Quality in horticulture - is it a matter of taste, sustainability or optimized production? And how can technique contribute to this? This was discussed at the recent study day organized by the Netherlands Society for Agricultural Engineers (NVTL).
The theme of this year's study day was "Technology for Quality". René Welpelo of Plukon Food Group kicked off with an introduction to the poultry chain. The sector has striking similarities with horticulture: after a period where production optimization was particularly important, the market is now also increasingly asking for differentiated product. Free-range chickens are the cherry and candy tomatoes of poultry.
After this introduction the more than 150 listeners were divided into the sub-sessions cultivation technique (arable farming), experimental design, livestock farming and horticulture – with the latter having the lowest turnout. A missed opportunity for the sector, because Ronald Zeelen from Priva told an interesting story about the development of the Tomation, the tomato leaf picking robot that should be commercially available in 2017.
Before and after harvest
The morning program also featured a lecture by Alberto Lopez Lopez, who did research on reducing disease levels in tropical greenhouses. Lectures by Erik Pekkeriet (Pick'nPack) and Gitta ten Hoope (FloraHolland) showed that quality is not merely related to cultivation. Pekkeriet is active in the final year of the European Pick'nPack project, which aims to pack different types of food in a single packaging line. The line will be presented in May. Gitta ten Hoope mainly showed how ignorance in the chain can cause quality loss. This follows from FloraHolland’s research into the importance of cooling chrysanthemum for sales in distant destinations.
In the afternoon program there was also attention for quality development post-harvest. Jan Verschoor of Wageningen UR talked about the difference in quality loss between fresh produce batches that seem identical at first glance. He emphasized the importance of being aware of this.
Quality or taste?
In the horticultural sector, quality is often equal to taste. No wonder Wouter Verkerke was asked to talk about the importance of taste in horticulture. For business partners, but also for breeders. Finally Gerrit Polder and Jose Guerra took the floor. They spoke about quality detection and phenotyping in breeding.