RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research Project Proposal

Research Background

Topic

The topic for the research is “comparative vegetable crop production in open farms and cover farms.”

Reason for choice of topic

The reason for the choice of this topic is that the agricultural industry in United Kingdom uses around sixty percent of the land and has highly advanced technology used in the agricultural process, yet it only contributes 0.7% to the total gross value added. New methods of agriculture are paving ways for innovative and modern methods of producing crops. Among them is the cover farms; comparing them to the open farm system will result in showing their effectiveness and alternate methods of farming.

Objectives

The objective of the study is to compare the vegetable crop production in open farms and in cover farms, and find which method is preferred by the farmers.

Theoretical Basis for the Research

The theoretical basis for the research involves comparing the difference in crop productions in open and cover farms based on the quality of products, the total cost of production and the preference of use given by farmers to each of the two methods.

Literature Review

There are numerous farming methods that are adopted by farmers in today's world. Many methods have been used by centuries and have been updated with the help of modern science and technology. Traditionally all of these methods have been used on open farms; these farms cover vast area of land and crops are grown on open fields spreading out into acres of land. The new method of crop production has seen the advent of cover farms; these are the farms that are covered or enclosed, mainly they are covered by glass. The covered structural framework of the farm allows farmers to control certain variables. These variables include the control of humidity, temperature, and the pests that cause hazard to the crops.

The previous researches have given the explanation on the cover farms that are being used by farmers in today's environment. The benefits of the cover farms are also highlighted by the researchers who have helped to distinguish the techniques from the ones used in open farms. One of the draw backs highlighted is the lack of control of variables in the open system. Although the modern techniques, such as those used for controlling the pest are commonly used, the farmers do not have any control over the external extremities such as the climate.

The concept of vegetable transplant is introduced by the author Varina; the article explains the use of transplantation for growing of crops and other vegetation. The plants and crops grown under the transplants can be designed according to the specifications of the customers. There are several factors that need to be considered when transplanting of vegetation is explained. The factors include greenhouses, soilless media, containers, seed, irrigation, fertilization, shipping, and crop specifics. The greenhouses are structures covered by glasses and are used to control the temperature, humidity, and protection of the plants from any hazards.

There are several advantages pointed out by various ...