Matti Nyysti has always been growing in a high wire system; the most common way to grow cucumbers in Scandinavia. Traditionally, most Scandinavian growers are doing this slightly differently than the regular way. They are not using high wire hooks, but have a 25x25mm square profile steel pipe installed as an upper bar. This profile has permanent thread rolls with crop twine installed. By rotating this pipe, an entire row of cucumber crops can be lowered. Some growers even have an installation that is able to lower the entire crop in the greenhouse at once.
While the system works extremely fast and requires hardly any labor to lower the crops, Nyysti realized that the drawback of the system was the uneven growth of his crop; some plants simply grow faster than others, creating shade for the smaller plants. Knowing that this has a drastic effect on his production, Nyysti started to look for a solution to adjust the height of the plants individually.
He came up with the invention of his own reels to replace the permanent thread rolls on the profile. With this roll, it is possible to easily and quickly even the top of the crops to the same height, for example once a week or every two weeks; with one hand a worker simply presses the lock on the spring and with the other hand he can roll up or down as required.
After several prototypes, Nyysti came up with the final version of his Tiptopreel, which he has been using on a large scale in his own greenhouse for quite some years now. "It is an easy and cost-effective way to increase the yield of the crop and create higher profits", he said. The workers can lower all crops very evenly, there is no shade on the plants and every crop receives the same amount of light. The growth is more consistent and the production of individual plants is no longer staying behind.
Nyysti's Tiptopreel consists of two parts; the roll itself, which is made of
UV-protected ABS plastic, and the lock spring. Each Tiptopreel is delivered already winded with 75 meter plastic cord. This is enough for eight cucumber crops.
For more information
Matti & Kaija Nyysti
Tiptopreel
kaija@nyysti.fi
www.tiptopreel.fi/en