The second year of the upside-down tomato cultivation is in full swing at Vertify in the World Horti Center in Naaldwijk. The innovation by BiomicAgritech is once again drawing a lot of attention. WOS pauses to consider this innovation and asks Vertify's manager, Cor van Staalduinen, about it.
This year, tomatoes are being cultivated until week 24. After this, cucumbers will be planted in this system. A key focus of the research is determining the production potential in relation to labor savings and optimizing the cultivation methodology. Cor says, "I am frankly not disappointed. Of course, the test wasn't conducted at a large Westland tomato grower, but in a smaller setting. I have to make do with what I have here. Moreover, the knowledge mainly lies with the large growers. But in terms of production technology, we are not far below traditional cultivation. Maybe about 25 percent less. That's quite a lot, but the labor costs are considerably lower."
Compared to last year, several changes have been made, as Eliezer Edelstein shared earlier this year. This year, the Merlice variety was chosen after a ToBRFV-resistant variety grew too quickly last year, which was not ideal for the specific system. Also, the cultivation tubes have been repositioned this year, turned 90 degrees, and are now placed lengthwise in the greenhouse instead of across as in the 2023 trial. In total, there are 8 tubes, accounting for 80 square meters of cultivation area.
Watch a recent video by WOS about this remarkable trial here.