Most Greenhouses Use Drop Irrigation

Iran’s total greenhouse area stood at 9,856 hectares, 76% of which used drop irrigation, 19% had no irrigation system, 4% were rain-fed and 1% used a combination of drop irrigation and natural precipitation, according to the latest data released by the Statistical Center of Iran for the fiscal 2021-22.
About 93.7% of the greenhouses were soil-based, 6.2% were hydroponic and the remaining 0.1% used other methods.
The country had 22,477 greenhouses in the fiscal 2021-22, 20,623 of which undertook cultivation. 
The provinces of Tehran, Kerman, Isfahan, Yazd and Markazi accounted for 21%, 19%, 16%, 10% and 5% of the total area respectively. 
The SCI report, recently published on their website, shows that more than 1.53 million tons of agricultural products (flowers and ornamental plants excluded) were harvested from greenhouses with the main yields being cucumbers (60% of the total production), tomatoes (19%), bell peppers (9%) and eggplants (4%). Other agro products made up 8% of last year’s production. 
Tehran accounted for 30%, Kerman for 17%, Isfahan 15%, Yazd 14%, East Azarbaijan 5% and the remaining 26 provinces 19% of the total production. 
The Agriculture Ministry plans to transfer all vegetable farms to greenhouses to save 10 billion cubic meters of water per year. 
A major hydroponic greenhouse complex was inaugurated in Aras Free Trade Zone last year, which is said to be the biggest in the Middle East region. 
Describing it as "one of the most important agricultural projects in Iran", Morteza Bank, former secretary of the High Council of Free Trade Zones, said the greenhouse is spread across 80 hectares and is equipped with state-of the-art technology. 
Russia is said to be the main destination of crops produced in this complex, ILNA reported.