Biography:

Dr. Petrus Langenhoven is the Horticulture and Hydroponics Crop Specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. His focus is to support the establishment and expansion of local and regional food systems by increasing the productivity and efficiency of vegetable growers. His collaborative extension and research programs emphasize the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly production technology that can increase the efficiency of inputs and production, and the evaluation and introduction of alternative horticultural crops. Before arriving at Purdue, Dr. Langenhoven dedicated his career to the development of Sub-Saharan Africa’s horticulture sector. He completed his M.S. in agronomy at Stellenbosch University; and completed his Ph.D. in agronomy, specializing in vegetable production in high tunnels, at Stellenbosch. As operations director and senior agronomist at Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plant Products (ASNAPP) — a non-governmental organization — Dr. Langenhoven led greenhouse crop production, specialty fresh-market vegetable and herb crop research, and technology transfer programs. He specialized in analyzing and developing horticulture supply chains. Thanks to his extensive experience in applied on-farm research and development, outreach and extension, agribusiness development, and the implementation of sustainable farming models, Dr. Langenhoven has assisted many start-up agribusinesses in developing business feasibility plans, production planning and management, and product marketing.

Research Interests:

Dr. Langenhoven’s research interests include the development of production technology that can increase the efficiency of inputs and production, while producing the highest quality products in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner in conventional and controlled environment agricultural systems (CEA). Vertical farming, hydroponics, high tunnels and greenhouses are technologies of key interest. Water use efficiency, the optimization of plant mineral nutrition, soilless substrates, the use of more environmentally friendly energy sources for heating, and the use of aqueous ozone in water treatment form part of his research interests. His field research concentrates on addressing the growing needs of field and greenhouse vegetable and herb crops, and mint producers in Indiana.

Education:

Ph.D. Agronomy, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

M.S. Agronomy, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

B.S. Agronomy and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa