start exploring AI and automation. There is no need to implement everything at once. By taking small steps and gradually introducing new technologies, growers can discover what works best for their operations.
Listen to episode 3 of De Groeikamer on Spotify or Apple Podcasts