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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • MARCH 2017
• SATURN BIOPONICS
RijkZwaan lettuce varietiesunder trial at theSaturnBioponics researchcentre.
employees are standing on dry floorswhile harvesting it is a
more pleasant atmosphere for them. Thismakes finding staff
easier.”
Wastage isminimalised, too. “Growing iceberg lettuce abroad
for export to theUK, can easily rack up65 per cent losses in
the field, plus further wastage in transit and grading.”
As there are no soil borne pests in the system, they do not get
into the retail packaging, eliminating this commercial issue.
“Our methodmeans you can consistently supply your market
throughout the year, with a clean crop to your customers’
specifications and keep transport costs to aminimum, too.”
Innovative lighting is cost effective, too, whichmeans growers
can take advantage of selling out of seasonwhen retailers are
likely to pay a better price for them.
Specialised LED lights, which the company is currently
developing, will become evenmore economical too in the near
future, he reveals.
“Our initial results have shown that by using a certain light
spectrum for just 20 seconds a day you can control protected
crops, such as cucumber, which are susceptible to powdery
mildew.
Extra light canmean extra flavour too, he adds. “If you give
herbs like basil a lot of light they developmore oils and sugar,
and hencemore flavour; which is great for condiments like
pesto.”
Aponic, whichwas named as a top 100UK small business in
theSmall Business Saturday Top100 in theGuardian in 2016,
is currently developing specialised software to helpmonitor
crops and synchronise nutrientswith light levels.
“Growerswill soon be able tomonitor their crops from
their phone, so they can take informed decisions to adjust
conditions as necessarywhen they are away from the farm.”
The right nutrients, at the right doses anddelivered at the right
time, plus the right kind of light can help improve plant vigour,
says JasonHawkins-Row, CEO of the innovative company,
Aponic. Plants receive amix of water and nutrients on their
roots for ten seconds every twentyminutes; nutrients are
delivered according to growth stage and changed accordingly.
Not only does thismethodprovide the essential elements such
as nutrients andwater, but also promotes oxygen uptake by
the roots in an aeroponicmethod, he says.
“Our trials, have shown the increase in vigour results in a
number of crops such as spinach, lettuce, Pak choi. They are
growing at a ratewhich is 30per cent faster than normal in
addition to achieving yieldswhich are 30 per cent bigger.”
Taste is also clean and consistent, as themethodpromotes
formation of sugars and oils.
These results are from commercial scale trials aswell as
smaller scale, he emphasises.
His innovation is simple but effective; a rectangular tubewith
a slit for the stems, and an insert of a grip-strip for the plant
stems.
These tubes are then placed vertically on a simple framework
or awall and the fertigation units attached.
Onewater pump services 100 grow-tubes, which offers 150
metres of growing space.
“They are proven to be 90 per cent water efficient because any
water not up-taken by the plant is returned to the system to be
used again,” saysMr Hawkins-Row.
This simplicitymeans that planting is simple, and harvesting
a crop such as lettuce is donewithin easy reach of thework-
force by simply running a knife down the front.
“One of the benefits our customers have reported is that
harvesting never has to stopbecause of theweather, and as
