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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • APRIL 2018
Covering awide range of topics fromgreenhouse
construction tobreeding and energy and cultivation
techniques and logistics to energy and climate control,
the list of participants includesAxiaVegetableSeeds,
Beekenkamp, Gavita, Grodan, Hoogendoorn, Hortilux
Schréder, Jiffy, Kubo, Koppert Biological Systems, Priva,
Svensson,Mardenkro andRijkZwaan.
Then there is anon-site school, whichprovides places
for 1,200 students, and absorbedover half of thebudget.
Housing technical companies and technically-minded
students together under one roof is a cunning idea, and
many of the students that complete the four-year course
are expected to find jobswithin the horticultural sector.
Water quality, food supply, safety and sustainability are
themaindrivers for the future of the horticultural sector,
andon the outside thebuilding is ‘dressed’ withplants,
and the recyclabledouble glass and insulating acrylic
roofing, reduces 40%of the light andheat from the
outside, resulting in a comfortable temperature
during summer.
The green theme continues inside thebuildingwith
a number of sustainable applications, including the
collectionof rainwater togrow the crops in the
researchdepartments.
Thebuilding alsohas an underfloor heating and cooling
system that is connected to a heat pump thatmainly runs
on the 150,000wprovidedby solar panels, and in the
future hot water will come from a locally-drilled4kmdeep
geothermal source.
We toured the facilitywithStefanPersoonof Inno-
Agro, who explained that 50%of the compartments are
currently inuse, but this number will growquickly.
Anorganicpesticides trial is being researched inone of
them, and in another researchers are looking atmaking
thebest use of expensiveCO2. Theproject, which
involves sixDutchorchidgrowers and abudget of around
€100,000, focuses on storingCO2 in abattery, which is
only releasedwhen theplant’s stomata are open.
Apparently, CO2use inorchids is just the opposite to
many other flowers so researchers are trying todiscover
theplant stagewhenorchids need the highest liquidCO2
levels and then compare leaf and flower numberswith
plants grown in the standard conditions.
Sustainability is abuzzword in theDutch horticultural
sector, and in another compartment work is underway
to look at usingorganic nutrients and seewhat effect
this has onproduction and taste, and inwhat appeared
tobe one of the largest test compartmentswork is
underway using ‘artificial intelligence’ to fully computerise
the growingof tomatoplants using awide range of
parameters. One example includes remotemeasuring
of leaf temperatures at different heights of aplant. This
provides activity and evaporation rate levels, which is
difficult tomonitor using traditional growing techniques.
Part Two:
During the secondpart of theHortiContact tour the group
visited apot plant nursery, whichwill soonoperate under
20ha of glass, and a rose grower that produces over 15
million stems a year. Full report in a forthcoming issue.
• HORTICONTACT TOUR
Vander Lans staffmemberWilkoWisse explained all the ins
andouts of growing cocktail tomatoes at the 9.5ha nursery.
Some of the 50+ newproducts launched each year by
Modiform canbe seen at theWHC. Pictured here on the firm’s
technical stand is international salesmanager Kees vanBeek.
