"Effective greenhouse biosecurity starts with knowing what you can control and what you must keep out of the facility", says Jef van Gorp, Area Manager Benelux & Nordics at Roam Technology. "From routine cleaning and staff hygiene to water quality and crop rotation, small lapses can open the door to pests, pathogens and costly disruptions."
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Inner and outer ring
In order to be able to assess and identify the risks within your greenhouse, it's important to know the difference between the inner and outer ring, as the inner ring can be controlled more easily than the outer ring. "The outer ring refers to external factors coming into your greenhouse", Jef explains. "It's extremely important to implement certain measures to prevent pests, diseases, weeds, and other harmful organisms from entering your greenhouse. Visitors need to wear protective clothes, shoes, gloves and hair nets." Hand and foot disinfection stations at every entrance, and prevention of the accumulation of weeds and plant debris, such as rotten vegetables or fruits around the greenhouse, are protective measures in the outer ring too.
Inner ring
The inner ring represents everything that can be controlled from within the greenhouse. "There are different measures that should be taken, and they can be divided into 3 main pillars", Jef explains. Physical measures include maintaining a clean and disinfected greenhouse and optimising physical parameters such as humidity and light intensity.
Biological measures mean that a pathogen-free environment is essential for a qualitative crop yield. "Therefore, good hygiene during cultivation is essential. Additionally, implementing beneficial insects and microorganisms can help suppress pests and pathogens, and can provide nutrients and useful molecules to the crops." Finally, there's chemical measures: "Plants should be supplemented with all the essential macro- and micronutrients to fully exploit the potential of your crops. Biostimulants can further enhance the resilience of your plants."
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Roam Technology's biosecurity essentials
Jef explains a complete and comprehensive CDP-approach is essential to ensure a clean and healthy greenhouse. "Our products can aid in different ways to make biosecurity protocol successful."
In the physical environment for example, he explains that plant tables that have been used should always be cleaned and disinfected afterwards. "Roam Eco Clean is perfect for thorough cleaning, while Huwa-San TR-50 (liquid) and Virba-San (powder) are ideal for disinfection. It is also advised to disinfect equipment before or after usage by dipping them into a solution containing Huwa-San TR-50 or Virba-San. At Roam Technology we can help in providing a complete and effective hygiene protocol for crop rotation."
In the chemical environment, a healthy and strong plant has a natural defence against pests. "Supplement your crops with all essential macro- and micronutrients to obtain the most powerful plants. To guarantee the iron supply to the roots of the plants, the use of Ambiorix is advised. In addition, Sili-Fert P can be sprayed on plants to prevent a micronutrient deficiency."
Regarding the biological environment, he explains crops will never become the best version of themselves if the water supply is dirty. "Even if you clean and disinfect your greenhouse well and you supplement your plants with high-quality fertilisers, your plants will never thrive if your water system is full of pathogens and biofilm. To avoid this, Huwa-San can be continuously dosed to remove biofilm and to eradicate pathogens, which will result in healthy plants. The dosage depends on the crop, the status of the pipelines and the level of contamination and should therefore be optimised by our experts."
"Closing the loop on your biosecurity means treating your greenhouse as an integrated system, where all parts work together", Jef concludes. "Having a complete understanding of the threats, both inside and outside of your greenhouse is the first step in enhancing the efficacy of your hygiene protocol. Our experts at Roam Technology can assist you in finding the best hygiene practices, tailored to your greenhouse's needs."
For more information:
Roam Technology NV
Geleenlaan 24
3600 Genk, Belgium
Tel: +32 89 44 00 42
[email protected]
www.roamtechnology.com
