Now that the last asparagus has been harvested from the field, the harvest of a completely new Limburg crop is starting in the greenhouse: passion fruit. Just under half a hectare of the tropical crop has been planted in Belfeld. Grower Ad Gubbels and seven fellow growers are investigating the possibility of growing passionfruit commercially in the Netherlands.
With 4,000 m2 of plants, some 2,000 of these fruits are harvested per week at Brookberries, which has cleared space for this trial. Dutch broadcaster 1Limburg went to take a look at strawberry company Brookberries, who has cleared a corner to test the new crop. It is a large plot of green climbing plants. Four meters high and full of flowers and fruits. Large green egg-shaped fruits, which then turn brownish and then acquire the characteristic purple color associated with ripe passion fruit.
You can watch the 1Limburg clip here.
Easter every day
"Those purple fruits naturally fall off the plant when they are ripe," says grower Ad Gubbels as he walks through the green hedges. Then laughing: "For us every day is Easter from now on and we can look for purple eggs on the ground."
It is a project of seven growers from all over the country. In the Belfeld greenhouse they jointly investigate the commercial opportunities for growing passion fruit. "Together with Wageningen University, we are looking for new revenue models in greenhouse horticulture. This is one of those projects."
Earlier papaya trial
Gubbels is a pepper grower himself. Two years ago he and another group of horticulturists already did a trial with another tropical fruit. In Wellerlooi, one hectare of melon trees was planted for the cultivation of papayas. Because that cultivation requires a lot of extra lighting and heat, it turned out to be unprofitable. That is why he has now focused on the passion fruit.
Enthusiastic
"In terms of cultivation, you can compare these plants with tomatoes or peppers. They also grow in the greenhouse without extra light. The sun is enough for them. It is a very nice trial and we are enthusiastic about it."
Product for chefs
With the 4,000 square meters of plants, about 2,000 fruits are now harvested a week. But that's just the beginning if it's up to Gubbels. The Limburg passion fruit finds its way to the consumer through the catering industry. "We have our own webshop where we try to reach chefs. There is a lot of demand for local products there. We do not want to and cannot compete with the mass products from the supermarket," he says. "Our passion fruits are for cooking enthusiasts and chefs. And just like you see many strawberry vending machines in the area, we will soon be able to fill them with passion fruits in the region as well."
