How Ozone Helps Greenhouses Increase Profitability & Reduce Their Carbon Footprint
Wandering through the vegetable aisles of your neighbourhood grocery store in the winter season has become a very different experience these days.
Years ago, your choices were primarily limited to produce imported from warmer climates. But now, thanks to a large and growing North American horticulture/greenhouse sector, consumers can buy fresh, locally grown produce even in the dead of winter.
The North American greenhouse industry is a world leader in horticultural and greenhouse production with a market value of more than $23B in 2019. And, the sector is experiencing rapid growth for one key reason: climate change.
As our climate becomes less predictable, greenhouses provide a stable, weather-proof growing environment in largely automated facilities that control heat, water, nutrients and lighting. Greenhouse growers can actually produce more yields given the opportunity for multiple year-round growing cycles.
Moreover, local greenhouse operations serve surrounding communities, reducing shipping and trucking requirements that are expensive and leave a large carbon footprint.
However, commercial greenhouse production does require significant amounts of water, and that is a cause for concern since hardly a day goes by when you don’t hear of some part of North America experiencing water shortages and rationing.
Given the increasing impacts of climate change and other rising costs of operations, the horticulture/greenhouse industry is always on the look-out for ways to conserve water, improve the quality and yield of the produce and reduce operational costs.
Ozone is one innovative solution to all of these challenges. As the fastest-growing water disinfection technology in the world, ozone has a number of key benefits for the horticulture/greenhouse industry. It contains no chemicals, helps conserve water, allows for water reuse and increases yields of better-quality produce.
Ozone is Environmentally Friendly
Ozone works as an instant, effective and chemical-free disinfectant that treats water before it is used in any production system. When dissolved in water, ozone “Lysis” micro-organisms – a naturally powerful process that splits the cells open killing those contaminants immediately. Ozone then reverts back to only oxygen and water.
Ozone is a Superior Disinfectant for Greenhouses
Ozone sanitizes nutrient solutions, kills bacteria, viruses and fungi, and destroys microbes, algae and pathogens, including powdery mildew, Fusarium and Pythium. It also eliminates soil-borne diseases and pests and deodorizes the air in a greenhouse.
Ozone Helps Conserve and Reuse Water
Unlike other sanitation methods that require a hot-water chemical rinse followed by a final cold-water rinse, ozone sanitation simply requires a single cold-water rinse. In addition, ozone offers an ideal re-use option for final rinse in a closed production loop, further reducing the amount of water used and wasted. This wastewater can even be re-used for not-potable purposes.
Ozone Helps Increase Yields and Better Quality Produce
Ozone can actually help increase crop yields because it breaks down to oxygen in the water and creates better oxygenated water that produces bigger and healthier plants. It treats most water sources to reduce potential contaminants from entering the food chain and also helps control pests in the soil.
Ozone Helps Reduce Costs
The use of ozone can also reduce costs for growers. They use less energy because there is no need for hot-water rinses in production processes. Moreover, there is no need to buy, transport or store expensive and hazardous chemicals.
These are all critical competitive advantages for an industry that is playing an increasingly important role in the North American economy.
For more information on how Aclarus can help the horticulture/greenhouse industry, please contact us here.