Preface

Text Box: Much of what is found in the following pages is of recent vintage. It was only after accepting an agronomy lecturer’s post at the University of Stellenbosch in 1990 that I was introduced to the practical aspects of soil-less culture. Thanks to collaboration between this university and the ‘Katholieke Universiteit Leuven’ in Belgium, I was privileged to be introduced to their advanced greenhouse technology. I hereby convey my heartfelt gratitude to the Belgian experts who helped me in this learning process: Prof Vlassak, prof Benoit, prof Geypens, and Ir. Stan Deckers, an absolute master in plant nutrition. A special attempt is made to adapt their first world technology to South African conditions and secondly, this is an opportunity for summarising local progress in this fast changing field. Results generated by some of my post-graduate students were used in this publication and I thank them for that—and for their dedication. I hope that this publication, intended as guide for students, consultants and growers, might spur my younger colleagues to improve on it in the near future.

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