NL: New test facility for NovaCropControl

The test center for plant sap measurements in horticulture used, until this spring, hired greenhouses and an indoor growth area of around 250 square meters in their business premises. In this growth area, tests can be carried out under full artificial lighting. Koen: "The advantage of the new plastic greenhouse of around 1,000 square meters is that we can now continue longer with our tests. Certain crops do grow quite high. In the plastic greenhouse we now have more space available."

The gutters on which cultivation takes place, are divided into separate compartments per recipe. Three treatments can be performed on each gutter, also with three drip hoses and a separate drain for the drain water per treatment. Koen: "Actually we can carry out a test for everything that grows in a pot or on a gutter, and where a dripper can be used."

NovaCropControl carries out tests for both vegetable cultivation and floriculture. It can therefore happen that first tomatoes were cultivated in the plastic greenhouse, followed by pot plants. The tests that are carried out by the test center generally last about three to six months. It is important that the treatments with three repetitions are distributed randomly within a test. Koen: "In that way, we can carry out statistically reliable tests. In the plastic greenhouse all conditions are the same and so we can trace back the differences in plant growth to the different nutritional recipes."

At the moment, tests are being carried out with two different strawberry varieties and a tomato variety. Until the end of October, cultivation can be done in the plastic greenhouse, after that it becomes too cold because the plastic greenhouse is not heated nor lighted. The tests then move back to the growth area, where the first tests are started again at the end of August. Koen: "As a test center it is not our intention to grow bigger. Our main goal is to analyze and advise to get a resilient plant. But it is pleasant that now we can say 'no' less quickly. We carry out tests for our own account as well as tests at the request of other parties."