A Belgian hellebore grower has improved root health by replacing hydrogen peroxide dosing with a water treatment system, and used microbiome data to verify the results.
Tom Van Paemel, a hellebore grower in Belgium, was dealing with root problems. Following advice from a fellow grower, he stopped dosing hydrogen peroxide and switched to treating the water in his basins and recirculation tanks with the Vital Oxidizer. To monitor whether the investment was delivering results, he brought in Kytos, a biotechnology company. Using data from Kytos, Van Paemel was able to confirm that the system was working and that it was supporting a healthy microbiome.
"Clean water is clear water with a healthy microbiology," says John van Ruyven of JVR Tecmar. In practice, however, he finds that many growers equate clean water with sterile water. He is convinced that too many growers rely unnecessarily on heavy disinfection, with negative consequences. "The more you disinfect, the more problems you get in the root zone and in your drain water." Van Ruyven supplies growers with a system that acts as a small water purification unit, removing organic contaminants from the water — the Vital Oxidizer.
Making water sterile actually makes it easier for unwanted bacteria and fungi to take hold, adds Marc Indigne, COO of Kytos. The two came into contact after Kytos had already measured the performance of the Vital Oxidizer, without either party being aware of the connection. The grower who had invested in the system wanted data to back up what he was seeing. "Three weeks after installation and after stopping hydrogen peroxide dosing, his roots were in excellent condition," says Van Ruyven. "And from Kytos's data, you could clearly see when the Vital Oxidizer was running and when it was not."
© Thijmen Tiersma | HortiDaily.comMarc and John at HortiContact 2026
Quickly determining microbiome dynamics
Kytos, a spin-off of Ghent University, uses flow cytometry to rapidly assess microbiome dynamics. The advanced laboratory technique allows Kytos to map around 15 characteristics of every individual cell in the microbiome, and to distinguish between living and dead cells, something conventional laboratories are not able to do, Indigne emphasizes.
Kytos has developed around 15 markers, covering bacteria and fungi including Fusarium, Pythium, and Agrobacterium. All indicators are software-based. "They are algorithms that continue to improve through machine learning," Indigne explains. "With these indicators, we can map the microbiome, but we can also see what happens when a grower disinfects. We believe that diversity in the microbiome is better than eliminating one specific pathogen. Heavy disinfection wipes out a large part of the microbiome, and that just opens the door to opportunists."
© JVR TecmarVital Oxidizer at Tom Van Paemel's water silo
© Thijmen Tiersma | HortiDaily.comSterile is not the goal
The data Kytos provides after testing gives growers a better basis for management decisions. "In that sense, we are delivering a management tool," says Indigne. Van Ruyven sees that his customers benefit from having more data on the microbiome and on the effect of their water treatment investment on water quality and crop performance. "Growers often ask: 'Why am I having problems if my water is clean?'" He notes growing awareness of the importance of a healthy microbial balance in water and substrate, though he sees room for improvement. "Sterile water is the enemy of horticulture. It gives a false sense of security. If there are fungi in the air, contamination of the water can happen again very quickly."
Photo right: Box of the VitalOxidizer with pump and control unit
Growers looking for more insight can commission measurements from Kytos. They receive a KytoVial sampling and analysis kit, allowing them to take samples themselves and place them in a vial with fixative developed by Kytos, making it safe to ship to the laboratory. Kytos currently serves customers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and France, and is also active in the aquaculture sector, with local service labs in Asia. "The customer sends us the sample, and we can deliver data the same day it arrives, made accessible to the customer via the cloud."
© JVR Tecmar
Vital Oxidizer at Tom Van Paemel
Comparing results
Data remains the property of the customer. Kytos retains only anonymized raw data. With a growing database, Kytos offers customers the ability to benchmark their own results against those from the same crop type, or, for growers with multiple sites, to compare results across their own locations. "We show results for drip water in tomato cultivation, for example, using a green, yellow, and red color system. A red result places you in the bottom 25 percent."
Kytos currently offers measurements for drip water, drain water, substrate, and rainwater. The microbiome in rainwater at Van Paemel's operation was also measured at his request. "At our lab in Ghent, we continually work on updates and new indicators, for example, a bacterial health index," says Indigne. This resilience indicator shows whether a healthy microbial balance is present in water or substrate. "We want to demonstrate how robust the microbiome is when stress occurs. There are always stress factors in cultivation."
Optimal dosing
Both JVR Tecmar and Kytos report growing demand for their products and services as the horticultural sector pays more attention to the microbiome. Van Ruyven helps growers improve oxygen levels in their water and also supplies biostimulants. Kytos provides data that helps growers better understand and manage the microbiome.
Kytos data is also being used to optimize biostimulant application. "We can identify from measurements when the highest concentration of the active ingredient has been reached." This has already been done for JVR Tecmar's Bacto Line biostimulant. With insight into how a biostimulant behaves, a grower can determine when a new dose is needed and how much to apply for optimal effect. "This is how we are moving toward precision treatment based on data," Indigne concludes.
© Kytos
For more information:
John van Ruyven
JVR Tecmar
[email protected]
www.jvrtecmar.nl
Marc Indigne
Kytos
[email protected]
https://kytos.be/
