12 A sea of flowers at 2011 Pack Trials - Floraculture International

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Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture is a leading research institute in the international greenhouse
horticulture. Experience in both greenhouse horticulture and research allows the institute to develop and
implement innovations for and in partnership with the horticultural industry. Research is focused on the
development of a sustainable and competitive greenhouse horticulture. This section provides the readers of
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For further information please contact: José Frederiks, T +31 317 48 38 78 jose.frederiks@wur.nl
The Naked Garden
In early July,
various crops
grown in
hydroculture
will be on
display at
the Hampton
Court Flower
Show. Growers,
Wageningen
UR
Greenhouse
Horticulture
and Experimental
Garden Zwaagdijk are supplying technique and plants for a
show garden designed by the English garden architect David
Domonayn. Tests with Petunia, Penstemon and stem roses on
water are already running in Bleiswijk.
'The Naked Garden' is the name of the garden designed by David
Domoney for the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in Surrey,
South-West of London. Garden architect Domoney will be displaying
plants that are growing in hydroculture. The garden will count twelve
trays of 1 m 2 . He is designing the garden together with scientists
Tycho Vermeulen and Filip van Noort, perennial nursery Molter and
Delphinium grower Nico Wigchert, both from Noordwijkerhout, and
Ammerlaan Soil- and Hydro culture from Pijnacker. Together they
will be supplying various herbaceous plants, stem rose, Delphinium,
Dracaena, and fruit vegetables.
“The crops will be grown in the Netherlands. Domoney will take
care of the logistics and everything else that is required for building
the show garden,” says Vermeulen. “The show garden will be demonstrating
that Dutch horticulture is focusing on quality, innovation,
and sustainability. At the same time, we learn about the possibilities
of root spraying and floating systems for a broad range of crops.”
The Hampton Court Flower Show will be running from 5 to 10 July.
Opening times during all days will be from 10:00 - 19:30 h. Tickets
can be obtained from the Royal Horticultural Society. |||
Daylight Greenhouse focuses on environmentally
friendly grown pot plants
Daylight Greenhouse focuses on environmentally friendly
grown pot plants The Daylight Greenhouse (formerly Fresnel
Greenhouse) on the Innovation and Demo Centre (IDC) has
kicked off a research project on environmentally friendly produced
pot plants.
The Daylight Greenhouse (formerly known as the Fresnel Greenhouse)
was opened in Mid March and is the result of collaboration
between Bode Project and Engineering and Wageningen UR Greenhouse
Horticulture. The greenhouse combines the cultivation of pot
plants with the collection of sustainable energy.
The Greenhouse as Energy Source
An experiment has been started with seven different pot plants and
energy yields are being recorded. This research is financed by the
Product Board for Horticulture and the Ministry of EL&I (Economic
Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation) in the context of the programme
Greenhouse as Energy Source.
At the south side of the Daylight Greenhouse fresnel lenses are
placed between a double glass cover. A fresnel lens is a special lens
that is deviating direct sunlight to a focal line. Electricity and heat can
be collected by placing a collector in such a focal line. Only diffuse
light is entering the daylight greenhouse because (almost) all direct
light is intercepted in this way. This is an ideal situation for pot plant
cultivation, because these plants are originating from the undergrowth
of the tropical rainforest.
Demo with pot plants
A prototype of Daylight Greenhouse has been realised at the IDC.
This greenhouse is 500 m 2 and has a span width of four metres.
Three spans are fitted with thermal collectors and the fourth span
has photovoltaic collectors.
This summer, researchers of Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture
will grow seven different pot plant species in the Daylight
Greenhouse: Areca, Anthurium, Bromelia (Guzmania), Calathea,
Asplenium (bird’s nest fern), Blue Star (fern) and Ficus.. Growth rate,
fresh and dry weight, and - most importantly - quality, expressed
in possible leaf damage or discolouration of these plants, will be
recorded. The total permissible (diffuse) light level is still considerably
higher than the level allowed in practice (0-70% depending on
the crop).
Energy yield of the collectors will be measured as well. It is expected
that at the end of the summer 15 to 20 m³ natural gas equivalents of
heat per m² greenhouse will have been collected from the sunlight
and around 25 to 35 kWh electricity. |||
June 2011 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 43