At Van Eck Bedrijfshygiëne, the greenhouse fog season traditionally erupts from October to early January when employees go out to disinfect greenhouses during the tightly scheduled crop rotation. With the in-house developed Turbofog, large areas are effectively disinfected in a short time.
Martijn van der Velden and Lex Kneppers
In recent years, however, the guys from Van Eck Bedrijfshygiëne have also increasingly been visiting the greenhouse during the cultivation period. Indeed, two years ago, the Son en Breugel-based company introduced the self-developed Telefog for performing crop protection treatments during cultivation. "We further developed our self-developed technique of cold misting internally for applying the crop protection products, creating a very fine mist. This achieves complete coverage throughout the greenhouse. We have developed a machine for this, which is applicable in any type of greenhouse farm. With it, we treat up to 3.5 hectares per hour," says Lex Kneppers.
The Telefog has an adjustable chassis that fits any type of pipe rail and moves easily along its entire length. While fogging above the plants, the desired crop protection product is introduced into the space. Because of the fineness of the droplet, it creates a fog of crop protection agent that reaches all parts of the plant and its fruit. "We realize a droplet of 15 microns, and that is such a fine droplet that you have an excellent coverage over the crop. After all, the finer the droplet, the more you get out of the treatment."
With the Telefog, Van Eck is unique on the market, and the new innovation meets a need of many horticulturists, says Lex. "We can fog all possible crop protection products from granules to liquids. We have examples where we have applied a treatment early in the crop and thus benefit from the effect until the end of the crop. Moreover, it provides labor savings for growers because the treatment is offered as a complete service with man and machine."
One of the growers who has gained experience with the Telefog is Dutch grower Koen Neyens of Verenigde Groentetuinders (VGT), which grows peppers at two sites. "With the traditional manner of a crop protection application, we did not reach far enough at the time when the crop is in its full length. When applying the Telefog, we see an even distribution of the agents, distributed throughout the greenhouse. This is also reflected in the results. By making this application at the right time, we can keep our biology up to par. It gives good results and saves us a lot of labor."
"For us, the Telefog is a nice addition to our services. We have been providing growers with a clean start to cultivation for years, but now we can also do even more for them during cultivation. With this new method, we are able to work completely exhaust-free in the greenhouse. Especially early in the season when the plants still have their flowers, this is highly desirable. Moreover, thanks to our scale, we can offer the horticulturists flexibility," says Martijn van der Velden.
"Especially since the outbreak of the ToBRFV virus, awareness of total cultivation location hygiene within the greenhouse horticulture company has increased even more. Where previously hygiene in the greenhouse was mainly looked at, growers nowadays make much more of a total plan of action, including, for example, the packing hall, changing rooms, and the office. This also includes a thorough approach to pest management, and here too, we can relieve growers of all their worries," Martijn concludes.
For more information:
Lex Kneppers / Martijn van der Velden 
Van Eck Bedrijfshygiëne
Sonniuswijk 49
5691 PD, Son en Breugel
Tel.: +31 88 410 00 41
lex@vaneckbv.nl / martijn@vaneckbv.nl
www.vaneckbv.nl
