PRODUCTION OF SOLANACEAE CROPS UNDER PROTECTED CULTIVATION WITH FOCUS ON GATT AND AGRICULTURE SUSTAINABILITY

Sharp changes are occuring in the worldwide production of solanacea for fresh market that will affect protected cultivation.
In recent years several new constraints have b een arriving like: new logistics of freight transportation; agreements on trade and tariff-less customs; diversification on the comsumption of fruits and vegetables; comparative advantages of countries; shortage of labour; and the increase of processed tomato products in total solanacea consumption.
Sustainability of protected cultivation of solanacea crops is major concern for the future and probably also the cornerstone for the competitiveness of the protected cultivation systems.
Plant breeding and biotechnology; integrated crop protection and integrated pest management; the improvement of greenhouse environmetal control; and the introduciton of sustainable agriculture practices are some alternatives for making the greenhouse more adapted to the new tendencies in a rapid changing agriculture.

Prospective changes in protected cultivation are due to the generalization of the basic concepts of sustainability; to the strong attacks from the environmentalists mainly concerned with the wastes, the chemical crop protection, and the contamination of aquifers by fertilizers; but also to the consumer-driven changes regarding biodiversity and high quality standards at lower prices.

I International Symposium on Solanacea for Fresh Market

C.M. Portas, A.A Monteiro

Agricultural practices, greenhouse, integrated crop protection, internationalization, solarization

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1995.412.25