GreenQ believes in air-assisted spraying

The GreenQ Improvement Centre is continually looking for ways to realise a sustainable and profitable horticultural industry. The development and optimisation of cultivation processes are important factors in the search. This leads to continuously focusing on integrated crop protection systems, in which the spray technique plays an increasingly important role.

"We aim for a sustainable horticultural industry, and in combination with enormous visitor numbers and the good example GreenQ sets for others, we endeavour to steadily reduce the use of chemicals," says Rick van der Burg, who is responsible for monitoring the cultivation process within the organisation.

Effective use of biological solutions
The discovery of air-assisted spraying allowed us to substantially reduce the frequency of spraying. Van der Burg: "The Micothon spray robot sends contact products like Enzicur and most fungicides right to the core of the crops for the best possible effect. We used to do several rounds of spraying, but today we manage to control fungi and diseases in one go." A splendid achievement, not only in savings on chemical herbicides but also in terms of more effective biological solutions.

Ecocultivation
Apart from the spray technique, scouting and early detection of pests and diseases are important elements of integrad crop protection. "Immediate action is required to prevent a disease from spreading. As part of the 'Ecocultivation' concept, we ensure the optimal climate and air humidity inside the greenhouse. In the process we discovered another major advantage of the Micothon," says Van der Burg. "Thanks to the robot's fine droplet distribution, the crop stays relatively dry and the greenhouse climate is much faster back to optimal values."

For more information:
Theo Straathof
Tel: +31 650 506 646
[email protected]
www.micothon.nl