Dirk Decru

Sep 15, 2021 9:03:30 AM

Decru-Leroy Growers from Belgium grow large and small-flowered cyclamens in the winter and annuals in the spring such as Pelargonium, Osteospermum, Fuchsia and other annuals, both from seed and from cuttings. The company has an ebb and flow floor from ErfGoed.

Environmental legislation

Belgian legislation (the Milieu Actie Plan, MAP (Environmental Action Plan)) prohibits the discharge of water from the greenhouse into the ground. This led Decru-Leroy Growers to seek a way of collecting and recirculating water. On the basis of advice from the University of Wageningen (WUR Greenhouse Horticulture) and other factors, an ebb and flow floor from ErfGoed was chosen.

Faster harvesting

With a vertically-draining ebb and flow floor, Decru-Leroy Growers can irrigate more uniformly, which leads to more uniform plants. Dirk Decru: “This makes it much easier to have them ready for the market. Everything goes much faster. What’s more, this system allows better control of the relative humidity in the greenhouse. The disease pressure has therefore also reduced considerably.”

Savings

The ErfGoed floor has also led to a significant saving in labor costs of between 10% and 20%. Decru-Leroy Growers also save around 30% on fertilizer. The failure percentage has also fallen, while job satisfaction has increased. “And irrigation is also much simpler than with drip systems, for example.”

Stronger plants

Decru: “With the new cultivation floor we can bring stronger plants to the market and make better use of the cultivation space. An additional benefit is that we now score well for Integrated Pest Management.”

Peace of mind

“We were looking for a floor that would allow us to comply with environmental legislation. But the ErfGoed floor offers more than that. It’s really an investment in our future. For the next 15 years we’ll have peace of mind with our floor. As such I would certainly recommend the ErfGoedFloor to other growers.”