A new crop was planted at Olbrechts Tomaten on December 23. The specialist in cherry tomatoes is growing on an area of 4 hectares this year, which is 1 hectare less than usual. The reason? 2025 will be dedicated to renewing the acreage. By the end of this year, there will be 1.5 hectares of new greenhouse space, and tomato growers Patrick and Jeroen Olbrechts also hope to have a new tomato cultivation employee on board.
In Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, they grow traditionally, without lighting. The planting date is similar to past years. Regarding energy, the growers are 'not very worried' at the moment because energy prices are fixed in advance.
Steps have also been taken in response to another concern that the sector has faced in recent years: the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). For the second year in a row, the tomato growers are cultivating resistant varieties in their greenhouses. Jeroen stated, "We have red, yellow, orange, brown, pink, and ivory cherry tomatoes. They are all from resistant varieties. Last season, we also grew entirely with resistant varieties. However, we did switch to some other resistant varieties for the colored tomatoes this year because the quality there did not turn out to be sufficient."
The main variety in the greenhouse at father Patrick and son Jeroen's place is Adorelle, from Syngenta. "We really grow for flavor and also place great importance on shelf life. Quality and shelf life are significant assets for our customers. With a resistant variety, we do sacrifice a bit of production."
Jeroen Olbrechts among the new, fresh crop
New greenhouse
Olbrechts Tomaten's oldest greenhouse will be demolished in 2025. This is a 1-hectare greenhouse, where lettuce was grown very early on. "In this greenhouse, we saw that our production was still about 5 to 6 kilos lower than in our newest greenhouse, which went into production in 2021." That 1.5-hectare greenhouse represented an expansion for the growers, who also took on 3 hectares of new production in 2011.
For the greenhouse that has now been demolished, 1.5 hectares will be replaced later this year. It's a small expansion, although Jeroen says that's not the most important thing. "Our main concern is efficiency and the higher production we expect to achieve in the more modern greenhouse."
When expanding the area in 2020, the decision was made to install AR-coated glass on the roof. "Based on our experience with that, we are again choosing to equip our latest greenhouse with AR-coated glass. We also want to make strides in cultivation by using new fans. In addition, we are opting for a newer, single-screen cloth."
Labor issue
At the beginning of January, 15 people are working on the farm in Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver. Towards the peak, with 5 hectares in production in a normal year, there will be 60. "The new tomato cultivation employee will mainly be responsible for managing and following up," Jeroen indicates.
The growers keep a close eye on developments in automation and robotization. "We are following the harvesting robot that is now on trial at Syngenta. Growing cherry tomatoes requires a lot of labor. Currently, that is not really a bottleneck for us, but it may become more so."
As a smaller grower in today's tomato market, with numerous growers managing dozens or even hundreds of hectares, Olbrechts Tomaten is not yet choosing to invest in robotics this year. From other, larger growers, Jeroen knows that those investments have sometimes already been made. "This year, I think the first harvesting robots are really starting to come onto the market. From what I hear, they can now properly harvest about eighty percent of tomatoes. The rest will then require human labor."
Partly because Flemish tomato growers also package their produce, they think it's important that a harvest robot also harvests with quality in mind. "With us, the loosely harvested tomatoes go directly to the packaging machine. Therefore, it's important that the robot harvests really good red tomatoes, and not also pick green tomatoes. We would rather not have to sort those tomatoes out first after harvesting."
Sunshine, after yet a dark start to cultivation
First crop blooms
It will take until early March this season before harvesting can start in Patrick and Jeroen's greenhouse. The Flemish tomato growers are facing a dark start to traditional cultivation. "We have done a thorough crop rotation and also installed new film in the process. We see that, despite another dark start to cultivation like last year, we still have a nicely successful first crop, better than last year. Then, we had a bit less experience with the new resistant varieties, but maybe the thorough cleaning also helps to get all the light that is there into the greenhouse anyway."
Regarding lighting, the growers did consider it based on the new greenhouse construction. "For a very long time, even, but in the end, we see little potential in exposed winter cultivation of cherry tomatoes because of cheap import competition. That makes it really difficult." Hence, the choice was made to optimize the existing acreage, without lighting, but with the aim of improving and increasing production. With the good first bloom, another good start has already been made here for 2025.
To apply for the vacancy: https: //www.groentennieuws.nl/vacancy/13624/medewerker-tomatenteelt/
For more information:
Olbrechts Tomaten
Klemlei 9 - 2861 O.L.V. Wavre - Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)473 36 90 70
[email protected]
www.olbrechts-tomaten.be