The Netherlands
June 2, 2014

Our young Areca plants for cultivation are propagated in Central America. The growing conditions there can vary widely, and because of that no two batches are alike. NatuGro makes it possible for us to cultivate a strong, uniform final product from the different plants,’ says Yve Middelburg, the cultivation manager at the five production locations of D.C. van Geest Potplanten. The Dutch pot plant company started using NatuGro two years ago. Now growing with the NatuGro system has become standard procedure.

High-quality product
Yve Middelburg explains the company’s decision. ‘Once the young plants arrive, they have to put down good roots very quickly. Then they can start growing right away. NatuGro supports that process. If a plant is doing well, we can control the growth in such a way that the final products are uniform and vital. That we can control for uniform crop growth is very important, because there are always minor differences among the batches of young plants that arrive here.’ Yve says that the results of NatuGro are easy to see. The leaves of the plants that are ready to market have a darker colour, and that is a sign of their high quality. Moreover, the leaves which have grown in the Netherlands never have dry or yellowish growth tips. ‘NatuGro allows us to achieve a high-quality product,’ says Yve. ‘We don’t expect every batch to win a championship, but we do need every batch to qualify for the selection rounds without any problems. We don’t have any use for reserve players.’

NatuGro makes the difference
The pot plant company also uses NatuGro in its Musa and pot Anthurium crops, simply because the cultivation concept works. ‘You see, when we stop using NatuGro, after a while we find some batches which haven’t done as well as others. Because all other cultivation conditions and circumstances have been equal, it’s clear that NatuGro is the factor that makes a difference.’ The visual aspects of quality are very important to the Van Geest company, because it supplies plants to critical retail chains which very rightly do not accept fluctuating quality. ‘Purchasers, store managers, and quality managers also visit us regularly. We’re very open and transparent. We’re happy to give them more insight into our
business operations.’

Uniform, strong, healthy
According to Yve Middelburg, NatuGro has proved itself in the cultivation process. NatuGro is in the irrigation water and also in the cultivation system. ‘We see varying levels of quality in the batches that come in. And we also see a very uniform level of quality in the batches that we ship out: the plants are always strong and healthy and they never give any cause for complaints.’ And that’s exactly the goal. ‘We don’t want a single complaint from our final consumers. Our business runs on satisfied customers.’’ NatuGro is protected growth using the power of nature Biological crop protection and natural pollination are an established aspect of the professional cultivation of vegetables, fruit, flowers, and other plants. Here at Koppert, we call that ‘using the power of nature’. NatuGro is a new building block in this process. This system starts with the soil. Disease suppression in the soil is the key to a healthy, vital plant. Stimulating the growth of useful bacteria and fungi in the soil or substrate results in the release of disease suppressants which are absorbed by the plant, which then can also better absorb nutrients. This has a visibly positive effect on the plant’s vitality and resistance level. The plant will be less susceptible to diseases such as Pythium, Fusarium, powdery mildew, and Botrytis. This results in fewer instances of disease, less use of chemical agents, less failure, fewer production losses, and much more harvest security.

Website: http://www.koppert.com

Published: June 3, 2014