HortiContact tour
HortiContact Tour offers unique peek behind the scenes at Dutch top-class growers
On Tuesday, 20 February a group of interested parties from all over the globe participated in a tour of various greenhouse horticulture enterprises in the Westland region. Approximately 40 persons attended the HortiContact Tour, which brought them to the Lans tomato farm, the World Horti Center, the SV.CO potted plant nursery and Fransen Roses.
The HortiContact Tour is an initiative of HortiContact Gorinchem, In Greenhouses magazine and Uniglobe Westland Business Travel. Its objective is to give international growers and visitors an opportunity to get a closer look at the latest developments in Dutch greenhouses with their own eyes.
Wonderful opportunity
Entrepreneurs and interested parties in the greenhouse horticulturist sector from all over the world grasped this wonderful opportunity with open hands. The participants, all of whom are in some way involved in the horticulture industry, came from such countries as Argentina, South Korea, Azerbaijan, Israel, South Africa and Canada. Enjoying an informal atmosphere, the group learned all about the latest innovations in the Dutch greenhouse horticulture sector.
Looking at tomatoes
Aad Verduijn, acting as the group’s tour guide, bade the participants a warm welcome to the Lans tomato greenhouse in Maasdijk at a few minutes past nine o’clock in the morning, after which he and Wilko Wisse of the Lans tomato farm showed the group around. Wisse and Verduijn explained in English exactly how Lans sets to work in growing its Prominent vine cocktail tomatoes.
A volley of questions
The international guests made use of this opportunity to bombard the tour guides with a volley of questions, ranging from information about biological and chemical crop protection agents to the ideal distance between the top of a plant and the roof of a greenhouse. Wisse and Verduijn made every effort to answer the diversity of questions to the best of their ability.
World Horti Center
After visiting Lans, the participants of the HortiContact Tour once again boarded the coach, which was provided by Uniglobe Westland Business Travel, and headed to the World Horti Center in Naaldwijk. Here, Verduijn and Stefan Persoon of Inno Agro showed the group around the research greenhouses. Persoon and Verduijn informed the international company about the origins of the World Horti Center and the type of research currently being conducted in the research greenhouses. This was followed by a series of brief sales pitches by representatives of Kubo, BOAL and Modiform, through which the group was introduced to their products.
From cutting to potted plant
During a lunch served at the World Horti Center the tour group became better acquainted with one another. The next stop was the SV.CO potted plant nursery in De Lier. Following a brief introduction, Verduijn and the nursery’s owner Jelle Strijbis took the group through the SV.CO greenhouse, where the cultivation process of potted plants was described from start to finish. Because the cultivation process at SV.CO is fully automated, a visit to the nursery offered a fantastic opportunity for the international entrepreneurs to ask questions about automating the cultivation process.
Challenges in rose cultivation
Fransen Roses in De Lier was the last site visited by the group. Many of the questions asked general director Aad Fransen concerned the greatest challenges facing a rose nursery today. Fransen indicated that, speaking for himself, being able to grow his roses 100% organically was his greatest concern. Consultant Hugo Plaisier of Ludvig Svensson rounded off the tour by giving the visitors more information about the screens and misting system used in the Fransen greenhouse. After a tour of the greenhouse and one last round of questions, the coach took the participants back to their hotel, where they were able to allow all the information they had gleaned to slowly sink in.
Text: Leo Hoekstra. Photos: Mario Bentvelsen.
Two-day excursion to innovative Dutch greenhouses
The Dutch greenhouse sector is continuously innovating. In addition, the nurseries and research centres are keen to share their knowledge and experiences with growers from all over the world. On Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 February 2018, international growers will have the opportunity to join the HortiContact Tour and see first hand the latest developments in Dutch greenhouses.
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First day of the HortiContact Tour generates enthusiastic response
On 14 February 2017, the first day of the HortiContact Tour, a total of 35 guests from 14 different nationalities visited 5 farms, nurseries and research sites. The participants were unanimously enthusiastic about the tour, says Jelle Tetteroo of Uniglobe Westland Business Travel. ‘We were cordially welcomed by nice people who spoke to us about their profession with passion. There were plenty of opportunities to ask questions, which resulted in many interesting discussions. I received only positive response from the participants.’
The day started with a morning visit to vine tomato grower Jami in Bergschenhoek, run by Michel Zwinkels and Arjan and Andy de Jong. In late 2012 the firm started using LED lighting in combination with SON-T top lighting, under which three hectares of crops are grown. An additional three hectares of tomatoes are grown without assimilation lighting. LED expert Koos de Wit of Philips Lighting spoke extensively about the results achieved through the practical application of hybrid lighting on vine tomato crops, at Jami as well as other farms all over the world.
Testing in practice
The group then proceeded to Wageningen University & Research in Bleiswijk, where they were invited to take a look at several practical trials. These included a trial in which lettuce was grown on water under LED lighting, and one that involved vanilla plants. Also, the winter light and 2Save Energy greenhouses were presented, in which cucumbers and tomatoes are grown, respectively. After lunch the participants visited the Delphy Improvement Centre. The centre currently conducts trials in which roses, vine tomatoes and strawberries are grown under LED lighting. Energy-saving trials involving chrysanthemums and sweet peppers were also presented.
Arcadia and Sion Orchids
In the afternoon, visits were made to chrysanthemum grower Arcadia and Sion Orchids in De Lier. Only chrysanthemum disbuds are grown on Arcadia’s newest farm. The visitors were particularly impressed by Arcadia’s energy-saving and socially responsible cultivation methods, in which the climate system, the biological crop protection agents used and the advanced grading and sorting machine all passed the review. At Sion Orchids, the visitors were given an extensive tour of the potted plant nursery, in which all aspects of Phalaenopsis cultivation - from tissue cultivation to the final product - were discussed.
The second day of the Tour will be held at HortiContact in Gorinchem, and will feature several lectures and a visit to the professional trade fair. The organisation is in the hands of the HortiContact professional trade fair, Uniglobe Westland Business Travel and In Greenhouses magazine.
Text/photos: Mario Bentvelsen.
