GREENHOUSES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA: TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

The greenhouse industry has expanded, during the last two decades, in the Mediterranean area. The reasons of this development are analized as well as the climate modifications in these low-cost greenhouses, and their influence on growth and production of horticultural crops. The desirable increase of the quality of produce highlights the requirement for a better environmental control. However, economical factors limit these investments.

Though the production strategies in these cheap structures are more related to the biological aspects than with the degree of sophistication of the greenhouses, both aspects are considered in an integrated approach in order to develop, with proper management, the most profitable production systems.