Is the use of good irrigation water merely a cost item for Dutch horticulture industry, or - as in many parts of the world which are 'new' to greenhouse horticulture - is availability also a matter for discussion? Frank van Kleef of Royal Pride in Middenmeer thinks it is the latter. 'Even in the Netherlands, the availability of good water is finite. From a technical perspective, there is no limit on the recirculation, disinfection and reuse of water. With this method, growers only need to discharge a minimal amount to the sewer.'
If implemented worldwide, this growing method could lead to huge savings, notes Van Kleef. 'The covered cultivation of greenhouse vegetables requires 10 times less water.' Moreover, the tomato grower believes that fertilizers are also lost every time with the water. In that respect, discharging to the sewer also costs us an unnecessarily large amount of money. For this reason, in Middenmeer every possible measure is taken to cut costs and to deal with water as sparingly as possible. 'We use 100% rainwater to irrigate the crops. Fertilizers are added in a very balanced manner, partly thanks to the extensive automation in this area. In addition, we measure the slabs, the drain and the level of transpiration. In short, we use all the necessary factors to determine how much water and fertilizer the plant needs, and when.'
Watch the video with Frank van Kleef about water management:
In its efforts to minimize its 'water footprint', Royal Pride looks at the latest developments, e.g. in the underground storage of water. 'When you see how great the global water problem is, you can't do anything but stop wasting water, even in the Netherlands. In the United States, for instance, you can see that water levels are falling in the Great Lakes. You just can't ignore that.'
At Royal Pride in Middenmeer all the reserve water is stored in the ground. 'The soil layers here are reasonably suited to storing water. In this way, we can preserve the main source of water.'
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The Netherlands
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