THE MECHANISATION OF POT PLANT PRODUCTION IN BRITAIN

In England and Wales about 117 ha of glasshouse are used for the production of pot plants compared with 194 ha in The Netherlands.
Of this total 93 ha are flowering species and 24 ha foliage plants.
A large number of species are grown, but by far the most important is the pot chrysanthemum, which accounts for 16 ha of 14% of the total area.
The area of pot plants has increased by 83% over the last ten years, an increase greater in absolute and in percentage terms than in any other ornamental glasshouse crop.

Pot plants are a labour intensive crop and the main stimulus to mechanisation is in the increased productivity of labour and the reduction of unit cost that follows.
Mechanisation can also increase the efficiency of utilisation of glasshouses, an important consideration in relation to the high capital investment now required.
Most of the developments in Britain have arisen from the production of pot chrysanthemums where the ability to control flowering and programme the crop, facilitates the application of mechanical aids.

Symposium on Potplants

G.F. Sheard

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1973.31.14