Elizaveta Kapyrina, correspondent of the Orel State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, found out how an environmentally friendly and tasty product is grown.
Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers can be on the tables of Oryol residents all year round. For this, three large-scale greenhouse complexes operate in the region. The crops are grown without soil, thanks to low-volume technology on artificial substrates using nutrient solutions. Rosselkhoznadzor strictly monitors the content of heavy metals and pesticides.
For the general production cycle, from October to July, up to 55 kilograms of an absolutely pure ecological product are removed from one square meter. By the way, pollination of plants occurs with the help of bumblebees. They help improve the quality and yield of the product. Nowadays, modern greenhouse complexes can no longer do without their work.
Nikolai Sagan, chief agronomist of an agro-industrial company: “To protect plants from diseases and pests, we use only biological material, we do not use any chemicals, so the plants are alive and healthy.”
Modern greenhouse complexes are a complex technological process. A dropper is connected to each plant, and the control is completely entrusted to the computer. Cucumber growing time – from seed to fruit – 45 days, tomatoes grow 110 days.
Our vegetables are actively sold through large and small retail chains in the Oryol region. This is 60 percent. The rest goes to neighboring regions. The management is trying to minimize the increase in the cost of the product so that the price tag in the store does not increase.
Garik Tsaturyan, general director of an agro-industrial company: “We do most of the work for the region where we are located, because we are built here to provide this region with high-quality products, so that the population can get a high-quality biological product and at a price lower than imported products.”
Alexander Shalimov, Head of the Department of Agriculture of the Oryol Region: “We plan to further develop our greenhouse complexes, including by increasing their capacities and building new complexes. No new players are expected in our market in the near future, but those enterprises that are working are considering the possibility of increasing their capacities.”
At the moment, the production of a particular greenhouse complex is operating in full. The total area is 7.5 hectares. It employs about 120 people, and everyone stands guard over the food security of our region.
