Carrots: A Global Passion!

Cultivating Carrots in Italian Greenhouses

Did you know carrots can be grown in greenhouses as well? Italy is one country that has embraced this cultivation style. The country’s Latina province – located on the West coast – offers 1,000 hectares of greenhouse capacity and therefore an ideal environment to apply this cultivation method to carrots as well. But there are also other advantages that we’ll cover in this article. Indoor cultivation of our Nunhems variety Romance F1 is performing very well in Italy and is particularly suitable for the bunching segment for the fresh market.

Benefits of Greenhouse Cultivation

Greenhouses in Italy are concentrated along the country’s coastline, which experiences a mild winter climate. Thanks to these favorable climatic conditions, greenhouses can also be used for winter cropping like carrots. During the summer period, the greenhouses are mainly used for growing watermelon. Continuous crop rotation reduces soil exhaustion, and indoor cultivation makes it easier to control fertilizer use and water consumption compared with open-field cultivation. Another advantage is related to diseases, which are less aggressive in the greenhouse. The climate in the greenhouse plays an important role as well. Thanks to the warm and controlled environment, it offers very high germinability, resulting in a low seed investment per hectare compared with open field. In addition, it produces high yields and less waste because the product is more uniform. Lastly, the entire growing cycle is almost entirely mechanized except for harvesting, which is still performed manually and doesn’t have to be put on hold because of bad weather conditions.

Performance of Romance F1 in the Greenhouse

Nunhems Romance F1 is a popular variety in Italian greenhouse cultivation. Thanks to the good attachment of the foliage, the variety is ideal for the bunching segment for the fresh market. The variety is also appreciated for its tapered shape and bright orange color.

Galeazzo Paolo, an agronomist technician at Latina Export, has been growing the Nunhems Romance F1 variety for years. Watch this video to hear about his experiences.