There was an article in the February 2017 issue of KAS about de Kreekrug, the new location of the SV.CO pot plant nursery in De Lier. In addition to the excellent insulation, screen cloths and better lights, de Kreekrug also stands out from the company’s two other locations because of the cultivation system: an ErfGoedFloor instead of roller tables.
The ErfGoedFloor has several advantages, says Sebastiaan Kuyvenhoven, the cultivation manager. ‘The ErfGoedFloor delivers water evenly. The plants are healthy and root formation is robust. The crop is uniform and the waste percentage is 40% lower than in the other SV.CO locations.’
The ErfGoedFloor boosts the MPS score for sustainability and the environment.
Pesticides
Sebastiaan Kuyvenhoven tells us that the plants are less susceptible to pests and diseases. ‘The micro-climate is better and so they are fuller and heavier. And that makes them resilient.’ Diseases like Botrytis, Pythium and Fusarium are almost unknown at de Kreekrug. And the amount of pesticides used is much lower than in the other locations.
Arjan van der Meer, a spokesman for MPS, says that the records for growers who have switched to the ErfGoedFloor demonstrate that there is an change in pesticide consumption. ‘We see a fall in the use of red products, and an increase in green products.’ He therefore concludes on the basis of the analysed figures that an ErfGoedFloor gives a boost to the MPS score for pesticide consumption.
Energy savings
Growers also see energy savings. The efficient heat distribution through the ErfGoed heating pipes cuts energy consumption, particularly in the winter. Cock van Bommel, business development manager with ErfGoed: ‘I estimate that growers with an ErfGoedFloor save about fifteen to twenty percent on average on their energy bills.’
SV.CO sees the following benefits by comparison with roller tables:
- better use of space
- uniform water delivery
- a 40% drop in the waste percentage
- good root formation
- lower energy consumption
- savings on water and fertilisers
- better micro-climate
- reduced pesticide consumption
- full, heavy, resilient plants
