Our 10 most read articles of 2016
1. Esmeralda Farms burns down in Ethiopia
Photo credits: Dutch broadcast NOS. (Pictures were published in the article called: Damage Esmeralda Farms Ethiopia in pictures. This article belongs to the top 20 most read articles on FloralDaily)
The devastating news from Esmeralda Farms Ethiopia was by far the most read article in 2016. The farm of Esmeralda in Ethiopia became victim of a severe rebel attack. "By a political demonstration, the entire company of Esmeralda Farms in Ethiopia was set on fire. I estimate that 10 million spent on investment went up in smoke last Monday", the company placed on their website, the day after.
2. Ter Laak about to start phalaenopsis cultivation in Guatemala
The greenhouse of Ter Laak in Guatemala.
In July 2016, one of the largest Dutch orchid growers, Ter Laak Orchids, was almost ready to put its first phalaenopsis plants in their new 1ha greenhouse in Guatemala. Their aim is to supply the retailers in Guatemala and the surrounding countries with top quality finished plants, and growers in the US, Mexico, Central America and the north part off south America with top quality half finished plants.
3. Germany: Switching between vegetables and bedding plants in one and the same greenhouse
An article on how a grower switches between vegetables and bedding plants in one and the same greenhouse also attracted the attention of many readers. For this article, we visited Emsland Gemüse in Germany. In 2011, they began with its so-called dual system, a system which allows for easy switching between tomato or cucumber cultivation and bedding plants in the same greenhouse. A fascinating system, which, five years after its introduction, is still unique. "We invented and designed everything ourselves and recent years have shown that it works," says Erwin Savenije, responsible for the daily operation of the company along with Ton Peters.
4. PanAmerican Seed pays $4.3 million settlement for trade with Iran
In September 2016, PanAmerican Seed, a division of Ball Horticultural Company, has agreed to pay $4,320,000 to settle potential civil liability for alleged violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 560 (ITSR). Specifically, OFAC alleged that from on or about May 5, 2009 to on or about March 2, 2012, PanAm Seed violated § 560.204 of the ITSR by indirectly exporting seeds, primarily of flowers, to two Iranian distributors on 48 occasions.
5. NL: "Year round more buds on orchids with LEDs"
Today, brothers Arjan and Marco de Hoog run a highly advanced pot-plant nursery with a total greenhouse area of 40,000 m2 and a focus on eco-friendly cultivation. They produce about 1.8 million Dendrobium Nobilé orchids per year. Together with Philips, Arjan de Hoog began an intensive period of testing different colored LEDs and light recipes on several orchid varieties. The ultimate goal was to reduce energy costs in the cooling cell used to initiate flowering, increase the number of flowering buds on plants, and achieve year-round production of challenging orchid varieties. And the results are pleasing. Arjan de Hoog: "The LED lighting gives us a real competitive advantage by inducing more flower buds on a plant, even the difficult orchid varieties, year round"
6. Kenya: Blooming Innovations doubles delphinium production
In July, the construction of Blooming Innovations's new 1ha greenhouse was in full swing. Their greenhouse will be doubled in size and they planned to harvest their first delphiniums in mid-end December 2016. "During the year, we cannot meet the direct demand for delphiniums. For this reason we decided to add another greenhouse to guarantee a continuous supply throughout the year", says Harry Rooijakkers, co-owner of the company. Together with his companion Bert Louwerse, these Dutchmen decided to start growing hydrangeas in 2013 in Gilgil, Kenya, and added delphiniums in 2014.
7. New ZenPlug for easy transplanting of pre-rooted cuttings, tissue culture
In June 2016, Grow-Tech announced the launch of its newest product, ZenPlug™ (patent pending), for easy transplanting of tissue culture starts and pre-rooted cuttings. The open plug shape allows for the precise and rapid placement of large callused plants, such as orchids and trees, in the center of the plug. The plug’s unique multi-surfaced interior holds roots firmly but gently in place and provides young plants with the optimal environment for root growth.
8. NL: Jiffy opens new substrate mixing facility
On Wednesday December 7th, Jiffy’s new 1Plant will be officially opened by Dagfinn Andersen, CEO of Jiffy International AS, parent company of Jiffy Products International BV. Many of Jiffy’s customers and business relations have been invited to participate in the festivities around the official opening taking place in Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands. Tours of the new facility will be available for the guests during the opening festivities.
9. Chinese Valentine's Day boosts South American rose sales
On 8 September 2016, Valentine's Day was celebrated in China. This day, which is being celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar, offers growers a great opportunity to increase their sales during a period that is known as low season. "The demand for roses - and red in particular - was high, each client bought from 6 to 10 times more than their weekly volume", says Colombian rose grower Pablo Restrepo Samper of Excellence Flowers.
10. Supercell, severe weather destroys 100 hectares of Dutch glasshouses
Auch, the supercell thunderstorm that destroyed at least 100 hectares of greenhouses in the South of Holland was the most read story in 2016. The total damage was estimated to be millions of euro's. Most of the companies were forced to stop their crop.