In Europe, tomatoes are grown in tunnels during winter. Why, then, is the same practice not followed here in South Africa, particularly in frosty areas?
The reason is that a tunnel on its own doesn’t guarantee frost-free growing. Tunnels need heating in cold areas during winter, and this is very costly, particularly as tomatoes are already an expensive crop to grow.
Conditions are very different in Europe. In some countries there, tomatoes cannot be grown outdoors in winter, therefore heated tunnels are a necessity. We simply don’t have this problem in South Africa; in fact, in some areas, tomatoes grow better here in winter than in summer. Transporting tomatoes from these areas is cheaper than the cost of constructing and heating tunnels in frosty areas.
It should be remembered too that tomatoes require more than simply a frost-free environment; they require temperatures well above freezing to set market-size fruit as there are pollination problems at low temperatures.
Denne historien er fra Farmer's Weekly 1 December 2017-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra Farmer's Weekly 1 December 2017-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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