With my feet firmly on the ground

I’ve now been part of the Horti-Consult team for a year and a half. Whereas in my previous role as a cultivation specialist at a lighting supplier I mainly had contact with cultivation advisers from the sidelines, I’m now right at the heart of this field myself. It feels good to have my ‘feet firmly on the ground’, to experience cultivation at close quarters and to be able to make direct adjustments to the cultivation process alongside growers.

Looking back on this initial period, a few things stand out to me.

First of all, the significant difference in questions and needs between different growing businesses. Every grower or production manager approaches their crop differently. Not because one approach is necessarily better than another, but because there are many ways to skin a cat. It is precisely this variety in businesses, people and crops that makes my work varied and challenging: working with growers to chart a course that suits their business and best aligns with current circumstances. Ultimately, we are all working towards the same goal: the best quality and the highest possible yield.

I’m also delighted to have joined Horti-Consult. With six crop advisers, we know more collectively than we do individually. Thanks to the close contact we maintain, we can support one another and constantly share insights and knowledge. In most cases, we all work for our own clients, but it’s reassuring to have experienced colleagues to bounce ideas off – and whenever a situation with a client calls for a second pair of eyes or a different perspective, there’s always someone on hand to help think things through.

Finally, we are seeing at an increasing number of businesses that finding and retaining good cultivation staff, cultivation specialists and cultivation managers is a major challenge. At a growing number of businesses, we are seeing this have an ever-greater impact on cultivation planning and strategy. It goes without saying that not everything can always be planned and carried out at exactly the right moment. In addition, crop managers, who are responsible for an ever-increasing variety of crops, are striving for simplicity and standardisation. These examples once again highlight that in greenhouse horticulture we are dependent on many factors and that, to achieve a 100% result, all the pieces of the jigsaw must fall into place. As crop advisers, we aim to support as many growers as possible in making the right decisions for the situation at hand.

Looking at the growing season so far, a few things stand out:

In illuminated cucumber cultivation, prices and production have been good this season. Thanks to persistently favourable market conditions, many growers prioritised crop performance and were willing to invest in their crops. It’s great to see what a crop is capable of under such conditions: consistently high production and quality.

At the same time, I still regularly see cucumber and tomato crops where, during the winter months, the available light is not being converted into production to a sufficient extent. The crops do convert the light into energy – resulting in crops with greater substance and vigour – but the transition to yield often leaves room for improvement. Many crops could cope with a faster growth rate and a higher plant temperature, resulting in a more efficient conversion of sugars into yield. In many cases, I am convinced that these improvements can be achieved, but this requires courage and faith in a different approach to cultivation. Growing crops under high light intensity and full LED simply demands greater speed and activity in the crop to enable the plants to channel as much energy as possible into the fruit.

The spring was chilly and barren. Many growers had to actively stimulate growth to maintain sufficient leaf area and establish strong fruit buds. Because spontaneous crop growth lagged behind, the crops were remarkably labour-efficient this spring. The challenge we frequently faced was maintaining sufficient growth to produce sufficiently strong fruit. Crops that developed just a little too slowly did not always achieve their potential yield, simply because leaf production was too low and the plant load too high. Particularly in unlit high-wire cultivation, it was a challenge to create the right crop balance whilst growing at a sufficiently rapid pace.

At the moment, the second crop is already well underway at most farms, although planting dates are becoming increasingly varied – resulting in a wide variety of crops. We had a warm week at the end of May, followed by a few weeks of changeable weather, and we are currently in the midst of a long spell of very high temperatures. This is placing considerable demands on the crops, staff and growers alike. How this hot spell plays out will depend heavily on the exact stage and condition of each crop. However, it is certain that the coming period will once again be challenging as we seek to allow all crops to recover as well as possible and prepare them for the rest of the summer…