Overview of the Development of Facility Agriculture

Yuyi HUANG Guifen CHEN Yanfei HUANG Bin LIU Liumei XIONG Guiyun GAN Liping XIE

Abstract This paper reviewed the meaning of facility agriculture and the development status and trends of facility agriculture at home and abroad， analyzed the development status and existing problems of facility agriculture in Guangxi， and proposed corresponding solutions to the problems in the development of facility agriculture in Guangxi， aiming to provide reference for promoting the sustainable development of facility agriculture in Guangxi.

Key words Guangxi; Facility agriculture; Problems; Countermeasures

Facility agriculture refers to a modern agricultural production method that uses artificial technical means and auxiliary measures to efficiently produce animals and plants by changing natural light and heat conditions. Facility agriculture in a broad sense covers facility cultivation， facility breeding and facility edible fungi， etc. Facility agriculture in a narrow sense refers to facility cultivation， which is also the scope of this paper. Facility agriculture is an artificial engineering method that changes natural light and temperature conditions， creates environmental factors that optimize the growth of animals and plants， and enables them to grow around the clock. It provides relatively controllable optimal temperature， humidity， light， water， fertilizer， air and other environmental conditions for crop growth， making full use of soil， climate， and biological potential， thereby increasing crop yield and quality， extending crop growth season， and making crops grow normally in the season and environment in which crops cannot grow in open field. To a certain extent， this is a new production method of agriculture that can efficiently produce fast-growing， high-yielding， high-quality， and efficient agricultural products independent of the natural environment. Facility agriculture is a high-input， high-output， labor-， capital-， and technology-intensive industry[1]. The degree of development of facility agriculture has become one of the important indicators for measuring the level of agricultural modernization in a country or region[2].

Development Status and Trend of Facility Agriculture at Home and Abroad

Development status of facility agriculture at home and abroad

Facility agriculture in foreign countries started earlier and the technology is more mature. At the present stage， facility agriculture is already an intensive agriculture with high technology， high input， high output and high benefit. Since the 1970s， facility agriculture in the Netherlands， the United States， Israel， Japan， and other countries has developed rapidly， with more government investment and subsidies， forming a relatively complete system of facility agriculture cultivation technology， and these countries are the main countries at the highest level of facility agricultural production. The characteristics of facility agriculture in these countries are： attaching importance to high-level facility construction and energy input， having advanced， agricultural mechanization technology， standardized cultivation technology， facility cultivation management technology and comprehensive facility environment control technology， focusing on ecological environmental protection and resource recycling， and developing toward high technology， automation， intelligence and networking continuously[2].

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is a world-famous developed gardening facility with limited land， but through government leadership， the worlds most advanced glass greenhouse has been built in this country. They have five world-famous greenhouse manufacturing companies. The country leads the world in terms of computer intelligence and greenhouse environment regulation. According to the different needs of crops for the environment， the computer can fully and automatically monitor and regulate the environmental factors in the facility. The Netherlands occupies the worlds leading position in terms of computer intelligence and greenhouse environment regulation technologies， which can carry out comprehensive and effective automatic monitoring and regulation of environmental factors in the facility by computers according to the different needs of crops for the environment. Integrated industrial technology is widely used in facility agriculture and has become an inseparable part of the industrialized system. The total area of flowers and vegetables planted in greenhouses of the Netherlands is 12 000 hm2.

Israel

Israel has poor natural conditions such as scarce water resources and serious soil salinization. Nearly 60% of the countrys land is desert and half of the area has an average annual rainfall of only 200 mm， but Israel has created a miracle in the desert. Israels greenhouse equipment materials， drip irrigation technology， and planting technology are all world-class. They are in the worlds leading position in facility irrigation technology， and their high-efficiency water-saving irrigation system can control the salinization of facility soil to a very low level. Meanwhile， Israel has a relatively complete agricultural technology extension system， in which agricultural scientific research activities are guided by agricultural production needs， the production department provides appropriate funds and experimental sites for scientific research， and the scientific research results directly serve the agricultural production department， forming a trinity of scientific research， promotion and farmers association， and closely integration of scientific research and production.

The United States

Most greenhouses in the United States are large-scale multi-span greenhouses， mainly distributed in the south to save energy. In the north， only plastic greenhouses that are not heated in winter are developed. In terms of integrated environmental control technology for facility cultivation， the high-pressure atomization cooling and humidification system and the wet curtain cooling system for summer cooling developed by the United States are at the worlds leading level.

Japan

Japan is an island country with limited cultivated land resources. Since the 1960s， Japan has rapidly developed facility production of vegetables， fruits and flowers， and has achieved high-quality， diversified and balanced annual listing. Japans facility agriculture mainly uses plastic steel frame greenhouses， accounting for 80% of the total facility cultivation area. Japans greenhouse supporting facilities and comprehensive environmental regulation and control technology are at the worlds advanced level， and the developed facility cultivation computer control system can comprehensively monitor and control the growth environment of cultivated plants.

Development trend of facility agriculture in countries at abroad

With the advancement of science and technology and the development of agricultural engineering technology， the content of facility agriculture integrating biotechnology， energy， engineering， electronics and other technologies is becoming more and more abundant， showing the following development trends.

Large-scale greenhouse construction

Production-oriented greenhouses in developed countries are developing toward large scale. Large greenhouse facilities have the advantages of low investment， high land utilization rate， relatively stable indoor environment， energy saving， easy operation and factory production. The scale of greenhouse households in the Netherlands is generally 2 hm2， and the area of a single building is above 0.5 hm2. The development direction of the Japanese greenhouse is also that the single building area is more than 0.5 hm2， and the height of the greenhouses is more than 4.5 m. The indoor space can be cultivated three-dimensionally， which is convenient for mechanized operations.

Automatic and intelligent indoor control

Japan has developed robots for plowing and fertilizing， and robots for harvesting citrus and grapes. The United States has developed a seedling-moving robot that can identify seedling quality and sort seedlings. High-tech such as wireless sensor network technology， modern communication technology， intelligent control technology， computer vision technology， space technology and so on are introduced into facility agriculture， and the facility environment monitoring system is developing in the direction of automation， intelligence and networking.

Diversified varieties of facility cultivation crops

On the basis of growing vegetables， fruits， flowers and other conventional greenhouse crops， high value-added spices， medicinal plants， edible fungi and ornamental plants have become the main varieties of greenhouse cultivation. All countries attach great importance to the development of their own special cultivation and take the road of specialization and scale. Taking flower production as an example， the Netherlands has an absolute advantage in flower seedlings， bulbs， fresh cut flowers， and automated production. The United States is in the worlds leading position in grass flowers and flower bed plant breeding， potted plants， and foliage plants.

Facility cultivation industrialization

Factory agriculture is a capital， technology-intensive， high-yield and efficient cultivation method. Its core is to effectively control the cultivation environment in facilities and create environmental conditions suitable for crop growth. The developed countries such as the Netherlands， the United States， France， and Japan have been devoted to the research of complete sets of technologies for industrialized agriculture. The intelligent computer control device developed can accurately collect room temperature， leaf temperature， ground temperature， indoor humidity， soil moisture， solution concentration， CO2 concentration and other parameters， and adjust the indoor temperature， light， water， fertilizer， gas， etc.， to the best state. The environment suitable for the growth of crops created by factory production has promoted the increase in yield. For example， in the Netherlands， 80% of the vegetables produced are exported， the greenhouse tomato output is 40-50 kg/m2， the cucumber output is 60 kg/m2， and the commodity rate is as high as 90%.

Diversified covering materials

In terms of greenhouse covering materials， it varies in different countries. The Nordic countries use multi-purpose glass mostly. France and other southern European countries adopt multi-purpose plastics. The United States mostly uses double-layer polyethylene film. And Japan uses polyvinyl chloride film. The thermal insulation， shading， and spectrum selection performance of the covering materials are gradually improving. The functional films developed in Japan and the United States have the characteristics of spectrum selection， cooling， sterilization， and pest prevention.

Soilless cultivation technique

Soilless culture has the advantages of saving water， saving energy， saving labor， saving fertilizer， reducing soil pollution， preventing continuous cropping obstacles， and reducing soil-borne diseases and pests. It can provide people with healthy， nutritious， pollution-free and pollution-free organic food. The nutrient solution of soilless cultivation can be recycled， which can save investment and protect the ecological environment. Soilless culture will become the main cultivation method in the future. At present， in the ratio of soilless cultivation area to greenhouse area， the Netherlands has exceeded 70%， Canada has exceeded 50%， and Belgium has reached 50%.

Mechanization of facility agricultural production

Developed countries have fewer agricultural personnel. Coupled with higher labor costs， they attach great importance to the improvement of management level and labor productivity in facility horticultural production， and mechanization is realized in all processes from greenhouse cultivation， crop cultivation， growth management， product harvesting， packaging and transportation. With the continuous development of industrial technology， robot technology will be gradually applied to the production of facility gardening， making greenhouse operations accurate， efficient， and labor-saving.

Development status of facility agriculture in China

The types of facility cultivation in China are mainly plastic medium and small arch sheds， plastic greenhouses， solar greenhouses and modern greenhouses. The cultivated crops are mainly vegetables， flowers and fruits[3]. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s， greenhouse production began to be popularized on a large scale. Through the first large-scale greenhouse introduction， on the basis of digesting and absorbing advanced foreign technologies， Chinas own greenhouse technology and products have been continuously improved. In the mid-1980s， the energy-saving solar greenhouse， which was obtained through the complete improvement on traditional solar greenhouses building structure and environmental control technology， made it possible to produce warm-tempered vegetables in the severe cold winter without artificial heating or only a small amount of heating in the northern regions. By the 1990s， the climax of the development of horticultural facilities such as plastic greenhouses and solar greenhouses was formed， the overall level of facility agriculture was further improved， and greenhouse facilities were also been unprecedentedly developed. With the successful development of a batch of modern large-scale greenhouses and related facilities that are suitable for Chinas climate characteristics and can effectively regulate the indoor environment， the development of facility horticulture has been gradually promoted and improved. In 2016， the area of facility vegetables was 3.701 million hm2 and the total output was 260 million tons[4].

Development trend of facility agriculture in China

Chinas facility agriculture， with the progress of society and the development of science and technology， will develop towards regionalization， energy conservation and specialization， and form high-tech， automatic， mechanic， large-scale and industrialized factory type agriculture in the future， which can provide the society with more abundant， pollution-free， safe and high-quality green and healthy food. On the basis of solar greenhouses， irrigation， fertilization， light control， temperature control， humidity control， plant protection and other systems will be automated and intelligent， and realize pollution-free， all-weather and annual continuous production. Precision technology is gradually promoted and applied in greenhouse production， including precision fertilization technology， precision planting and precision application.

Yuyi HUANG et al. Overview of the Development of Facility Agriculture

The Current Status and Existing Problems of the Development of Facility Agriculture in Guangxi

The current status of the development of facility agriculture in Guangxi

Facility agriculture in Guangxi started late. In the early 1990s， vegetable bases in suburbs began to use shade nets for simple facility cultivation. In the late 1990s， under the leadership of the government， Guangxis facility agriculture achieved rapid development in gardening facilities such as plastic greenhouses and greenhouses that use plastic films as covering materials. The main types of facility cultivation in Guangxi are medium and small plastic arch sheds， plastic greenhouses， single plastic greenhouses and large multi-span plastic greenhouses. The cultivated crops are mainly vegetables， fruits and flowers. At present， the cultivation area of Guangxis facility agriculture has increased significantly， and many agricultural demonstration parks have facility cultivation. For example， Beihai Yinhai Fruit and Vegetable Industry （Core） Demonstration Zone has built standardized fruit and vegetable cultivation greenhouses of 200 hm2; and Wumao Farm High-Efficiency Agricultural Demonstration Base in the Guangxi-ASEAN Economic Development Zone has been under construction since 2007 and has now had 6 000 standard steel-frame plastic greenhouses， and the main facility cultivation crops are melons， peppers， and dragon fruit. The development of facility agriculture in Guangxi has also brought many technological advances in corresponding technologies. For example， water-saving irrigation technology matching with facility cultivation， soilless cultivation technology， seed seedling engineering technology， pest control technology， post-harvest processing technology have also been rapidly developed.

The main problems in the development of facility agriculture in Guangxi

After 30 years of development in Guangxis facility agriculture， compared with facility agriculture in foreign and domestic provinces， it has a late start， a large gap， and many problems. Generally speaking， the level of facilities is low， the technology content is low， the scale is small， and the degree of mechanization is low. The existing problems are mainly manifested in the following aspects.

The scale of facilities is small and the technological level is low. The vinyl houses and greenhouses in Guangxi have small scale， simple facility structure， low equipment level and low environmental control capability. In order to reduce investment， most farmers adopt low-profile simple steel-frame plastic greenhouses， and large-scale greenhouses have not yet been widely used. Facility cultivation management mainly depends on experience， and no normalized and standardized cultivation techniques have been formed.

The facility level is low and the environmental controllability is poor. Most of the facility cultivation in Guangxi is based on simple plastic sheds， most of which only have simple functions such as heat preservation and rain prevention， and there are no facilities that actively regulate the environment.

The varieties of facility-cultivated crops are single， and the ecological conditions of the greenhouses have deteriorated. Facility-cultivated crops in Guangxi are of single species， and the continuous cropping phenomenon is serious， which has led to a large number of pathogens and the deterioration of ecological conditions. It has caused serious soil-borne diseases and destroyed the balance of soil nutrients， and ultimately led to reduced production. The varieties of facility-cultivated crops are also mostly selected from conventional varieties. There are no special-purpose， serial vinyl house and greenhouse cultivation crop varieties. Under the conditions of facilities， the output and quality of agricultural products always hover at a low level.

The degree of mechanization in facility cultivation is low. At present， the degree of mechanization of facility cultivation in Guangxi is relatively low. The production in facilities is mainly manpower， and has the characteristics of large labor intensity， poor working environment and low efficiency. Especially for some low and medium plastic arch sheds， suitable operation machinery is almost blank， and most of the existing facility machineries are not suitable for facility agricultural production.

The construction of facilities deviates from the actual production. The introduction of facilities for agricultural production must be adapted to local conditions. Judging from the survey of facilities in Guangxi， the introduction of some facilities does have a tendency to be greedy for foreign facilities and have great blindness.

Countermeasures for the Development of Facility Agriculture in Guangxi

There is still a big gap between Guangxis facility agriculture and developed countries. It is necessary to learn from foreign advanced technologies and experiences， and take corresponding measures against the problems in the development of Guangxis facility agriculture， to promote the sustainable development of Guangxis facility agriculture.

Further strengthen the governments driving force

The government has played a vital role in the promotion of facility agriculture. Therefore， when considering the development of agricultural high-tech industrial projects， the government should give priority to the development of facility agriculture projects. Based on the comprehensive natural conditions and economic levels of various regions， the short-term and long-term development planning and investment mechanism of facility agriculture should be clarified to determine the development priority and scale and develop facility agriculture according to local conditions.

Strengthen scientific and technological research of facility agriculture

Facility agriculture is a modern agricultural production method with high input and high output. Its supporting production technology involves more content and fields， including facility ecological technology， horticulture technology， facility engineering technology， environmental engineering technology， breeding technology， mechanical engineering technology， water-saving irrigation technology， etc.， so more technical research must be carried out. In view of the current problems in the development of facility agriculture in Guangxi， we should focus on the following aspects of research and development： ① standardization research for facilities in different regions， ② efficient facility cultivation model research of different crop varieties， ③ introduction， screening and seed production technology research of special varieties for facility cultivation， ④ technical research on small agricultural machinery and environmental control.

Focus on professional personnel training and scientific and technical training

To realize the industrialization process of modern facility agriculture， the cultivation of professional talents is the driving force for the realization of the entire technological innovation. The development of facility agriculture needs to strengthen the guarantee of talents. Facility agriculture needs the follow-up of talents from the beginning， and the process of industrialization of facility agriculture could then be guaranteed. We should strengthen scientific and technological training， and promote and popularize practical facility cultivation techniques. For agricultural technicians and farmers at the grassroots level in rural areas， we should carry out the popularization of production science and technology knowledge， organize relevant experts to guide a large number of front-line production personnel， adopt the popularization and promotion method of point to area， and pay adequate attention to the demonstration construction of science and technology， so as to guarantee the sustainable development of facility agriculture in Guangxi.

References

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[4] YANG JW， LIANG TT， XI LJ， et al. Development status， existing problems and countermeasures of facility agriculture in Yangling District[J]. Heilongjiang Agricultural Sciences， 2019（2）： 106-109.