Water is necessary to grow plants, but to grow a high quality product, clean water is essential. In this article, we look back at just 10 of the many articles that we've published about water in the greenhouse on FloralDaily in 2022.
"Water is the 'oil' of the horticultural sector, many challenges will present themselves in the coming years"
Water is one of the most important issues for the coming years, also for growers. In recent years, many countries have been experiencing more and more dry periods. Since water is the 'oil' of the horticultural sector, it is a crucial theme, and precisely around this theme, many challenges will present themselves in the coming years. Erfgoed, a supplier of water systems and cultivation floors for growers, 'discusses' a number of them in this article.
Improvement of water quality is stagnating, what's the problem?
By 2027, the quality of surface water must comply with (stringent) European requirements. Whether the horticultural sector will meet the standards by that time is highly questionable. Although major steps have been taken in purification and recycling, measurements show that progress is leveling off.
Why that is and what needs to be done to still achieve the required water quality was the theme of the Water Day held this week in the World Horti Center (WHC) in Naaldwijk. A panel consisting of Dijkgraaf Piet-Hein Daverveldt, Royal Brinkman water engineer Joshua Reijnen, plant nutritionist Geerten van der Lugt and chairman of the Westland region of Glastuinbouw Nederland Jacco Vooijs presented their findings.
“The entire water supply system is still sparkling clean”
“Good water quality is essential in Lisianthus' cultivation process. We grow these flowers in full soil in greenhouses. They're sensitive to fungi like Fusarium. Germs can easily spread through the water to the entire nursery. That's why we wanted the new nursery's new, clean water system to stay clean," says Wesley van der Lugt.
Ultrafiltration for closed cultivation, but what is ultrafiltration anyway?
Ultrafiltration is a membrane technique for removing organic pollution from water. For years, it has been a widely used technique worldwide for the production of drinking water and as a pre-purification for reverse osmosis. The technique filters out all particles larger than 0.02 microns and has been shown to remove 100% of nematodes and fungi, 99.999999% of bacteria, and 99.999% of all viruses. This means that the 'NTU', the turbidity of the water, is often lower than 0.03: ideal for keeping all the (drip) pipework behind the system clean, says Jochum Genuit, commercial director at Mienis Waterzuivering.
Water treatment with nanobubbles leads to decreased losses in gerbera cultivation
Klondike Gardens has specialized in gerbera cultivation since 1984. Since the application of oxygen nanobubble technology, the nursery, which has two locations in Berkel en Rodenrijs (Netherlands), has seen a number of improvements in their current water system and crop resilience.
Hanging baskets watered by an innovative system
“With our patented water-by-weight system, growers can have their hanging baskets each watered according to their individual needs. The system weighs each basket and delivers the perfect amount of water,” explains Len Logsdon, an engineer and partner at Control Dekk who focuses on the design and development of precision irrigation tools. Control Dekk is a Michigan-based company with a mission to eliminate inefficient irrigation, and its patented OASIS system is one of the tools in the company’s toolbox. As Len explains, OASIS was first introduced in 2016, and new features are continuously added to meet growers’ needs. For years, OASIS systems have offered remote access capabilities so that the grower can monitor and control the irrigation of their hanging baskets from anywhere.
Water Ways enters the market in Angola with a first smart irrigation project
Water Ways Technologies Inc., a global provider of Israeli-based agriculture technology, providing water irrigation solutions to agricultural producers, is pleased to announce that the Company has been successful in penetrating the Angolan irrigation market with the delivery of its first smart irrigation project. The project, which irrigates various vegetables, includes the delivery of a drip irrigation system and smart irrigation control unit. The order, for an amount of CAD$113,000, is expected to be recognized by the Company as a revenue in Q4 of 2022.
Taking control of water on the nursery using H2Gro
As the UK swelters in the midst of a heatwave, now is the perfect time to take back some control over water management on the nursery with H2Gro – says ICL area technical sales manager, Steve Chapman. Marking the launch of its new water management website, ICL is giving away 1litre sample bottles of H2Gro liquid. To request a sample, visit https://lp.icl-sf.com/uk-en/H2Gro (stocks are limited).
More clean water for agriculture and horticulture in times of drought
Is it possible to safely use treated wastewater (effluent) from sewage treatment plants (WWTPs) as irrigation water in agriculture and horticulture? A group of water boards, knowledge institutions, and companies, led by Wageningen University & Research, have launched a study to investigate how this can work in practice.
Go-ahead for jointly treating water in 300 Dutch greenhouses
In the Netherlands, Westland U.A. water treatment cooperative members held a vote on Tuesday, November 1. They unanimously agreed to begin collectively purifying plant protection products. That will be done at the Nieuwe Waterweg Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Hook of Holland. That cleared the way for the cooperative's board to sign an agreement with the Delfland Water Board, which will build the plant.