The flowering of a plant is stimulated by artificially extending the hours of daylight while flower size and number of blossems are regulated by assimilation lighting. The high degree of specialization is typical for Dutch floriculture. Many growers produce only one crop, or somethimes even just one cultivar. This is possible only when a grower knows he can sell his product at a fair price. Such extreme specialization is therefor limited to products for which demand is high and constant.
Mixed production reduces the grower's risk with limited demand products.
However, the efficient system of distribution through the auctions provides growers with maximum opportunity for specialization. The drawback to specialization is that it complicates the control of soil diseases. A method to prevent these diseases that has become more and more popular over the years is heating the soil in greenhouses. Heating, moreover, renders the use of chemical products superfluous. For a number of crops substrate cultivation proved an alternative to heating as a method to prevent demage caused by soil organisms.