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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • APRIL 2018
• NEWS
LATEST
NEWS
£30m joint venture tomato
nursery goes ahead
EveshamValeGrowers haswonplanningpermission
tobuild a £30million, 14.5ha tomato nursery that it
will operate in a joint venturewithgrowersR&LHolt.
Construction is expected to start by the summer and the
first cropplantedbyOctober. The company is funding the
investment on land at Rotherdale Farm, which it owns,
at Pershore,Worcestershire. It already has an anaerobic
digester unit and a solar farmon an adjacent site.
EveshamValeGrowers is one of the largest horticultural
businesses in theWestMidlands and enterprises already
include tomatoproduction aswell as growing and
supplyingother crops such as springonions, asparagus,
fennel and courgettes. R&LHolt, which has three tomato
nurseries totalling 8.8ha in theEvesham area, is amajor
supplier of tomatoes toEveshamValeGrowers’ packing
andmarketingoperation. “Fromour point of view it’s
a really excitingdevelopment, a great opportunity to
extend the area of lit crop and for us to further streamline
production,” saidR&LHolt director LauraHolt. “It will
meanmore opportunities for us tooffer year-round
employment too, whichwill help recruit and retain staff.”
She said themaindrivers for the venturewere the
uncertainty regardingwhatmight happen to imported
supplies post-Brexit and thequality of imported tomatoes
during thewinter. “There is a goodmarket for UK-
produced tomatoes now and customers are starting
towake up to the issues aroundpost-Brexit sourcing,”
she said. Thedevelopment will start with an initial 4ha
block, followedby a further 4ha soon after. Aswell as the
structure itself theplanningpermission includes provision
for office space, staff facilities, a reservoir, and up to
fivebungalows for housing employees. The schemewill
create up to100 jobs once completed. “At Holtswe are
now inour fourth year of LED lit production,” saidMrs
Holt. “The new nurserywill be for lit crops using LED
interlighting andpossibly top lighting aswell. “We are also
looking at diffuse glass, andpossibly installing vertical
fans, dependingon the results from trials on these already
under way inone of our other lit glasshouses.”Crop
choice for the new nursery is still tobe finalised.MrsHolt
said large-fruited vine types, such as Elegance, andbaby
plum varietieswere among thosebeing considered. “It’s
down todiscussionwithEveshamValeGrowers about
market demand andonwhat we know from experience
and trials growswell under lights,” she added.
The area of tomatoes inEngland has been steadily
increasing since it bottomedout 15 years ago, although
it has plateauedmore recently. Eighteen hectareswere
lost whenBritishSugar switched tomedical cannabis last
year, some of theproductionbeing replacedby Thanet
Earth’s new 7ha glasshousewhich came into crop
last autumn.
Gall midgewarning
for alstroemeria
Defra is urginggrowers of alstroemeria tobe alert to a
potential newpest. The gall midgeContarinia jongi is
a new species about which little is known so far. The
midgewas reported for the first time inEurope in 2016,
inglasshouse-grown crops in theNetherlands. Defra
says statutory actionwouldbe taken against findings on
plantingmaterial and that growers shouldbe aware of,
andmonitor for, its presence. Thepest was also found five
years ago inAustralia. According to a report byAustralian
scientists, themidge’s yellow larvae feed inside flower
buds, which subsequently becomedeformed and later
turn necrotic. They say it has beendemonstrated that the
pest couldbe spread in the flower trade.
Latest fertilser product guide
Specialist fertiliser supplier Solufeed haveproduced the
latest editionof theSolufeedProduct Guide for 2018 that
focuses on the special needs of professional growers.
In addition to updated sections coveringmarket leading
water-soluble fertilisers and
organicproducts, the new
guide features for the first
time the rebrandedGarlic
Barrier range of products
and a special sectionon iron
chelates. All relevant product
data is supportedby awealth
of general information to
assist growers choosing the
best product tomeet their
requirements.
