Truck farming
The truck farming is the culture of Légume S and some Fruit S, even some Fleur S, of food use in an intensive and professional way.
The term, appeared with the 19th century, drift of Marsh.
Whereas the culture of food plants in Potager relates to subsistence farming rather, the truck farming relates to the culture for the sale with consumption. Harvests of the market-gardening producers are sold with large chains of supermarkets, wholesalers in food, factories of food transformation or directly to the consumers.
The truck farming is a type of Intensive agriculture, which aims maximizing the land use and at producing in cycles of very short times. N the other hand, it requires sometimes important means (network of irrigation, Serre S…) and an abundant labor, mechanization being rather difficult to implement in this type of cultures.
The truck farming initially developed in the close periphery of the cities to supply the fresh vegetable markets, often in marshy zones, such as for example the Hortillonnages of Amiens, or generally in the alluvial plains of the Fleuve S like the Truck farms of the Churn at the edge of the Loire in Nevers. This type of truck farming is characterized by the small surface of the exploitations of the family type, by its diversified production, and often by the direct sales, the market-gardeners holding themselves a stall in the local markets.
During the 19th century and especially of the 20th century, thanks to the development of fast transport, developed a specialized truck farming, in more distant geographical areas, but presenting conditions ic Climat or pedological more adapted to certain types of cultures. Thus certain cultures are associated with certain areas, association sometimes even devoted in labels of origin. One can quote for example the melon of Cavaillon, the Tomate of Marmande, the lily of the valley of Nantes… Généralement in these specialized basins, the exploitations are more important, as well surfaces some as as a personnel, and market their products by circuits adapted to national scales or international.
Certain market-gardeners developed techniques allowing them to intensify their production, and to sell at against-season. One speaks then about early products, whose historical precursor was Jean-Baptiste of Quintinie, the gardener of Louis XIV. The techniques diversified: constructions of Greenhouse S heated or not, use of shelters with plastic cover, technique of artificial mulching. The Netherlands thus gained important market shares in the sale of the Tomate S. the Irrigation and the Fertilization also plays a very important part in the truck farming.
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