Substrate pots with controlled root pH
Moving to substrate pots gave direct control of root pH and drainage, removing the soil chemistry variability that made field pH correction unreliable.
Peru · Blueberry
Greenhouse Solution Project: 40,000 m² Protected Blueberry Facility in Peru
An export project where protection was used to shift harvest into a higher-price window rather than simply to raise yield.
- Country
- Peru
- Growing area
- 40,000 m² (4 ha)
- Greenhouse type
- Multi-span structure with retractable screening
- Crop
- Blueberry
Overview
Project overview
The commercial and technical starting point for this greenhouse project.
- Country
- Peru
- Region
- South America
- Crop
- Blueberry (export varieties)
- Growing area
- 40,000 m² (4 ha)
- Greenhouse type
- Multi-span structure with retractable screening
- Growing system
- Substrate pots with pH-controlled drip fertigation
- Project status
- Design and supplier coordination completed
Customer objective
The grower already produced blueberries in open field and competed in a crowded export window. The objective was to use protected cultivation to advance and extend harvest into periods when export prices are higher, and to reduce rain-related fruit quality losses that were cutting exportable pack-out.
Challenge
Project challenge
Blueberry is a perennial crop with specific root requirements, so the design had to serve many seasons rather than one cycle.
- Blueberry requires a low root pH, which is difficult to maintain reliably in field soil but manageable in substrate.
- Rain events during harvest were splitting fruit and driving botrytis, directly reducing exportable grade.
- Bird and insect pressure caused measurable fruit loss in open field production.
- As a perennial crop, structural durability and irrigation reliability had to be specified for a decade of production, not a single season.
01
Solution provided by Aegis
The design combined substrate production with selective protection, targeting the specific losses the grower could quantify.
Retractable screening for harvest windows
Retractable screening was specified so the crop could be protected during rain and peak radiation while retaining open conditions and natural pollination the rest of the time.
Fertigation designed for a perennial crop
Dosing, filtration and line redundancy were specified to a standard suitable for continuous multi-year operation, because an irrigation failure in a perennial crop damages future seasons, not just current fruit.
Bird and insect exclusion
Netting specification and structure interface were designed to exclude birds and reduce insect pressure without restricting the airflow the crop needs.
Harvest window planning
Climate protection strategy was tied to the export price calendar so the protection investment was justified by the price window it opened, not by yield alone.
02
Technology selection
Selections were made for a ten-year production horizon and for export grade retention.
| System | Selection | Reason for selection |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Multi-span with retractable screening | Protection when required, open conditions and natural pollination otherwise |
| Growing system | Substrate pots, coir and bark blend | Direct control of root pH and drainage for a perennial crop |
| Irrigation | pH-controlled drip fertigation with redundancy | Root pH stability across many seasons, with no single point of failure |
| Water treatment | Filtration and acid dosing | Protects emitters and holds feed pH in the required range |
| Screening | Retractable rain and shade screen, bird net | Reduces fruit splitting, botrytis pressure and bird loss |
| Post-harvest | Rapid cooling interface | Export shelf life depends on time from picking to cold chain |
| Control | Irrigation and screen automation | Screen position and irrigation must respond to weather events quickly |
Outcome
Project outcome
Protection was justified by price window and grade retention rather than by a yield increase alone.
- Built area
- 40,000 m²
- Crop cycle
- Perennial, 10+ years
- Protection
- Retractable screening
- Objective
- Export window shift
Retractable screening allowed the harvest window to be advanced and extended into higher-price export periods, which was the primary commercial return on the protection investment.
Substrate production with pH-controlled fertigation removed the root pH variability the grower had been managing in field soil, stabilising plant performance across blocks.
Rain protection and bird netting together reduced the fruit splitting, botrytis and bird losses that had been cutting exportable pack-out in open field production.
Gallery
Project gallery
Reference images of the greenhouse type, growing system and installation stage used on this project.
Substrate pots with pH-controlled drip fertigation
Multi-span structure carrying retractable screening
Four hectares planned as a single irrigation and screening zone
FAQ
Project questions
Technical and commercial questions raised on this greenhouse solution project.
Why grow blueberries in substrate instead of soil?
Blueberry needs a consistently low root pH and free drainage. Correcting field soil pH is slow and tends to drift, while substrate pots let the grower set root pH and drainage directly through the fertigation recipe — which matters over the many seasons of a perennial crop.
Does protected cultivation increase blueberry yield?
It usually improves exportable pack-out more than it raises gross yield. The larger commercial gain in this project came from shifting harvest into a higher-price export window and from reducing rain, disease and bird losses that were downgrading fruit.
Why retractable screening rather than a fully closed greenhouse?
Blueberry benefits from natural pollination and open airflow for much of the season. Retractable screening protects the crop during rain events and peak radiation while keeping conditions open the rest of the time, at a lower capital cost than a fully closed structure.
Continue
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