Holstein Flowers first user of Thermoview
NL: Measuring real-time temperature of and around the crop
Mathieu has been working in the company since 1988 and is responsible for cultivation, finance and administration. Nowadays the company has grown to a total surface of almost 11 hectares, spread over two locations, and about 70 million stems are grown each year. Yet, with 6 Holstein-men working for the company, Holstein Flowers still is a real family business.
Characteristic for the company is their own selection branch. “About 85% of the flower varieties we grow are of our own breed. This is what makes us unique and with which we distinguish ourselves in the market”, according to Mathieu. Next to that, the company also has a big focus on innovation. “In general we are one of the first to gain knowledge of new techniques, and when we think improvements are possible we also like to try out new things”.
Thermoview
Thermoview is one of these new techniques Holstein Flowers is working with. At first they ran a trial for a year, in cooperation with Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture, for a research project about Next Generation Growing. Meanwhile, this research has been completed and Holstein Flowers has now been operating their own Thermoview camera for about 3 months.
An important reason for continuing the use of Thermoview is research about condensation. “When a gerbera gets wet because of condensation and stays wet for a longer time, botrytis can occur, which can cause quality issues”, Mathieu says. To avoid condensation Holstein Flowers started to research evaporation a few years ago. However, evaporation equipment gives information about the evaporation, but this does not say anything about the extent to which the flower cools down. “A flower can lose warmth, but also takes in warmth from its surroundings. So when you know evaporation is increasing, you can suspect the flowers may cool down, but you cannot be sure”. For Holstein Flowers this was why they started to research thermal imaging techniques, to gain more insights in the real flower temperature, relative to the greenhouse temperature.
Installation in the Holstein Flowers’ greenhouse, with above the Thermoview camera and below the plant temperature camera.
With this desire in mind, Mathieu contacted the Hoogendoorn and LetsGrow.com consultants and decided to try out the Thermoview camera. “We are still learning to use Thermoview, but are happy with the instrument. We mostly measure the flower temperature by means of point measurements, but the Thermoview system also offers the possibility to measure the temperature of an area of a number of plants”. For Mathieu the biggest advantage of the Thermoview system is the insights it offers in the plant temperature and the changes of the plant temperature. This gives the opportunity for a quicker response, allowing the greenhouse climate to be controlled in a better way. This response used to be based on intuition, but is now supported by data.
The future
Mathieu is convinced technology will play an increasingly important role in the future of the horticultural sector. “Access to and costs of technology are becoming increasingly approachable. More and more sensors and such are being used, which will cause for greenhouse controls to be operated based on technology. With this we will eventually be able to regulate everything better”.
For more information:
Hoogendoorn Growth Management
T: +31 (0)10 460 80 80
info@hoogendoorn.nl
www.hoogendoorn.nl