Tomato grower Johan Van Bulck was recently interviewed by Boer&Tuinder because of the 60th anniversary of the Proefstation voor de Groenteteelt (Experimental Station for Vegetable Production). According to the grower, an important development over the past sixty years has been the development of the vaccine against the cucumber mosaic virus. Director Els Berckmoes also highlighted the projects aimed at saving energy.
Water is another important topic. Johan said that, "it would be nice if the PSKW could test fruit-vegetable varieties that need less water. Any varieties that we can grow with, say, a gallon less water, bring added value. Now, we are mainly talking about energy, but in 10 years, quality water might become the 'new gold.' Residual wastewater is already treated and reused in some member states, but as a grower, you want to be 100% sure that you have quality water available."