Fifteen years ago, Turkish entrepreneur Zoef Yilmaz started cultivating radish in the Netherlands. After starting in several rented greenhouses, Yilmaz Radijs’s area has increased to 20 hectares since the take-over acquisition of a 10-hectare greenhouse in ’s-Gravenzande in 2015. Weekly, the company produces an average of 90 tonnes of loose radish, and 180,000 bunches of radish for its buyers in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Belgium. Only one thing bothered the radish cultivator in all those years, and that was the diminished quality of Dutch radish during the winter months. After two trials with illuminated cultivation, a solution has been found for this as well.
“The quality of the Dutch radish was much poorer during the winter months, and especially as regards flavour and shelf life. After two cultivation trials with radish in a closed, illuminated greenhouse of 0.5 hectares, we can now guarantee that we can grow quality radish with illuminated cultivation, which is not inferior to the remainder of the season. Because of that, we are no longer dependent on imports. When looking at the changeable weather circumstances in Southern Europe this season, I expect supermarkets will choose the certainty of radish from Dutch greenhouses more and more often,” Zoef says.
Of the many tried and tested strains, only three remained, to which Zoef will dedicate 2.5 hectares of illuminated cultivation. “In tomatoes and cucumbers, illumination is commonplace, and a number of studies are available, but in radishes, that all still has to still be discovered personally. That is why I am proud we succeeded in this. The illuminated cultivation does not even add value — it also does not decrease value — but we are devoting ourselves to it just to give quality a boost. I personally think Dutch radish is best in March and April — spicy but not too hot — and we are recreating those circumstances with illumination,” Zoef says. “We are hoping to find a sales partner who is interested in having quality radish on the shelves year-round. If that results in sales, we can illuminate the entire cultivation just like that.”
Ecolabel
With the received Milieukeur (ecolabel) certificate, Zoef hopes to have an additional advantage for buyers. “As far as I know, we are the first Milieukeur-certified radish cultivator. We had to meet strict requirements, but we managed it. Our principle is an environmentally friendly production in which nature and technology meet. I am also not afraid to say we have the most modern radish greenhouse in Europe at our disposal. We have the most modern climate computer to adjust water, light, temperature and CO2 to balance each other. All of the ditchwater and rainwater is filtered in a UV disinfector. With this, we save costs, and we have clean spraying and pouring water at our disposal, with which we significantly reduced our use of chemicals.”
“We are convinced that we are making a catch-up effort in the field of sustainability with this. With all of these innovations, we eventually want to cultivate radish in a tomato and cucumber-like manner, and having five months of illuminated cultivation is an important part of this strategy. In recent years, we grew by double digits each time, and I also feel positive about the future. We have seen a transition in supermarkets in recent years, and they are now looking for a distinctive quality radish, and we can supply that year-round!”
For more information:
Yilmaz Radijs
ABC Westland 417
2685 DE Poeldijk, the Netherlands
+31 (0)6 1941 8327
+31 (0)174 246 782
info@yilmazradijs.nl
www.yilmazradijs.nl