For four months now the Dutch tomato grower Frank Dekker from Dekker Glascultures has used ultrasonic transmitters in his basin and silos to improve the quality of his irrigation- and drain water. And to great satisfaction. The USAF ultrasonic transmitters are supplied by Ultramins.
"It’s been somewhat of a guess," says Frank, "because besides good and visible results in the basins, little was known regarding the effect on irrigation- and drain water. The main reason for purchasing this system is that it is a plug & play solution: after installation you don't have to worry about it anymore. In addition, I no longer use chemicals in the water, which is of course a good thing."
On the left is a filter after 1 week of intensive usage with ultrasonic transmitters; right the same type of filter after the same period of intensive use, but without ultrasonic transmitters.
Basin
In the basin, which has a surface area of 1,500 m2, a double USAF ultrasonic transmitter was installed. Besides algae this also fights bacteria, fungi, viruses and biofilm. The basin water is now clean and clear. Eurofins has taken various water samples and the results, Frank testifies, are excellent. In terms of investments, ultrasonic transmitters are also a better alternative for cover canvas.
Silos
Frank always used canvas to cover the water surface on the silos. However, he had remove it because it was overgrown by weeds. Since there was no longer any protection, on stormy days dust and leaves were blown into the silo.
No such issues with Ultrasonic. The transmitters are not particular vulnerable to anything, and they keep fighting pathogens and biofilm 24/7 365 days a year, a thing simple canvas does not do. The mixing tank where drain water is added is now treated by 6 double USAF transmitters. In this case, also hydrogen peroxide is added. Here water samples were taken as well, with the same excellent results. The biofilm present was even completely broken down within 10 days. Eurofins performed a DNA multiscan and found no fungi. With yet another test, clavibacter was not found either.
Filter
Finally, the ultrasonic transmitters provide clear and clean water. Frank: "Last week we used a lot of water and the filter was hardly dirty. Previously, after a week like this, they were heavily polluted. A clean filter is obviously important to be able to give the set amounts of water and to keep the right pressure on the drippers to prevent clogging."
In conclusion, Dekker Glascultures is very pleased with the solution. "The ultrasonic transmitters offer me an environmentally friendly way to disinfect and reuse water throughout the growing process, basically without any maintenance."
Ultramins is the exclusive distributor of USAF ultrasonic transmitters, based in Zwaag, the Netherlands. For more information please contact Robert de Hoo at + 31 6-20 536 536 or at robert@ultramins.com