Categories
Equipment

Drones are being used for coating commercial greenhouses

Safer way to control moss and mould and apply shading

 

Last week I was invited by Marco Lozada from De Ruiter to take a look at a drone that was spraying a solution to clean of moss and mould from their tunnel houses in Tuakau.  It has been something I have been urging a few different drone companies to investigae in the past few years.   There are thousands of hacteres of tunnel and greenhouses in New Zealand and not all of these can be serviced via a helicopter or the properties are not equiped or built to have automatic roof sprayers/washers.  

Drone technology is improving all of the time.  In the recent past certain products I would like to be used have been resticted by the size of the drones pay load, battery life and pump sizes.   The technology is improving and potentially with the right investment drone companies may have the ability to invest in alternative drones if the market is there.  Climbing up and cleaning a greenhouse roof is not for everyone, it has its dangers. Spraying with a drone will dramatically reducehealth and safty concerns, especially on for greenhouse growers that do not have access to automatic roof sprayers.

 

 

The company spraying the plastic houses at the De Ruiter site in Tuakau was Agdrone Ltd.  It was approximately 15 months since they sprayed for Moss & Mould on their first tunnel and glass houses.  Director of Agdrone Ltd and Pilot Warrick Funnell  was told by his first greenhouse house client that even a 10% reduction in light will equate to a 10% reduction in crop growth.   Warrick set about finding out and learning the best way for drones to become involved in applying effective chemicals for this purpose.

 

The advantages of using drones are:

 

  1. Health and safety of staff is not an issue.
  2. Can spray greenhouses not accessible by helicopters.
  3. Can spray greenhouses that are not set up or capable of using roof washers.
  4. No scaffolding or ladders.
  5. No hoses.
  6. No roof damages.
  7. Unlimited reach from the sides. Therefore, complete coverage.
  8. We have never damaged a roof through excessive rotor wash.
  9. Its quick easy and not invasive.
  10. Very limited drift. Can operate in tight spots where others machines are not able to.
  11. It is very effective.

One of the first tunnel house jobs Warrick completed was on a 1.4 hectare set of tunnel houses growing strawberries.  The grower asked to have 4 tunnels houses coated with a moss and mould cleaning solution as a trial.  The following season Agdrone applied the same product to approximately 1 hectare of the tunnel houses.  The owner of the strawberry operation commented It could take up to 6 months for wash clear most of the discolouration caused by the moss and mould.  Warrick said that this was in line with results we have observed on other tunnel houses and commercial building roofs.   The process is not an overnight one but does work.

Agdorne’s application process is using a double pass when spraying.  Warrick said they spray in small blocks, as the second pass needs to be completed within 30 minutes of the first pass.

Warrick has found to be effective; they need to apply water at a rate of a minimum of 800 litres per hectare.  The dilution rate is different to the normal rate.   Warrick’s experience in the last 15 months or so has lead him to what he and his team believe to be the most effective rate for drone operation.

Agdrone certainly wishes to become more involved in the control of Moss & Mould on tunnel and glass houses.  Providing they are able to map a series of jobs in one trip, we are really happy to travel to the Auckland and other regions to work.  The biggest on site input from the client is to provide us with a forklift or similar with a cage so the Pilot has unrestricted line of site during each spray run.

A typical spray day would be between 4-5 hours of logged flight time. Which would mean about 6-8 hours on site. The area covered in that sort of a day would be up to 1.25 Hectares. It is important to note that if the wind gets to around 10KMPH or more we will stop spraying.  Therefore, a lot of time can be lost due to high wind speed or rain.

 

Agdrone have their own dedicated spray trailer for this purpose which has never had anything in it except water and moss & Mould spray.

 

If you are interested to then check out this clip or contact Warrick below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdYd8oKe-OUfawK05pQzrVw

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Agricultural-Service/Agdrone-Ltd-101167528056840/

https://dronespraying.co.nz/

Agdrone Ltd

Director Pilot   Warrick Funnell  0274 428 322

Pilot Lewis Polglaze 021 228 2998

Director Admin  Jan Funnell  021 063 1172

66 Wikitoria Rd Whanganui 4501

 

Article written and compiled by Stefan Vogrincic

All Article’s checked and edited by Marie Vogrincic

I appreciate your comments.  Please feel free to comment on the grower2grower Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StefanGrower2grower/

 

Categories
Irrigation/Substrates Supporting Services

Farrells Nursery

Controlling liverwort with Huwa-San TR-50

 

Farrells Nursery is a family run business which has been operational in Pukekohe since 1983. Originally started by John Farrell it is now owned by Andy Farrell and operated with Kevin – his brother pictured above. The Farrells have always grown and sold Natives, Shrubs, Trees and Hedging, they currently use Huwa-San TR-50 across two locations in the Franklin area. https://www.farrellsnurseries.co.nz/ 

Huwa-SanTR-50 is a product designed to clean water and water lines, bringing many benefits with it as you will see below, for this local Pukekohe nursery. Huwa-San TR-50 is stabilized Hydrogen Peroxide.

 

Farrells Nursery started trialing Huwa-San TR-50 a year ago to control Liver Wort. As the photos below show they have gained control of this issue, but they also found other benefits of using this product: by controlling Liverwort they have less bugs flying around, and their mister nozzles no longer have a buildup of algae. They are a lot cleaner, and now their irrigation pipes are also a lot cleaner. The major benefits include less risk to staff, less labor intensive due to its effectiveness, and less time spent spraying. They have found a reduction in the use of other agrichemicals; for example, but not limited to: Captan and Magnesium Sulphate. They have also started using Huwa-San TR-50 to dip their seedling/cuttings trays for disinfection. They have been using rates at a minimum of 40 PPM at the irrigation nozzles with continual use at 6% Solution for Disinfection. They irrigate once every two days if required, which is dependent on visual checks of Seedlings, this is completed around 10am. Farrells Nursery highly recommends Huwa-San TR-50 to anyone using an irrigation system as they have found that cleaner water leads to healthier plants, not to mention the safety of their staff.

 

Image 1 – liverwort untreated

Image 2 – liverwort untreated 

Above two photos was the liverwort before using Huwa-San TR-50 and below is the results after using the product.  The difference is spectacular.  

 

Image 3 – liverwort treated with Huwa-San TR-50

Image 4 – liverwort treated with Huwa-San TR-50

 

When discussing Huwa-San TR-50 with Andy Wood (30 years’ experience), The Farrells Lead operator for chemical application he commented “ Huwa-San TR-50 has fast become a leading product in many areas of our Nursery, not only is it safer for me and my team I have noticed the control of Liver Wort as well as the fact my seedlings grow quicker then any algae can.” 

 

 

 

For more information and advice on this product contact:

Paul Marlow| Agrichemical & Certified Handler Trainer/Sales Rep

Mob: +64 20 4151 9342

64 Anselmi Ridge Road, Pukekohe 2120

Auckland New Zealand

www.educhem.co.nz

 

Article supplied by Educhem

Categories
Technical

Humidity influences (Technical)

Tricky

 

The shortest day has arrived and the day length will now slowly begin to increase – but there is still the worst two months of winter ahead.   There is almost a false sense of security that light hours will increase and therefore it is time to start working crops harder.  It is quite the opposite.  From experience we are in for some very low light levels and inclement weather.  Fruit loading and temperatures should be maintained at levels that don’t weaken greenhouse crops and allow plants to maintain manageable winter production.  Some growers may take extra shoots in early July in anticipation for the spring but with that comes a warning to manage and be flexible to reduce fruit load if required.  It is an especially tricky time for capsicum growers setting their first fruits.  If the weather is slightly better than average you could set and hold an extra fruit per plant on the first set but following that If the weather is unkind, this could potentially cause some abortion on the second set.

 

Humidity Influences:

 

High humidity and fungus issues are a problem and should be managed carefully over the next five months.  The temptation with the very high energy prices will be to minimise pipe or air heating.  The other tools in your arsenal will be irrigation and your computers humidity influences.   If you have to be energy conscious, I would be very careful how you irrigate your plants – be very much on the generative side and really manipulate the balance of your plants – if you make them to vegetative by kindness you will then potentially have more fungal pressure to deal with which would require more heating tools or spraying.  This is in part due to the increase in leaf area index and the transpiration of a bigger leaf hence more water/humidity to control.  We want leaf panels to collect the small amount of light available but you don’t want a soft vegetative plant = big leaf surfaces (generally). 

If you are prepared to grow with a higher humidity before your settings kick in you should definitely grow a more generative plant.  If you have venting influences on humidity, then be mindful you may be bringing cold air into your greenhouse so there is a balance to be struck.  There is still a decision to be made when it comes to pre-warming the greenhouse in the morning.  If this was the only time a customer said I could use energy then I would not be scrimping in the morning – it is a must in my book but you need to be careful to restrict the heat and vent scenario.   

If this was your only choice, what would you rather have 12-degree greenhouse temp with 90% Relative humidity (RH) or 15 degrees with 95% RH?   You could argue that the amount of water vapour per m2 is similar.  I would prefer more temperature but be happy to sacrifice a small amount of temperature in the morning period to prevent a fruit sweat.  I would try to maintain an active environment and use my venting/humidity influences with tight P bands tied to outside temps.  If you don’t control the early part of the day – then you will have no option but to irrigate later which is the reaction to a non-active environment.

On a side note, if your glass has condensation on the inside (which it will for longer periods of the morning especially) and you do little to control your humidity then this film of condensation could prevent up to 8% of light transmission until it is dried up and gone – consider the rule of thumb that 1 % of light lost is 1% of production lost.  By keeping your vents closed, using minimal heat you could cause other detrimental outcomes for your crop. 

The temptation for the tomato crop above could be to use your screen and keep the vent down – this will keep temperature in but humidity will be higher.  Still use your screen but be willing to vent a very small amount to help with reducing the amount of moisture in your greenhouse – use the Absolute Humidity settings/influences if you have them available on your computer systems.

 

 

(Below explanation on Vent P Bands)

Optimization of Proportional Plus Derivative Band Parameters Used in Greenhouse Ventilation by Response Surface Methodology:

 

Ventilation is one of the most important factors in greenhouse cultivation because the inside temperature of greenhouses rises rapidly in warm climates, and this high temperature may be detrimental to plant growth. The ventilation system in multi-span greenhouses is often controlled by a proportional algorithm. The relationship between temperature changes in the greenhouse and ventilation is not linear. Conventional ventilation strategies mostly employ a proportional band (P-band) control, which contains various settings related to solar radiation, outside temperature, and wind velocity. In practice, these settings may have a relationship with the set ventilation temperature. However, it is difficult to find optimized settings because they must be changed according to the greenhouse location, shape, and local climate changes.

Source https://www.hst-j.org/articles/xml/ZzWo/

 

Cover photo – young capsicum crop during low light period.  Balancing the fruit load with available light is very important to avoid abortion.

 

Article written and compiled by Stefan Vogrincic

All Article’s checked and edited by Marie Vogrincic

I appreciate your comments.  Please feel free to comment on the grower2grower Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StefanGrower2grower/

 

Categories
Greenhouse News

Precision Data Solves Efficiency and Retention Issues

Maximise labour efficiency and retain high performing staff

 

With rising labour costs and shortages, it has become essential to maximise labour efficiency and retain high performing staff. Growers with a comprehensive and analytical approach are seeing improved staff happiness, employee productivity and higher profit margins. Anecdotal evidence on staff performance by managers doesn’t provide the full picture, with many gaps and scope for human bias. With the latest technology, it is now easier and more affordable than ever before to obtain comprehensive data to help to mitigate labour issues.

This data gives new insights into staff behaviour and habits, allowing staff to be recognised, rewarded and have their potential maximised. It also allows managers to effectively recruit and benchmark against a known profile of high performing employees and to compare across different sites. Staff can be directed to focus on the jobs that they are best at. Overall, staff are happier and are more likely to stay in their job, because they are accomplishing well defined, recognised goals and are able to finish work earlier to spend more time with family and friends. 

 

Obtaining quality and detailed data used to be a time consuming, error prone and expensive undertaking. This involved either paper based recording systems, or expensive one size fits all vendor hardware. BumperCrop has taken a mobile-first approach so it is now affordable and easy. Widely available mobile devices are paired with WorkWave™ scanning tags to make data collection easy and highly reliable in any greenhouse setting. Operations can choose the level of data they want to collect, making rollout and change management easy. This also removes vendor lock-in, associated maintenance hassles and means the system automatically updates. 

 

Growers can track their operations remotely from their PC, smart-phone or tablet or easily share data by harnessing BumperCrop’s open data platform. The platform has been built specifically for customisation, as operations often have differing processes and terminology to be catered to.  For example, different reports are available such as time taken on rows, weight picked, or number of stems completed. Different varieties can also be seamlessly assigned and updated across rows.

BumperCrop’s Crop Management platform includes crop planning and yield management capabilities and it’s companion App is now available in 20 different languages, so that its benefits are being realised by growers across the world.

 

For more information:

BumperCrop Limited

www.mybumpercrop.com

Adam Forbes

adam@mybumpercrop.com

027 351 2512

Categories
Greenhouse News Technical

BEST of 2021 – Tomato PepMV Requires Strict Hygiene Protocols

Suppliers and Growers must work together

 

Best of 2021: This was the most read artcle of 2021

 

As many tomato growers are aware – we have had several positive detections of Pepino Mosaic Virus (PepMV). The virus identified in NZ falls into the CH2 strain classification. The area currently effected is the South Auckland region.  The first point to note is that any greenhouse property, that tests positive for PepMV, is still able to supply the market, infected tomato growers have NOT been shut down.  The fruit is perfectly safe to eat. 

Industry, Biosecurity NZ (MPI) were initially looking at an ‘Eradication’ strategy since the first detection – as the PepMV has spread, and eradication is no longer feasible, the response will move to a ‘Long Term Management’ strategy.  As we have tomato growers spread throughout NZ it is possible to restrict the spread. However, this is going to rely on a lot of vigorous protocols, good management and like our Covid response…. some good luck.

 

Prevention:

In my opinion the most important objective for growers is to be vigilant and to increase hygiene measures to reduce the risk of introducing the virus. 

While on the Isle of Wight, for Wight Salads in 2007, I worked in an area of the property that had ten individual greenhouses.   Two of these greenhouses had PepMV.  By using STRICT hygiene protocols, it was contained to those two greenhouses for the period of time I worked there. 

One major way to reduce possible spread of PepMV, that is part of the advice below, but I would like to stress is not to share crates, pallets, boxes etc. with other operations.  If possible, I would encourage you to use a separate set of crates for picking that only stay on your property and then use another set of crates to pack into for the market.  I understand it will be difficult to not mix these crates up.   Crates and pallets supplied to your operation, that are in circulation, may accidentally have organic material containing the PepMV. This is a huge concern as pallets, unlike crates, are not washed so this poses an extremely high risk of spreading the virus. 

Below are exactly the types of protocols that were used at Wight Salads;

 

Steps to take at first detection of disease:

  1. Block off and mark row(s) in which the infected plant or plants were found.
  2. Enter row, properly suited with coveralls, boots, and gloves, taking care not to touch any plants while walking along the row.
  3. Remove plant(s) showing symptoms, taking care not to allow contact of the infected plant with adjacent plants, and place in sturdy garbage bag(s).
  4. Additionally, remove about 3-6 plants (minimum of 20 plants recommended in Europe) on either side of the plant(s) exhibiting symptoms, and place carefully in garbage bags. (note if too many plants in the house are infected then it becomes a ‘wait and see’ to the severity of the strain and damage it causes)
  5. Walk out of row, taking care not to touch other plants.
  6. Keep plants in garbage bags and ensure that the plant material does not puncture the bags or containers.
  7. Burn or deeply bury the infected material, or take immediately to the landfill site. Never dump infected plant material in the open field or leave to be incorporated into the soil in fields. (That is close to your greenhouse where it could be transferred by birds or bees back into your greenhouse the following season or into other greenhouses located nearby)
  8. Ideally, replace growing media and string in areas from which infected plants were removed, and replace or disinfect drip stakes.

Visitors:

  1. Have foot-baths filled with fresh disinfectant at every entrance into the operation for disinfection of footwear.
  2. Disinfect hands using disinfectant dispensers strategically located at all entrances.
  3. Put on coveralls, disposable boots and gloves.
  4. Stay in walkways and do not enter the crop.
  5. When leaving, dispose of boots and gloves into bin specially provided for this purpose.
  6. Ensure that the used coveralls are laundered before the next use.
  7. Prevent pets from wandering into the cropping area.
  8. If this virus is detected in the crop, alert all visitors to its presence and its ease of transmission to avoid inadvertent spread of the disease.

Workers:

  1. Assign workers, coveralls, tools, carts etc. to greenhouse sections to minimize transfer of the virus between sections. In the case of disease detection, assignment of coveralls, carts etc. to diseased areas is particularly important. At the very least, have shoes/boots and coveralls for each greenhouse area that has been partitioned from the rest of the greenhouse, as might occur in large operations.
  2. Always work in infected areas last and then leave the greenhouse. Alternatively, shower and change entire work gear before entering uninfected areas again during the same day.
  3. Dip tools and gloved hands in undiluted skim milk or virucidal disinfectant (Virkon) between every plant. The skim milk should contain at least 3.5% protein, and as soon as the milk starts to go sour, or curdles, replace with fresh milk.
  4. If knives are used, use a different knife for each row and still disinfect (Virkon) or dip in skim milk between plants.
  5. After leaving each greenhouse, properly discard disposable gloves and boots, leave shoes/boots for disinfecting, and leave coveralls for laundering and disinfecting.
  6. Ensure all workers are made aware of the symptoms and that they are instructed to alert the management at first sign of disease symptoms.
  7. Discourage workers from consuming tomatoes on the premises to avoid inadvertent handling or careless disposal of diseased fruit.

Crates, Carts & Packing:

  1. Install disinfecting mats at entrances for wheels of carts and forklifts.
  2. Restrict carts and crates used in infected areas to those areas.
  3. Do not move carts and crates from infected to non-infected areas.
  4. Do not share carts, crates, boxes etc. with other operations.
  5. Tomatoes from external sources for re-packing should not be handled at a site that also produces tomatoes. Such a practice could greatly increase chances of virus transmission to the crop in production.
  6. Dispose of all rejected tomatoes in a manner similar to that described for plant debris i.e. buried or taken to the landfill immediately.
  7. Workers in the packing area should preferably not work in production areas also. Where this is unavoidable, workers should always disinfect hands and wear gloves, put on clean coveralls, and disinfect shoes before moving to the production area.

Cultural Practices:

  1. Do not allow plant debris from de-leafing and de-suckering jobs to be dropped or left on the floor. Remove all plant debris to be burnt, buried, or taken to the landfill.
  2. Ensure that irrigation water and re-circulated water is disinfected.
  3. Do not leave trash piles in, or near the greenhouse. Infected plant material can be blown back into the greenhouse, or could be carried on feet and tires.
  4. Do not keep ornamentals, hobby plants, etc. in the greenhouse. These may serve as hosts for the virus.

 

Production and Quality losses:

There have been international studies with the losses in production and the fruit quality issues caused by different strains of PepMV.  However, we need to be cautious with the results from previous research carried out in Europe.   As we grow crops that are harvesting into and through the winter, we may find in our climate those figures are not representative of the outcomes that may occur in NZ.  It should be a priority to start collecting figures so as an industry we understand the impacts on crop production and quality issues as it will assist in the establishment for a long-term management strategy.  

 

The Possibility of a Vaccine:

If I receive more information, I will post in an upcoming issue of Grower2Grower, any future possibility of importing a biological vaccine into NZ.  We may require the type of vaccine available in Europe to combat PepMV or we may not, but it is imperative we understand more about as many potential control options moving forward and if they could be approved for use in NZ.

 

Symptoms:

Note that on young plants you may not notice the virus.  However, on older crops or crops with a full fruit load you will most likely notice the effects at this stage if your plants are infected.

 

Fruit may become blotchy

Leaf will almost look like it has hormone damage.  Leaves can be dark and hard looking.  

 

Please contact me directly if you have any questions or require additional advice. 

E: stefan@grower2grower.co.nz 

 

Article written and compiled by Stefan Vogrincic

All Article’s checked and edited by Marie Vogrincic

I appreciate your comments.  Please feel free to comment on the grower2grower Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StefanGrower2grower/

 

 

Categories
Irrigation/Substrates Supporting Services

Huwa-San TR-50

NZ Cucumber Grower Benefits from using Huwa-San TR-50.

 

Huwa-San TR-50 is a water treatment product designed to combat Chlorine and make water cleaner, to aid in disease control and promoting the uptake of nutrients for crops. Huwa-San TR-50 is Hydrogen Peroxide with a Silver Ion stabilizer, this has many benefits to the user.

This article focuses on one of our local cucumber growers who is reaping the rewards of using Huwa-San TR-50.

 

Edward Lee is a cucumber grower based in Pukekohe. He was one of this first growers to start using the Huwa-San TR-50 product over three years ago.

“I switched to Huwa-San TR-50 because I was looking for safer and more environmentally friendly products to replace the more toxic agrichemicals I have been using. While using TR-50 I now have much better control of diseases like powdery mildew and gummy stem blight. The irrigation system is cleaner with less blocking of the drippers and biofilm build up, which allows equal amounts of water and nutrients to get to all of my plants.”

Regular spraying of Huwa-San TR-50 has also aided in keeping the floors and trays free of bacterial spores and disease on the plants. By using Huwa-San TR-50 as a clean-up spray, Edward has used less of the more toxic agrichemicals on his crops.  Edward said “This is safer for me, my staff and the crop.”

Edward continually uses Huwa-San TR-50 as a drench in the incoming water, adding 1.5 litres of product every second day per 25,000 litres using an automatic dosing system.   He has noticed that there is no need to use any subsequent flushes to the irrigation system.  He also applies Huwa-San TR-50 as a post pull-out clean up spray at 6% on the floors, walls, trays and equipment.

 

Edward uses Huwa-San TR-50 at different rates on his crops as a spray:

  1. Young plants 1% of water volume.
  2. Older plants 2% of water volume.

When spraying it is very important to spray this product on its own and after 5.30pm at night. This is to enable the product to stay wet longer, increasing its performance, and also so that there isn’t damage to the crop from burning.  “I would definitely recommend Huwa-San TR-50 to any grower and I will continue to use it.   I am happy to have growers contact me to discuss how I use it and the benefits I am having with Huwa-San TR-50.”

 

Edward Lee was one of this first growers to start using the Huwa-San TR-50 product over three years ago.

 

 

For more information and advice on this product contact:

Paul Marlow| Agrichemical & Certified Handler Trainer/Sales Rep

Mob: +64 20 4151 9342

64 Anselmi Ridge Road, Pukekohe 2120

Auckland New Zealand

www.educhem.co.nz

 

Article supplied by Educhem

Categories
Equipment Supporting Services

Autodiallers are an Essential add-on

Managing Risks by Nathan Hewson, Advanced Hort

 

Managing Risks and Insuring investments is a huge part of any business, and every business has its own unique risks. Being able to manage or reduce those risks means that it’s less likely to cause the business losses, whether that is lost time, wasted resources or financial costs. Protected cropping and intensive horticulture use a significant amount of integrated controls within the operational side of the business to ensure that everything runs smoothly and when it doesn’t, there is a quick and sure fire way to know about it as possible.

Within these installations there is sensor componentry that is designed to monitor the different environment or irrigation parameters that we are trying to control and often these controllers give a signal to warn us, its what we wire this signal to could be the difference between saving or loosing you investment.

Alarm Diallers, or sometimes known as Autodiallers are an essential add-on in any protected cropping or intensive horticultural installation. They are essentially a small electronic device that we can wire to a Controller, such as from a Priva or Hortimax Controller that will then call, text or email a grower or manager when a problem is detected, allowing instant communication that something has gone wrong and needs to be rectified. This empowers the grower to have their finger on the pulse and amend the fault or issue before further loss or damage occurs because of unchecked alarms.

There are different products available, but not all auto-diallers are built equal. Depending on what you, the grower thinks is important will ultimately determine the auto-dialler that you invest in. Several key things to consider when looking at your options include:

 

  1. Battery Backup – if your dialler loses power, can it still send an alert?
  2. Email / Text / Phone call – which type of notification is going to get your attention quickly?
  3. Cost of dialler Vs Cost of Crop investment – Is cheaper always better?
  4. Insurance – Does installing an Auto-dialler lower your insurance premiums?
  5. Remote Access – Are you able to log in to check the status or adjust settings easily?
  6. Accessibility/User interface – How easy is it to change settings?
  7. Scheduling Alerts – Do you need to notify different people on different days?

 

 

Installing an Alarm dialler is a very cheap form of insurance that allows you to be alerted if there is an issue on your farm. A few examples of this may be if the temperature in the compartment has gone over a certain setpoint due to a failed motor or if the tank filling valve has failed and there is no fresh water in your source water tank as a result. I am sure you could think of a few things on your own property that would be of great benefit if you were alerted to them.

In Holland, insurance companies impose a number of key requirements on their insured parties. To prevent any misunderstanding concerning the coverage provided by your insurance policy it is important that you are aware of the conditions that apply to your insurance policy. These conditions are contained in your policy schedule.

The obligations concerning the selected dialler and the way in which you use it do not differ all that much by insurance company. Below are a number of key points that insurance companies look for that you may wish to consider, if you are investing in an autodialler:

  1. The alarm system must not be dependent on the mains power supply, but must be able to operate independently. The system must therefore be equipped with its own battery with sufficient capacity.
  2. Due to wear, this battery must be replaced every 2 years.
  3. Alarms must be tested weekly.
  4. Alarms must be protected against overvoltage on the power supply and the signalling side.
  5. The alert must always be sent to at least two telephone numbers of one or more persons.
  6. In relation to the alarm situation, these individuals must act promptly, effectively and properly. The time to respond can differ by insurer.
  7. The selector must be connected to the telephone network and be given the highest priority, such that an alert always has priority over other connected devices.
  8. The networks used by alarms to transmit alerts must be implemented with redundancy (fixed telephony and GSM combined in 1 alarm device).
  9. The selector must be provided with an automatic number repeat feature with an acceptance procedure.

 

The Octalarm-Touch and Octalarm-IP meet all requirements set by the agricultural insurers for alarm equipment. 

Advanced Hort Ltd are a New Zealand supplier and will provide backup and support for the Adésys Alarm diallers. Do not hesitate to contact our specialists for further information about our products and insuring your operations.

 

 

E: Nathan.Hewson@advancedhort.co.nz

M: 027 378 5481

 

 

 

Categories
Category

Tech Scan – Closed greenhouses

What is new this week?

 

In our recent survey a large number of respondents wanted to be kept informed regarding new technology developments within the horticulture industry.  What is great about being linked to all the other greenhouse growing information sites is that you do come across remarkably interesting developments.  

The first video below is about the capture of Co2 for closed greenhouse production. I thought closed greenhouse production was un-achievable in New Zealand, until recently. However, with the (correct) available technology and investment it is more than possible.  With bio-security systems inability to stop pest incursions and the lack of tools to 100% effectively combat whitefly psyllids, thrips etc, a closed greenhouse, with an emergency venting system, is definitely looking more and more attractive as a solution – it just takes a business case to prove viability, and then the investment.

The world is moving forward with innovation in the greenhouse sector. The 20 plus year-old greenhouses, which I now classify as medium tech, are going to be useful for many years to come but for energy and labour hungry crops the writing is on the wall.  Growers may well need to grow other less energy hungry crops in the future in these older structures. This is a plus because I do not foresee many of these structures becoming redundant anytime soon, they still have many good years in front of them, so if we can find economically viable alternative produce for these structures to grow it will benefit all.  Once investment is made into a new tomato greenhouse for example, with all the latest technology the cost per unit of produce could be significantly less than our current systems.  I may be wrong, we could be growing in the same systems in 20 years’ time, but I suspect not.

The last of the videos below is brilliant at showing how to quickly and effectively spread beneficial insects over a large area.  Even if a closed greenhouse system were established, we would still require beneficial predators, the likelihood is beneficial insects would have a far greater chance of year-round control if we were able to prevent large swathes of unwanted pests entering our roof venting systems. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article written and compiled by Stefan Vogrincic

All Article’s checked and edited by Marie Vogrincic

I appreciate your comments.  Please feel free to comment on the grower2grower Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StefanGrower2grower/

Categories
Equipment Supporting Services

Advanced Environmental Computers

Brilliant but Challenging

 

Is learning to drive a formula one car is easy?  I don’t think so, those racing cars are death traps in the wrong hands (me).

Now I may have used an extreme example, in the above statement, as an advanced environmental computer is far less likely to kill you, but without the knowledge required to steer the most advanced greenhouse systems the chances of making huge financial mistakes are real.

Recently I have been working on a new project and quickly realised I required expert help.  With the expert help it has saved a very large amount of time.  Growing is becoming more technical. The difference between a basic environmental computer and the more technical systems are polls apart.  The speed at which technology is improving poses a huge challenge, not just growers but consultants and suppliers to the industry, especially as there are so many different systems to navigate. 

From a crop registration perspective, it doesn’t matter what system a grower uses.  I can give advice on the direction of the crop in all aspects, but when it comes to physically inputting the necessary setpoints, to achieve the desired outcomes, and due to the multitude of different systems, the growers need to have the best possible knowledge to make these changes in their systems.  However, growers can only have this knowledge if the systems are backed up with a strong support network. 

The environmental system I have been navigating is one of the best system available for high tech greenhouse production but without extensive knowledge then it is easy to see how costly mistakes could be made.

My two cents worth: After my recent observations I think there could be some basic screen pop ups that could alert growers to the changes certain setpoints will have on other parts of the system – for example humidity influence on venting/heating.   All of these are written in textbooks but I think pop up alerts on the desktop (that can have an enable/disable function) would be great to notify growers of the different scenarios that may occur when using an influence/setpoint. 

I also encourage growers to sit in on tutorials, if available from whomever you are purchasing your system.  Backup from your local dealer is crucial as working from different time zones poses its own problems.

 

Article written and compiled by Stefan Vogrincic

All Article’s checked and edited by Marie Vogrincic

I appreciate your comments.  Please feel free to comment on the grower2grower Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StefanGrower2grower/

Categories
Greenhouse News

Horticultural Provides Considerable Export Income

FINAL WORD by Dr Mike Nichols

 

A Strategy For Horticulture In New Zealand 

 

In addition to providing New Zealanders with fruit and vegetables year round the horticultural industry also provides considerable export income, which is predicted to rise significantly in the future. Despite the vital importance of food production  and the healthy on-going export prospects government (both National and Labour) has failed the industry (and therefore New Zealanders) in 3 distinct areas, namely:

1) Disestablishing the Extension Service,

2) Failing to provide adequate opportunities for education and training, at all levels  and

3)  Replacing DSIR and MAF Research with Crown Research Institutes. which severely reduced the countries research capacity.

 

Extension:

There is little doubt that in the 60’s & 70’s the Department of Agriculture provided an excellent source of unbiased information to producers.  The Department was established at a time when horticulture tended to be family farms (as was agriculture), and it was time for a change.  The development of large “agribusiness” operations meant that this earlier model was not fit for purpose, so “User Pay” was introduced.  Sadly the baby was thrown away with the bath water as “government” then disestablished the Advisory Service, so extension became fragmented among a number of private providers.  This situation is not satisfactory, as it lacks any centralised service, and many of the advisors lack independence as they ae employed by servicing organisations eg Farmlands, HortiCentre, Zespri etc.  

 

Education and Training:

This is the key to a developing horticultural industry, and I can best describe the current situation as having lost it’s way.  In this modern world a significant level of education and training is essential for underpinning and encouraging development of an individual, an industry or a country.  The critical balance is to have a population with a range of skills ranging from academic thought to practical skills, with a wide range in between.       

University training is vital to taking horticulture to the next level, by providing scientific training to the future researchers, extension force, and managers, but does not provide the practical skills that are an essential part of primary production. 

The Universities contribution to the industry has been in decline since the kiwifruit boom in the 1980’s. The Massey University 4 year horticultural science degrees has become a  3 year  degree, and the student numbers have fallen significantly from the 100 plus of the late 70’s to just a handful at both Massey and  Lincoln Universities, and yet the demand for horticultural graduates is strong.    Enrolments and staffing with reduced capacity for teaching horticulture at both Institutions have also been severely reduced.   

The genesis of this was probably the decisions in the 70’s to:

1) to reduce the size of the Extension service due to the trend away from family farms.  This severely limited the employment opportunities for new graduates, who in the past had been used in roles similar to trainee doctor interns while gaining experience.

2) to transfer most diploma level training to the polytechnics.  As a result the resources and staff  available for horticulture at both institutions was greatly reduced.

The corollary of this was that many of the polytechnics offered horticulture programmes, until the enrolments went into decline, and they discovered the high costs involved.   Possibly the establishment of a centralised Polytechnic of New Zealand will introduce some efficiencies. 

 

Research:

Until 1950 horticultural research in New Zealand was the responsibility of DSIR, with the exception of the Cawthron Institute in Nelson.   DSIR undertook mainly research on fruit crops and limited work on vegetables.  Thes main research campus was in Auckland, but there were a number of research stations in the major fruit growing areas,  eg Central Otago, Hawkes Bay, and Nelson. 

The Department (later Ministry) of Agriculture’s Levin Horticultural Research Station was established about that time, to undertake applied horticultural research.  In the 60’s and 70’s MAF established sub stations in Pukekohe, Hast ings, Hamilton etc to undertake localised studies.

Prior to the break-up of DSIR and the Research Division within Department of Agriculture (DOA) the separation between applied and more fundamental research responsibilities between DSIR and DOA was reasonably clear cut.  Competition for resources between the two groups (DSIR and DOA) clearly occurred, but once this was decided the research money was then allocated by the Heads of the departments between the different groups. 

All this disappeared with the establishment of the  Crown Research Institutes.   when researchers had to bid for research money from a national pool, and job security became a thing of the past.   Cooperation between researchers disappeared, and competition became the new buzz word.    Horticulture was initially split up into HortResearch (fruit crops)  and a Crop & Food Research (which included non fruit crop horticulture and arable crops).   now combined as Plant and Food.  Slowly we appear to be getting back to the old DSIR!!!!!

The problem with the current model is that the Crown Research Insitute's have to provide a dividend to government and are no longer a part of the Public Service.    In recent years HortResearch has  worked predominantly on two crops —apples and kiwifruit.   No one would disagree with the need to research these two important crops, but it should must be noted that in the 1960’s kiwifruit (then called Chinese gooseberries) barely existed as an export crop, and  there were serious considerations given to ceasing research on this crop”!!  Who is currently researching the next crop to replace kiwifruit in the future???   In fact how much agronomic research is being undertaken with other crops apart from the big five;  apples, kiwifruit,  onions, potatoes and squash?

A huge challenge in horticulture is to use water more efficiently and to reduce pollution of our river systems.  Protected cropping and hydroponics may offer some potential but currently no one in New Zealand is researching on Protected (greenhouse) crops!!   Demolishing (and not replacing) the world-famous controlled climate facility in Palmerston North with the increasing importance of the environment and horticulture was certainly not a wise decision or visionary. 

 

Overseas situation:  

Apart from UK most of the European countries appear to have retained significant horticultural education, and training, research and extension capacity.   Australia still has very active state research organisations, while the USA system of education, research and training all being centred within individual Universities in each state has meant that overheads have been shared over all three sectors.  In less developed countries horticulture has gained in prominence.  

Our nearest neighbour (Australia) has retained much of it’s horticultural research capability via the “Hort Innovation” scheme, where industry research funds are subsidized by a matching government grant.   

 

Conclusions:

Perhaps it is time for MPI to pick up the challenge, and take control of extension and applied research, while leaving the more fundamental research to the Crown Research Institutes.  This would not necessarily eliminate user pay—after all producers should pay something towards improved outcomes, but in the final analysis all of society must gain though an efficient supply of fruit and vegetables both for local consumption and for export.

The government needs to take bold and more sustaining efforts to supporting and encouraging more people into horticulture at all levels.

 

Article written and supplied by Dr Mike Nichols 

If you would like to get in touch with Dr Nichols send me your details to stefan@grower2grower.co.nz and I will pass them on.

I appreciate your comments.  Please feel free to comment on the grower2grower Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StefanGrower2grower/