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ZVG Teaching Show in Hall 1A - IPM Essen 2015
- 28 January 2015
Innovative Substrates and "Gezonde Kas"
This time, the Teaching Show which ZVG ("Central Horticultural Association") will stage in Hall 1A at IPM ESSEN will present no fewer than two main subject areas: On the one hand, attention will focus on substrates and their correct use and, on the other hand, the EU Interreg project entitled "Gezonde Kas" ("Healthy Greenhouse") will be introduced as an overall system.
Innovative Substrates - One Substrate is Not the Same as Another
The compositions of the gardening cultivation substrates have changed constantly in the past and will be refined in the future, too. In this respect, the developments were and will be determined not only by the plants to be cultivated and the cultivation processes but also, in many cases, by economic and political circumstances.
From Business Blends Via Standard Substrates to the Special Product
In the 1950s, the many blends specific to businesses and cultivation processes were superseded by industrially manufactured cultivation substrates like the peat cultivation substrate and the Fruhstorfer standard earth. The standardised production and the use of peat or peat and clay as constituents led to the manufacture of substrates which exhibited a constant quality, increased the cultivation certainty and laid the basis for efficient plant production. In addition to the two input materials at that time, a large number of other materials are also utilised today in order to adjust the substrates exactly to the different requirements in horticultural practice.
Understanding the Substrate Composition
Not only the input materials of the current substrates will be on display at this year's Teaching Show at IPM ESSEN. Individual materials which can today already be processed in substrates in larger quantities are to be characterised more precisely.
For example, Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf ("Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences"), Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt Hannover-Ahlem ("Hanover-Ahlem Teaching and Testing Institute") and Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt Heidelberg ("Heidelberg Teaching and Testing Institute") will demonstrate compost, bark humus, coconut material and wood fibres and will portray the possibilities and the limits in each case. Furthermore, it will be possible to see various ornamental plants in substrates with different proportions of peat and other input materials. This demonstration will be supplemented by woody plants from Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt Bad Zwischenahn ("Bad Zwischenahn Teaching and Testing Institute") in peat-reduced and peat-free substrates.
Microbiology: A New Research Field
While the chemical and physical substrate properties have been investigated for a long time already, the research into the biological properties is still right at the beginning. Hochschule Geisenheim University will portray how the microbial compositions of individual input materials can be used in order to suppress harmful organisms. On the other hand, microorganisms in substrates may also lead to problems. Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf will introduce investigations into the colonisation of peats with saprophytic fungi.
"Gezonde Kas"
After four years of research work, the results of the Interreg project entitled "Gezonde Kas" ("Healthy Greenhouse") will now be presented to the public. In the Teaching Show, the Dutch and German project partners in Straelen in the Lower Rhine region will introduce a totally new and all-encompassing plant protection concept. The production systems in modern underglass horticulture have become ever bigger and more specialised over time. That yields a lot of advantages but also makes it more difficult to check the plant cultures every day. How can the cultivator nevertheless manage to produce his plants right on time and in a high quality? For four years, the Dutch and German experts have dealt with this question intensively within the framework of the Interreg project entitled "Gezonde Kas" ("Healthy Greenhouse"). In this respect, they have conducted research on tomatoes and cyclamens as example cultures. And the answer which they have found is a totally new and self-contained system. The different components intermesh seamlessly - and thus permit innovative plant protection according to the state of the art.
The Gezonde Kas system encompasses over 25 technical modules which ensure a healthy greenhouse in various steps. In the first step, the plants and the surroundings (water, air and substrate) are already scanned when they come into the greenhouse and are investigated for any possible pests. For this purpose, (tissue) specimens are taken on a random basis and their DNA is isolated and
tested for pests. Therefore, it can be ensured that no pests are located in the surroundings or in the plants. A healthy start is thus guaranteed.
A monitoring operation is carried out in the second step: initially on the macro level across the existing stock of plants. If necessary, then also on the micro level of the individual plant where the possibly present pest can be discovered and diagnosed. For example, photographs are taken with a chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) camera in this case. This recognises whether the tissue of the plant has been weakened. If the findings are positive, the investigation is continued on the micro level. If no conspicuous features arise, the system continues its work on the macro level.
In a third step, the intelligent system interprets the results of the monitoring and derives decision-taking aids and recommendations for the cultivator from these. In the last step, he can then take measures which combat the diagnosed and localised diseases in a very targeted way. For example, sensor-controlled nozzles which save more than 50 percent of the active ingredients are utilised if necessary. Everybody profits from this: the cultivators, the customers and, not least, the plants and the environment. Thereafter, the system begins from the start once again and continues the monitoring.
Ten research establishments and 22 companies from the German-Dutch border region have conducted research within the framework of the project entitled "Gezonde Kas". In this respect, the European Union as well as national and regional financiers promoted them with a budget of around Euro 10 million.
Further information: www.gezondekas.eu
Contact:
Dr. Dirk Ludolph
Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen ("Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture")
LVG Ahlem
Heisterbergallee 12
30453 Hannover
Tel.: +49.(0)511.4005-2158 (-2152)
Fax: +49.(0)511.4005-2200
E-mail: Dirk.Ludolph@LWK-Niedersachsen.de
Internet: www.lwk-niedersachsen.de
