"Grey ground cloth at least 10% cooler"

ErfGoed presented its own ground cover at the IPM in Essen at the end of January. Managing director Hugo Paans explains that they had been looking for an alternative to the traditional black cloth for some time. 'The challenge was mainly to get the right level of reflection. We have found the perfect solution by using a grey cloth.'

According to Paans, studies have shown that a cooler cultivation floor provides a better climate and, as a result, stronger and more vigorous crops. 'In warm weather, it is possible to cool our floors by filling them with water to just below the ground cover. That's important because plants can easily become stressed otherwise.' Even so, there was still no answer to the question of how to stop the cloth heating up.

Right level of reflection
ErfGoed found the solution by changing the colour of the ground cloth to grey. 'In the past, we had already tried using white cloth, and black and white woven cloth. That definitely helps with some crops but the extremely high levels of reflected light are a problem for others. For most crops, grey turned out to be the best solution. It provides the right level of reflection, keeping the floor cooler even in intense sunlight.'

At least 10% cooler
Research in the ErfGoed laboratory has shown that the temperature is at least 10% lower than when black cloth is used. That is a considerable reduction. Because the cloth was specially developed for ErfGoed, the company also had the opportunity to improve the performance of the cover in other ways. For example, water permeability and wear resistance have been optimised further. Hugo Paans: 'On top of that, the grey colour looks good and makes work even more enjoyable.'

Know-how and experience
ErfGoed is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this year. A lot has happened during that time. Developments have followed on from each other in rapid succession. ‘At the start, we did the digging manually. These days, we have advanced machines and we install cultivation floors throughout the world. A constant factor has been the unremitting drive to make our products better. That has been in our DNA since the day our company was founded. We invest all the available know-how and experience in our unique cultivation floors. Our customers expect no less. A cultivation floor for the best result: that will be our goal again this year.’

For more information:
ErfGoed
www.erfgoed.com