What could be better for technology and tomato professionals than an event about tomatoes and technology, right in the middle of the Westland greenhouses in a hall full of machines, which are also personally demonstrated to you live? TTA-ISO and Artechno offered such a unique event on Friday, June 6. It attracted a large (inter)national audience.
Click here for the photo report.
The unveiling of the harvest robot HarvAI was extensively filmed.
Lets meet HarvAI
Art van Rijn (Artechno) and Martin Maasland (TTA-ISO) were the first to take the stage for an opening speech, invited by day chairman Henry Gordon Smith. Then it was quickly time for an introduction to HarvAI. It is the name of the TTA-ISO harvest robot, which can also be found in the greenhouses at Vereijken Kwekerijen, well known Dutch grower.
Henk Jan van Ooijen, CTO at TTA-ISO, took the audience through the history and technical details of the robot after its official unveiling. The hardest part, as he acknowledged, is keeping it simple. That was the guiding principle in developing HarvAI.
It has now resulted in a harvest robot that, thanks to a patented 'wrist', can also grasp clusters behind the stem well. The robot stands out with camera choices and logistical considerations, according to Henk Jan. For example, there is a robot cart to which harvest carts can connect, allowing those carts to drive the crates out of the row while the robot continues harvesting. During the coupling, the harvest carts provide the electric power for the battery-driven robot.
Keynote speaker Björn Kuipers and Martin Maasland (TTA-ISO)
Working as a team with technology
If the live demo's of machines of both organizers did not already provide enough action, former football referee Björn Kuipers certainly did with an interactive presentation. The football images and anecdotes resonated, while the overarching message came across. Work as a team and trust the technology, which is certainly applicable to modern-day horticulture. No Goal Line Technology or Video Assistant Referee here, but increasingly more technologies with which people need to collaborate and that help save labor. After all, people willing to do all the work in and around the greenhouse are a scarce commodity.
"Make it a business case"
Growers during the panel discussion after lunch and live demos affirmed this labor issue. Among them was Nana Bekoe-Sakyi. He is the director of the large American industrial tomato grower Morning Star. The company embraces modern techniques that save labor and improve cultivation. Morning Star now works with the High Speed Grafter from TTA-ISO, which automates grafting. Ben Pieterse shared more about it earlier in the day, and he had news to tell: there is also a High Speed Grafter coming that can graft above the cotyledons to meet the desires of, among others, the European and high-tech North American markets.
Ben Pieterse (TTA-ISO) posed the question: What gives a propagator the most headaches?
The other three panelists were Peter Kuivenhoven, who brought experience from the propagation in both the Netherlands and Canada, Gert van Straalen from The Flavour Farm, and Rick van Schie from the family business L.A. van Schie. Gert also brought knowledge from both North America and the Netherlands, while Rick, as the youngest grower on stage, already gained experience with vertical farms. Rick conducted plenty of trials in the past when he worked for Artechno.
Gert van Straalen (The Flavour Farm), Nana Bekoe-Sakyi (Agricultural Technology research), Rick van Schie (L.A. van Schie), Peter Kuivenhoven (plant propagator). Panel discussion: Optimisation and Innovation in the Tomato Chain
One of the discussion topics was whether vertical and indoor farms play a role in today's tomato cultivation. As soon as growers see there is a business case, certainly, but now, in many cases, a greenhouse is where tomato growers still opt for.
Julia Erftemeijer (Artechno) showed a lot of figures during her presentation at the market's request
Propagation
The focus is especially on the propagation of tomato plants. There positive results have been achieved, for example by Artechno, that have set propagators to thinking. Faster propagation and higher quality plants—this sparks interest.
Julia Erftemeijer gave a presentation on this research into tomato plant cultivation in the last session of talks before the barbecue. At the market's request, she shared figures, including an OPEX comparison between the greenhouse and AVF+, Artechno's multi-layer growing system. Not only for graft healing but also in other propagation stages, the benefits of optimal climate control possible with the AVF+ are noticeable. The cultivation system does use more energy, but the difference is not insurmountable, as Julia showed, certainly when you also count in the advantages, like a more stable high quality level op starting material.
Iwan Kerklaan (De Twaalfde Man) and Sjaak Bakker (DigiVation) were part of illusionist Victor Mids' show
To close the day, a mystery guest was invited. Illusionist Victor Mids quickly dazzled the audience with how easy it is to deceive the human brain and how Victor can exploit this live on stage. After that, there was one more chance to take a close look at all the machines in the Artechno hall, which attendees eagerly did again. As the barbecue was fired up and the bus with international guests departed, the organizers could look back on a successful TomatoTech Innovation Summit.
Getting the whole organization team and their colleagues in the photo was quite a challenge.
Click here for the photo report of the TomatoTech Innovation Summit.
If you missed the TomatoTech Innovation Summit and are still curious about the latest developments at TTA-ISO and Artechno, you get another chance at GreenTech Amsterdam from June 10-12. Both companies will be present at the fair with a stand. Artechno stand 01.302 and TTA-ISO stands 02.211 and 05.431.