Evaluating the Potential for Development of Vegetable Nursery Industry: Analysis in an Important Vegetable Region in Italy

Abstract

Nursery industry has a considerable importance in the value chain' building of vegetable companies. Its importance increases in a country like Italy, where vegetable productions in open field and in greenhouse contribute significantly to the creation of income and employment and to the socio-economic support of entire geographic areas. However, this sector is underpowered, if compared to the potential expressed by the vegetable production, considering that technical, economic and market literature suggests the opportunity to extend the use of transplantation as an alternative to the direct seeding in order to achieve environmental and commercial benefits. This work was both the result of a meta-analysis and a direct survey and aims to determine an estimate of demand of nursery industry in Sicily, a region that intercepts approximately 31% of national investments in protected cultivation and provides the basis for evaluating the activation potential of new investments, considering technical legislative and market aspects and the supply chain integration.

Analysis of global research on vegetable seedlings and transplants and their impacts on product quality

“…54 On the other hand, in Southern European countries, the largest producing countries in the Mediterranean are Italy and Spain, with solid horticulture vocation, where grafted and non-grafted plants in specialised nurseries are produced similarly. 29,55 In Spain alone, more than 8000 billion plants are produced annually. 5,[56][57][58] On the other side, in North America, the annual production of grafted plants was more than 60 million in 2019, 59 In Mexico and Canada alone, an approximate production volume of 30 and 20 million grafted plants was recorded, respectively.…”

“…Additionally, the amount of grafted vegetable plants is about 16 billion annually 54 . On the other hand, in Southern European countries, the largest producing countries in the Mediterranean are Italy and Spain, with solid horticulture vocation, where grafted and non‐grafted plants in specialised nurseries are produced similarly 29,55 . In Spain alone, more than 8000 billion plants are produced annually 5,56‐58 .…”

Carbon Footprint of Greenhouse Production in EU—How Close Are We to Green Deal Goals?

“…They can be characterized as systems with lower environmental impacts than open field, by implementing specific production methods [20]. The areas with protected cultivation in Europe occupy more than 175,000 ha [21], while Spain occupies 54,000 ha from which 32,048 ha are located in the Almeria region [22], and Italy occupies 33,000 ha [23], with them being the largest GH producers, while also Spain, Italy, and France are the largest cultivators of organic GH farming, with 2000 ha, 2000 ha, and 600 ha, respectively [21].…”

Effect of Spray Application Technique on Spray Deposition and Losses in a Greenhouse Vegetable Nursery

“…These greenhouses are located primarily in southern Italy [3], and the production of vegetables in Sicily represents about 19% of the total of Italian greenhouse production [2]. As shown in a recent study, about 10% of the national vegetable nurseries are located in this region, with a coverage ratio (plant nursery/vegetable cultivation) equal to one nursery company for every 104 vegetable companies; that is, 1 ha of vegetable nursery for every 221 ha of vegetable cultivation [4].…”