A tropical greenhouse in Nazilli: dragon fruit grown with trellising, shade netting and LEDs

According to Yeni Şafak, a 100-decare greenhouse built with a trellis training system in Nazilli, Aydın grows dragon fruit (pitaya) and avocado. The agricultural engineer quoted in the report says 25,000 square metres are planted with dragon fruit and 68,000 with avocado, and that it is the first operation in the region to use this method. The Global GAP-certified dragon fruit is exported through intermediaries to Europe, mainly Germany and Spain.

Climate management is the key point of the report. Because summer heat and low humidity in Nazilli cause sunscald on young trees, the plants are trained on trellises; netting overhead shields the fruit from the sun in summer and the plants from frost in winter while keeping a humid environment inside. The farm targets 50–60 tonnes of dragon fruit from 25,000 square metres this year; the avocado trees are only 3–4 years old.

The greenhouse is also trialling supplementary lighting with blue, red and daylight LEDs. According to the electrical and electronics engineer quoted, the lights run for about 4–4.5 hours a night, the harvest can start 15–20 days earlier and the season can be extended by a similar period; the engineer says this raises yield by about 20%. This year’s set-up is a trial, and the farm aims to combine it with digital automation over larger areas.

Managing temperature, humidity, shading and lighting together is exactly what greenhouse automation is about. The Rural Development Investment Programme supports modern greenhouse investments as well as climate control, irrigation and fertigation automation in greenhouses; the 2026 guide requires a minimum of 3 decares for new modern greenhouses. The yield and harvest figures in the report are the farm’s own statements.