At the greenhouses of Zone.college in Zwolle, Netherlands, an unusual piece of horticultural equipment was put back into use for educational purposes. Lecturer Gé Verbeek reintroduced mechanical pollination devices that operate with a particular trilling sound, which had not been used there for many years.
During a period when tomato plants were flowering but bumblebees were not yet present in the greenhouse, the tools proved useful. Verbeek used these tools that are around 50 years old and once belonged to his father, demonstrating a traditional method of tomato pollination.
Bumblebees were introduced at a later stage. "Thanks to tomato grower Van den Belt, we are now able to let nature assist with pollination," Zone.college reported.
