Tomatoes produced with soilless agriculture and geothermal heating technique at the Greenhouse Excellence Center established in Akyazı district of Sakarya will be offered to the domestic and foreign markets. In April, tomato production started in the center, which was established on an area of 25 decares by the Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality with the support of the Eastern Marmara Development Agency in the Kuzuluk District, well known for its thermal springs.
Sixty-five thousand seedlings were planted in the greenhouse, where soilless agriculture and geothermal heating technique were used. In the center, where enjoy, pekbal, eto, vitrin, yeniçeri and jelibon tomato varieties are grown as well as natural bunches and pinks, training and consultancy services will also be provided, and R&D studies will be carried out. At the center, 25 personnel, 18 of whom are women, work at every stage, from the care of the tomatoes to the collection and packaging.

"Soon we will harvest them"
Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Yüce told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the center established this year is a model project.
Expressing that it is understood that agriculture is an indispensable and an increasing value especially during the epidemic period, Yüce said, "Needs have been intensely created after the pandemic. We have developed projects to contribute to these needs to some extent. One of these projects is the Greenhouse Excellence Center."
Expressing that the main purpose of production in the greenhouse is to obtain high quality products at low cost, Yüce said, "We create production models by integrating science with technology in agricultural activities. This is one of them." Pointing out that many more products can be obtained with soilless agriculture from a land where 5 tons of tomatoes are bought, Yüce said, "We have cooperated with important institutions and organizations in Turkey such as Sakarya University, TÜBİTAK, Gebze Technical University, and we have achieved very successful results. Tomatoes will turn red soon. I hope we will harvest soon. May it be good for our city and our country."

"Heated water minimizes our costs"
Selman Özkan, the agricultural engineer responsible for the center, said that training, R&D, consultancy and production services are provided there. Stating that a geothermal energy source is used in the heating system, Özkan said, "After using the water, we press it back to the ground and use it in a cycle and we use it again for heating our greenhouse. The heated water in this cycle heats our greenhouse and provides the opportunity to produce in a healthy way by minimizing our costs." Expressing that the abundance of underground resources in the Kuzuluk region allows soilless agriculture, Özkan stated that they grow a variety of tomatoes.

Bumblebees provide pollination in flowers
Stating that the bumblebees they use in the greenhouse are their greatest helpers, Özkan explained that the bees released into the greenhouse ensure that the flowers are pollinated and fertilized without the application of chemicals, so that better quality products, homogeneous production, healthy and natural products are obtained. Stating that they provide consultancy services to those who want to invest in this area in the region, Özkan said:  "We train our personnel, we teach technology and the system to those who want to take part in soilless agriculture. We ensure that engineers and engineer candidates are conscious in the field of soilless agriculture and that they take part in this field, and that qualified personnel are trained. Greenhouse Excellence; in terms of training, R&D, consultancy, production scope and installation technique is the first project in Turkey. In our facility, which was established with the support of research institutes, universities and scientific research institutions, training, production and R&D studies will also be carried out. The knowledge and experience gained here will contribute to agricultural production and will be a source of information in future studies.

Source: Anadolu Ajansı