Many European growers are in a busy period in which their trays, containers and pots are being sanitized and steamed. Luc van Wylick of Wymo Venlo BV has invested in new machinery to further specialize in this complicated task.
Luc standing in front of one of his mobile high pressure steam boilers, which are powered by bio fuels. The capacity of the steam boilers and the hot steam is sufficient for steaming 900 to 1.000 pallets per day by 1 steam boiler.
To roll up the steam canvas without too much effort a canvas roller is used (depicted on the right). For jobs where not enough steam is available on site, Luc brings along his steamgenerator.
All trays are steamed under canvas for a minimum of half an hour at >100 degrees Celsius. After that, all is free of disease and weeds and the trays, pots and containers are ready for yet another season.
Last week Luc was busy at a Dutch strawberry grower in Helenaveen. The maximum length of the rows of trays, pots and containers is 50 meters, and the pallets are stacked 1.5m to 2m high. Mostly the rows are 2 or 3 pallets wide, depending of the number of pallets to steam, the stack height, and the space available.
The weight of these hoses keeps the canvas on their place.