Notes from Tour of Germany and Holland

• Biowatt plant near Hamburg was using corn silage and manure as feed stock to produce methane gas and firing a generator.  A farmer’s cooperative supplies the corn and converts it to silage at the site.

What I understood from the visit was that 70% corn silage and 30% manure was mixed and precise moisture content was maintained for fermentation in a tank.  Methane gas was directly used to fire a generator.  At this time, the electricity was going into a grid.   I think a good feasibility study is needed for Alberta greenhouses, for using biogas from plant sources and or manure.

Royal Pride Holland is now located in Wieringermeer, with 45  ha of state of the art greenhouses producing truss tomatoes only.  The plan was to expand to 100  ha.  The picture on the left shows growers from Alberta and Ontario visiting the facility.  There was a great focus by this company on sustainability, food safety and social responsibility, as their value system.  Food safety practices were very evident in the greenhouse and packing area.  All of us on the tour cloaked full covers, gloves and shoe covers.  Sanitation practices have to be followed because of whitefly transmitted viruses.  It was mentioned that it is almost impossible to treat virus diseases in tomatoes.  Crops has to be destroyed in most of the situations.  More information about this company can be seen at http://www.royalpride.nl/tomato/en/company.php

-------

This was a pepper range.  Worth noting was installation of moveable belts in each row where peppers were placed after harvest, and transported for packing.  This greenhouse range was also using many cogeneration units to generate electricity for supplemental lighting.  Peppers did benefit from the use of lights and crop was grown and marketed year round.

This company has developed an environment monitoring system with sensors located at strategic locations.  The data on various parameters like temperature, relative humidity, carbon di oxide was more reliable and helped to better manage crops in greenhouses.

A visit to Improvement Centre highlighted the importance of research through private companies.  Many companies contributed to the construction of greenhouse facilities.  Research is conducted on products and technologies.  Pictures were not allowed but some of the projects we saw were: 

1.  Performance of totally enclosed greenhouse structures for production to tomatoes.  The principle was that temperature was maintained very effectively and thus much better levels of carbon di oxide were maintained.  Tomato plants were trained in a V-shaped system to trap more light.  Supplemental lights were used in winter and cloudy days.  Year round production of over 100 kg/sq. m was projected.  Cost is likely going to be around 25% higher than the conventional greenhouses.

2. Aquaponics system where fish was cultivated under the raised gutters for tomatoes.

3. Pepper crops on raised troughs and in closed greenhouses.

4. Evaluation of coir substrates compared to growing media.

I thought it was a good concept where private sector has its own capability to conduct research.  We did visit another greenhouse where tomato varieties were being tested for commercial performance.  The selection was based on market demands and requirements of shipment to long distances by ship or surface.  Air shipping is becoming expensive and there is great interest in vegetables which are less perishable and have a longer shelf life.

A pepper grower was developing a moveable system where plants are brought to a central station, where fruit is harvested and pruning is done.  It appeared to be a promising system.  The costs and benefits are being worked out. This grower was also using supplemental lights to grow the peppers on a year round basis.

During lunch break, we noticed these young men promoting the town square.  My first thought was that we don’t need stilts and other equipment in the greenhouses if these men could walk through the rows.  Maybe that is the reason the greenhouse design is changing in Holland, to accommodate them.  Here is another idea to develop and market.  (Just kidding!)

This high wire cucumber grower was developing the use of UV lights to kill lower leaves.  UV lamps were mounted on a trolley, which is used on pipe rail, and lamps are turned on when the trolley is being used.  This grower has also installed LED lights to test their effect on cucumbers.  Leaf to fruit ratio was used to determine crop performance.  Hydrogen per oxide is also used by this grower as part of a fertilizer program.

Other highlights included:

A visit to technologies testing center, where automation was the focus.  We saw moveable systems for peppers and tomatoes, and also hanging basket moveable systems.

• A visit to Louis Bolk Institute where research work is being done with organic production systems, mostly soil based cultivation and building up fertility through microbes.
• A visit to an organic vegetable greenhouse, where cultivation was all in soil.  Nematodes were an issue and steam was being used to pasteurize the soil.  It appeared that in Holland, soilless organic systems are not approved yet.  Organic produce was being marketed through specialty stores.
• I was able to visit two packaging houses, one of them specifically handling organic produce.  One thing of great interest was the introduction of biodegradable plastic made from corn.  I am not sure if it was edible.

From The Trade Show

• The Alga Stop is a mechanical transmitter sending ultrasonic sound into water.  It claims to kill algae spores and viruses.  Check www.algastop.nl
• Water-cooled flower displays are self contained units which keep water bacteria free, thus enhancing shelf life of flowers.  www.luykxflowercabinet.nl
• Aqua-Hort claims to kill several fungi like Pythium and bacteria like Xanthomonas.  This technology is based on addition of copper nutrition by means of electrolysis.  Free copper ion kills these fungi.  www.aqua-hort.dk
• Eco Futura was promoting growing fish and tomatoes, a sort of aquaponics.  www.ecofutura.nl
• Humin Tech—Humic acid based products.  This company was marketing soil conditions, bio-stimulants and organic fertilizers.  www.humintech.com
• Orga plus Organic Fertilizers.  Organic substances are combined with a large number of good bacteria.  www.orgaplus.nl  
• Ferrilene is a product to treat iron chlorosis situations in plants.  It is claimed that this type of iron greens up the leaves quickly and stays green longer.  www.valagro.com
• GNA Packaging has developed horizontal wrapping machines to satisfy requirements of medium-high production.  www.freshpack-hs.nl
• Verhagen Leiden has a different type of cleaning and vacuuming equipment for greenhouse use.  www.verhagenleiden.nl
• Boal System—Aluminum greenhouse systems.   www.boalgroup.com
• Multifuel Fired Boilers for the greenhouse industry.  www.vyncke.com

• The development and use of new technologies to obtain higher yields.  Obtaining 100 kg of tomatoes/sq.m was not believable a few years ago.  Once technologies are developed, then they are commercialized in the world market, as well.
• Dutch companies are not afraid to invest in a new greenhouse anywhere in the world.  I learned from one company that they are building in Mexico and New Zealand, to supply North American Japan markets.
• Attractive and environmentally friendly packaging was the buzz word wherever we went.
• Organic research was a priority and growers took great pride in what they were doing.
• I think smaller sized growers, maybe less than 3 ha, will not be around too long.  The trend was to build 30, 50 or 100 ha.   Smaller growers could only survive if they developed niche markets and diversified.
• Hortifair was so big that my legs were tired.
• There were many Alberta growers at the Hortifair, and that is very heartening to see.