Soilless culture is an important technique to limit the production losses from soil-borne diseases. When completed with a drain collection system, serious savings on irrigation water and fertilizers can be achieved. In medium and high-tech greenhouses, rigid gutters are used for support of the substrates in which the crops are grown. Such rigid gutters allow for a well-defined slope and almost leakage-free capture of drain water.
However, gutter-systems are expensive and require the greenhouse to be high and are therefore not compatible with low-tech greenhouses.
