In 2007 BVB Substrates started together with international partners and growers the development of a new substrate based on polyurethane foam specially for the horticulture sector; BVB Sublime. BVB Sublime enables growers to achieve optimum crop control and maximum yields.
Ontario-based greenhouse supply company, A.M.A. Plastics, have marketed the product in North America for the last four seasons, but as yet, few growers have been willing to change to BVB’s more environmentally friendly alternative.
Shawn Mallen, Sales and Hydroponics Manager at A.M.A. acknowledged that BVB Sublime is a different material to work with from what the growers are used to with stone wool. Sales have yet to take off on a large scale, with most growers still using stone wool, however three growers in the (Canadian) Leamington area will be using it in the forthcoming season.
“Two are repeats and one is a new grower,” he told HortiDaily. “We have an eggplant grower and two cucumber growers; two are in Essex County, and one is in Kent County. About 5.5 acres in all.”
“And we have growers in the trail stage. No one doing lots of it in a big way but what we see is more in the way of plugs, like lettuce, herbs, leafy greens, that type of stuff. We see some high interest in that [as an alternative to other growing cubes].” Said Shawn.
John Noordam, Export Manager at BVB Substrates understands this perfectly. “It is a completely new substrate and people are very careful about switching to another substrate,” he said. According to John, the same thing happened in Holland. “Dutch growers started with small testing areas and irrigation zones. Once the growers discovered that it really is resulting in higher yields and also more controllability, they started ordering which resulted in a total area of over 50 hectare with Sublime in Holland this year.”
Furthermore, John added that besides the Canadian growers, other projects took off at greenhouses in Middle America, Asia and Russia. “Shawn Mallen and A.M.A. are doing a great job and we are very positive for the future.”
Made of a polyurethane foam with a high pore volume, BVB claims that the resaturation of the substrate is excellent, making it very easy to control moisture levels - especially in warm climate zones. BVB’s trials at the Sint-Katlijne-Waver research centre in Belgium also showed increased yields in cucumber and tomato crops (of 5 and 7% respectively).
Nor does it break down and get into the irrigation system, so there’s no issue with re-circulating water.“Another major plus from Sublime is the food safety”, said John Noordam.
“The food safety of this substrate has been extensively tested and confirmed. Neither we nor our partners are taking any risks in this area at all. It is also a pure and consistent substrate because it is produced industrially.”
Shawn does accept however, that Sublime requires a different water management requiring, “more frequency and less duration. But overall watering is the same. They call it the joy stick or steering ability, it’s more instant.” He said.
With the Canadian Ministry of the Environment expressing concerns about Cocopeat run-off, and Rockwool disposal, BVB Sublime is the greener choice because it’s made up of 2% material, meaning it can be compressed down. A.M.A. currently take care of the disposal, but accepted that if there were more growers using it, recyclers would have a bigger interest in dealing with it.
BVB Sublime is not seen as waste, but as raw materials for new processes. It can be used in waste disposal burning processes.
“If there was 20 or 30 acres you’d have more material that would be more interesting for recyclers but when you’re just sending them one or two trailer loads it’s kind of hard.” Said Shawn.
In spite of the slow sales for BVB Sublime, A.M.A. believes that everything is in place for the substrate to catch on in the future, with competitive pricing and it’s greener credentials.
“A lot of it comes down to pricing and availability, disposal and local markets. It’s a challenge to change a grower’s mindset. We understand that too so we don’t expect every body to change for the sake of changing. BVB Sublime is a good alternative to Rockwool and it can bring growers even more profit. We trust more and more growers will be convinced.” Shawn concluded.
For more information
A.M.A Plastics
Shawn Mallen, Sales and Hydroponics Manager
800-338-1136
519-322-1397
BVB Substrates
John Noordam
Coldenhovelaan 10, De Lier, The Netherlands
P.O. Box 48, 3155 ZG
Maasland, The Netherlands
T: +31 (0) 174 53 54 55
F: +31 (0) 174 53 54 50
M: +31 (0) 6 533 607 32
