After months of hard work, it was finally time last week: The De Ruiter Experience Center opened its doors. The kickoff was in the morning. From half past nine guests gathered in the central reception hall, and the atmosphere was pleasant right away. During various speeches, laughter, cheers and applause was regularly heard. Joost van Regteren, responsible for optimising testing programmes, was the chairman during the morning programme.
Ibrahim El Menschawi and Joost van Regteren
Joost: “Before our varieties are commercialised, we conduct practice tests for four years. We think it’s important that our customers can get the maximum from the variety from day one. We can offer this because we spend a lot of time on it.” This striving for production optimisation was the reason why this Experience Center was designed using high-tech. An extreme amount of sensors and other digital measuring devices have been placed in the greenhouse. This data is coupled to data measured on site by sensors for a number of participating growers. The collection of data offers De Ruiter a wealth of information and knowledge about the various varieties, and that is for the benefit of the customer. De Ruiter Seeds feels very strongly about Artificial Precision Horticulture (APH). De Ruiter Seeds is convinced this suits modern horticulture, that it will be the future.
Ibrahim El Menschawi, EMEA Regional Lead, Vegetable Business for De Ruiter Seeds, radiated enthusiasm: “What a beautiful day in the history of De Ruiter. This is a beautiful day at a beautiful location. With this Experience Center, we are close to where the action is. The Netherlands is still the country followed by global horticulture. Moreover, we have the WUR’s Improvement Centre and research location just around the corner. Even more importantly, we’re close to our customers, and our own head office is in Bergschenhoek.”
The panel is ready for questions. Pieter van der Stadt, mayor of Lanseringerland, is happy with and proud of the De Ruiter Experience Center, just like all of De Ruiter’s workers. “We live in an area known for its innovation strength for greenhouse horticulture.” His colleague Albert Abee, alderman of Lanseringerland, emphasises the economic importance of this innovation strength. He mentions the importance of the cooperation among parties. “Together you can do more than alone.”
Paul Zantman, one of the owners / growers of the Experience Center, was asked why he joined this adventure. It wasn’t a difficult question. Paul has had years of experience with De Ruiter Seeds. That’s a good basis. Moreover, he thinks the aspect of contact with as many different parties as possible very interesting. Because this is a special project, it was naturally quite exciting at first. “But in the end, it all went well.”
Juan Ferreira, Global Vegetable Lead, Crop Protection Lead and responsible for Applied Solutions for De Ruiter Seeds, sees the importance of this research location mostly to meet growing demand for food in future. Due to technical aspects of the research greenhouse, particularly lighting and the large number of sensors, we can also mention innovation as our goal. “That is important in this day and age, and we’re capable of it.”
Sebastian Langbehn, Global Business Lead Vegetables for De Ruiter, emphasises De Ruiter’s role as a pioneer in general, and particularly for De Ruiter Netherlands. “The whole world is looking to us, from Canada to Australia.”
Jan Kamper has been closely involved in building the Experience Center right from the start. His eyes also start to sparkle as soon as the conversation turns toward the Experience Center. It offers so many opportunities. “We’re at the start of a new direction. Big Data, and everything surrounding that, will be very beneficial to us. We’ll learn a lot. That’s all possible with this location.”
Ibrahim El Menschawi, Pieter van der Stads and Paul Zantman officially open the location. The countdown is started … 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 … Fireworks. Congratulations!
During the tours, we naturally enter the greenhouse as well. All safety and hygiene regulations are followed.
Afternoon programme
Following the morning programme, the international audience was given the chance to listen to some lectures in De Ruiter’s nearby head office and to tour the laboratory in the afternoon. While the Experience Center held an open house for those interested, Jan Kamper, Technology Development, started his lecture titled ‘The Digital Plant.’
Terms like artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning were passed in review. Terms that are becoming better known by the general audience, and that will make their entrance in greenhouse horticulture more and more as well, according to Kamper. “For now, the focus of these technologies is still mostly on agriculture because of their considerably larger amount of hectares compared to greenhouse horticulture. The yield per hectare in greenhouse horticulture, however, is significantly higher. Artificial intelligence could contribute to further extending this high production.”
Data is one of the keywords for that. The challenge, not just in the De Ruiter Experience Center, but also for individual growers is to centralise widespread and omnipresent data in one platform, according to Kamper. But that’s not all. The data then has to be cleaned of noise and analysed. Kamper: “Being a data science nerd isn’t enough for that, knowledge of plant growth is also necessary.”
The next step is to start making predictions, rather than explaining afterwards. The large number of sensors just in the Experience Center should help in that regard. And although there’s much temptation to obtain as much data as possible from as many sensors as possible at the same time, it’s important to first focus on understanding the data from some specific sensors, according to Kamper. For example, data from sensors that measure evaporation on plants in order to gain insight into plant growth. Gradually the number of sensors and data can be increased step by step without losing overview.
Kamper hopes to present a dashboard containing all data in a year, after which the first useful connections from that data should become clear after another one or two years. A Google Glass with greenhouse horticultural functions, as is mentioned in the audience, will remain in the future for now, although Kamper says it isn’t rocket science. “The technology exists, but much time and money is needed to implement it in greenhouse horticulture.”
After Kamper’s lecture, the people present were given explanations about the application of various technologies in all stages of vegetable seed improvement in three stands.
Tommy Stekelenburg, Discovery Genetics, explained DNA analysis in vegetable seeds.
Laurens Bakker and Maurine van Haesendonck, both from the pathology department, talked about pathology.
The third stand gave the option to study a brix gauge up close.
After a lab tour in hygienic suits, which allowed some of the scientists to passionately talk about what they’re up to, it was time for the second lecture. Ben Hunter, Ben van den Bosch, Tomás D. Lomas Cano and Kees van Lenning successively talked about the flavour of tomatoes. “Flavour is number one,” said Tomás D. Lomas Cano of Tomato Breeding. Despite increasing technological possibilities, people have to eat the vegetables in the end. Kees van Lenning, Vegetable Quality Laboratory, talked about test panels. An important, but at the same time expensive and time-consuming method of continuing to guarantee a good flavour.
Ben Hunter, Discovery Genetics, talked about the balancing between flavour and production increase.
Afterwards there was just time for a quick drink.
John M. Headrick, Sara Alonso and Joost van Regteren
Raimund Schnecking and Dirk Rorich of Volmary talk with Ben van den Bosch, Tomato Breeding.
Jouko Narvanmaa of Helle Oy and Per Andersson of Olssons Frö AB travelled from Scandinavia to be present.
Ekaterina Makarenko and Tomás D. Lomas Cano
For more information:
De Ruiter Seeds
Monsanto Holland bv
Leeuwenhoekweg 52
2661CZ Bergschenhoek, the Netherlands
+31 (0)10 529 22 22
www.deruiterseeds.com
info@deruiterseeds.nl