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‘Concordia res parvae crescunt’ 

The business magazine for fl oriculture worldwide 

Advanced actions 

reap rewards 

Plant 

Nurseries 

Competition 

warms up in 

Uruguay 24 

Certifi cations 

AEO secures 

swift customs 

clearance 46

Container Centralen A/S 

Egegårdsvej 20 

Postbox 479 

DK–5260 Odense S 

Tel. +45 6591 0002 

Fax +45 6591 3784 

ccinfo@container-centralen.com 

www.container-centralen.com 

Get ready for 

Operation Chip It 2010! 

The CC Containers will get new ID tags with built-in RFID* 

The unique and well-functioning CC pool system 

offers you the possibility of a smooth product 

�ow. To protect the system from illegal low-quality 

copies, CC Containers will soon get new tags. 

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RFID in the horticultural industry is powered by IBM. 

NEW TAG! 

In 2010, we will send new RFID tags to everybody who has 

CC Containers under contract with Container Centralen (CC). 

The new tags have a built-in RFID*, that will make identi�cation 

of genuine CC Containers even easier. Please make sure 

that the amount of CC Containers you have corresponds 

to the number stated in your CC contracts. If not, please 

contact your local CC of�ce. 

After the cut off date, only CC Containers 

with the new RFID tags will be accepted in 

the CC Pool System! You can easily check 

your tags with an RFID reader (“scanner”). 

“Operation Chip It” – a joint horticultural project 

Container Centralen and our partners in this project, 

Landgard, GASA Group, FloraHolland, and VGB, have come 

together to develop the new RFID tag for CC Containers. 

Also, retailers and other parties in the horticultural industry 

are increasingly demanding optimised logistics in general. 

RFID is an important step in this direction. 

* RFID = Radio Frequency Identi�cation 

For more information: www.operation-chip-it.com 

OPERATION:�� 

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With W RFID into the future

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shopping! 

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Gärtnereinkauf Münchingen GmbH 

Korntal Münchingen/ Deutschland 

Tel.: +49 7150 9123-0 

Fax: +49 7150 9123-23 

E-mail: info@gem-bedarf.de 

Horticoop België bvba 

Beveren (Waas)/ België 

Tel.: +32 499 706 343 

E-mail: info@horticoop.be 

Horticoop Scandinavia A/S 

Tilst/ Danmark 

Tel.: +45 87 369900 

Fax: +45 87 369909 

E-mail: info@horticoop.dk 

Sistemas Agricolas Hortisur s.l. 

Roquetas de Mar/ Almeria España 

Tel.: +34 950 338622 

Fax: +34 950 338621 

E-mail: horticoop@cajamar.es 

Horticoop Andina S.A. 

Quito/ Ecuador 

Tel.: +593 22483141/ 22483142 

E-mail: sales@horticoop.ec 

Horticoop Ethiopia PLC 

Debre Zeyt/ Ethiopia 

Tel.: 00251-910-195284 

E-mail: info@horticoop.et 

Hort Americas llc 

DFW/ Texas 

Tel.: + 1 469 532 2261 

Fax: + 1 469 375 2479 

info@hortamericas.com 

Horti Horti Fair Fair 2009 2009 

booth booth 02.0102 02.0102 

Your total horticultural supplier! 

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E-mail: export@horticoop.nl 

WWW.HORTICOOP.NL 

Partners of FloraCulture International 

- AIPH 

- AFIF 

- Arava Flowers Export Company 

- Asbindo 

- BGI 

- China Intex Shanghai 

- Danish Ornamentals 

- Expofl ores 

- Flowers and Cents 

- HBAG 

- Kenya Flower Council 

- NZ Export Growers Orchid 

Association Inc. 

- Orchid 

Growers of Hawaii 

- Plantum 

- SAFEC 

- SAF 

- Wildfl owers Australia

Table of Contents 

Too little too late? 

“Without water we have no horticulture, 

without the Lake we have no water.” Words of 

wisdom or words of doom? Lake Naivasha is 

probably at its lowest level for about 60 years, 

and whilst it is all too easy to blame the fl ower 

growers for this situation, a more balanced 

view is called for, and indeed, is beginning 

to come to the fore in discussion. 

by David Gray 

A ray of hope in Ethiopia 

Th e backbone of the fl oriculture industry 

is the varieties, which are available for 

production, and new varieties will only 

be introduced to Ethiopia when suffi 

cient Plant Breeders’ Rights protection 

exists. Th is is not (yet) the case. 

by Dr Edgar Krieger 

VKC embarks on a new course 

Th e Permanent Judging Committee VKC, the 

Netherlands’ leading organization dedicated to 

judging and registering ornamental crops is to 

embark on a course of action that will provide 

new and improved customer service. 

by Ron van der Ploeg 

You can always do better… 

With this motto the Dane Torben 

Moth Madsen is running his nursery 

RosaDanica, convinced that if you don’t 

constantly look for new ways of working, 

you will never get anywhere. 

by Lotte Bjarke 

12 

14 

16 

20 

October 2009 Volume 19 Number 10 

International Grower of the Year 2009 

During the 61st AIPH Annual Congress six grower candidates from six countries participated in 

the fi rst “International Grower of the Year” contest, organised by the AIPH and FCI. The reactions 

of the 2009 winners illustrates the high level of team satisfaction gained from the awards – the 

victory translating into an extra impulse for their advanced professional strategies 

by Anabel Evans 08 

GAP for disease management 

Powdery mildew and Botrytis control 

normally occurs under diff erent climatic 

conditions but both are good examples of 

how the principles of Good Agricultural 

Practices (GAP) can contribute to not 

only improved crop protection, but also 

reduce input costs and improve yield, 

quality and profi tability. 

by Louise Labuschagne 

Competition warms 

up in Uruguay 

Uruguayan plant nurseries are well positioned 

to take advantage of new money fl owing 

into their country as rich Europeans and 

Americans discover the ‘Provence’ of South 

America. 

by Jennifer Neujahr 

Access and Benefi t-Sharing 

Solutions 

Th e access to genetic resources is becoming 

increasingly diffi cult and subject to formalized 

administrative procedures. CIOPORA has 

subsequently adopted a Position Paper on 

Biodiversity, which recommends unrestricted 

access; underlines that benefi ts are already 

shared in a suffi cient way; and queries the 

manageability of any additional formalized 

ABS-instruments. 

by Dr Birte Lorenzen 

22 

24 

42 

Swift customs clearance 

secured with AEO 

Four Seasons Quality (FSQ), a leading 

importer of premium quality roses from 

Ecuador, is the fi rst fl ower company to be 

awarded with the ‘Authorised Economic 

Operator’ customs security and safety 

certifi cate, which enables a swifter clearance 

of fl owers at the border. 


Departments 

46 

International Events 27 

World News 28 

Prices 39 

Advertising Index 49 

Columns 

In My Opinion 6 

Dust 23 

Miami 35 

Touch 45 

Stuff 47 

October 2009 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 05

Colofon 

FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.Worldwide distribution. 

© 2009 FloraCulture International magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of editorial may 

be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Publisher is not liable 

for advertisements using illegally obtained images. Send address changes to FloraCulture 

International magazine, Vondelstraat 162, 1054 GV Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 

Ron van 

der Ploeg 

Dennis 

Seriese 

Claudia 

Stokreef 

Arturo 

Croci 

Lotte 

Bjarke 

Marta Pizanode 

Marque 

William 

Armellini 

Paul 

Black 

Lucas 

Nicholas 

Eyal 

Policar 

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Ron van der Ploeg (ron@fl oracultureinternational.com) 

Editorial team: Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Arturo Croci, Hans De Vries, 

David Gray, Kerry Herndon, Marie-Françoise Petitjean, Marta Pizano, 

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South America: Marta Pizano de Marquez (marta@fl oracultureinternational.com) 

Horti Tecnia Ltda., Calle 85 No20-25 Of. 202B, Bogotá, Colombia 

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Middle East: Eyal Policar (eyal@fl oracultureinternational.com) 

T (972) 54 42 97 002 F (972) 86 58 19 07 

Japan: Eiji Yoshikawa (callems@world.odn.ne.jp) 

EMS Inc., 2-22-8 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku,Tokyo 156-0043, Japan 

T (81) 33 32 75 756 F (81) 33 32 27 933 

East Africa: David Gray (gray@africaonline.co.ke) 

South Africa: Cilla Lowen (cilla@fl oracultureinternational.com) 

T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415 

In my opinion 

Expos and People 

In the middle of a peak season for professional trade 

exhibitions and horticultural congresses around the world, 

from North to South and East to West, at the International 

Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) Annual 

Congress, which was held this year in the fi fth largest Spanish 

city, Zaragoza, special attention was also being given to 

the plans for the horticultural and garden expositions for 

consumers. Th ese international events are renowned for their 

modern landscape designs and imaginative, very beautiful 

fl oriculture displays – all aiming to both educate citizens about 

fl oriculture and greenery and promote the value of fl owers and 

plants in homes, gardens and urban areas. 

In the pipeline are Expos for Taipei (Chinese Taipei) in 

2010/11; Xi’an (China) in 2011; Venlo (Th e Netherlands) in 

2012; Chiang Mai (Th ailand) in 2011/12; Suncheon (Republic 

of Korea) in 2103; Zaragoza (Spain) in 2014; Qingdao (China) 

in 2014; and, Antalya (Turkey) in 2016. Estimated visitor 

numbers, especially in the Asian countries, are mind-boggling 

and run into the millions. 

It seems a just reward that amid these bustling promotion 

plans, due attention was also given to six nurseries, the 

owners of which can only be described as leading industry 

entrepreneurs. From Belgium, Colombia, England, Germany, 

Holland and Spain, they were the candidates for the fi rst 

International Grower of the Year contest organized by the 

AIPH and FCI. Th e international jury was challenged to 

make a selection of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Rose winners 

(the full report can be read in our lead article); in all cases an 

advanced level of professionalism is evident. 

Undoubtedly, these companies have the skills to produce 

high quality ornamentals. Th e target of their modern 

business strategies is a strengthening of the relationship 

between their products and society. Th e company mission 

therefore emphasizes quality, sustainability and people. 

All three are fi nally determined by a multitude of complex 

factors – the latter is perhaps the most diffi cult of all? 

It starts with the people working at the heart of 

the industry in the greenhouses, fi elds, sales 

offi ces etc., expands along the supply chain 

to B2B contacts and ultimately, aims to 

reach the people on the street… especially 

those inquisitive enough to visit an Expo. 

Anabel Evans, editor 

anabel@fl oracultureinternational.com 

Eiji 

Yoshikawa 

FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly. 

WWorldwide 

distribution. ©2009 FloraCulture International magazine. 

AAll 

rights reserved. No portion of editorial may be reproduced in any 

fform 

without written permission of the publisher. Publisher is not 

liable for advertisements using illegally obtained images. Send address changes 

to FloraCulture International magazine, Vondelstraat 162, 1054 GV Amsterdam, 

01554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58 

the Netherlands. 

Cilla Lowen

AIPH and FCI 

The AIPH and FCI 

“International Grower 

of the Year” initiative 

aims to give the 

deserved recognition 

to those growers 

who are striving to 

create a sustainable 

business in a highly 

competitive market, 

whether local and/ 

or international. The 

remarks of the 2009 

winners illustrates 

the high level of 

team satisfaction 

gained from the 

awards – the victory 

translating into an 

extra impulse for their 

advanced professional 

strategies. 

by Anabel Evans 

The Bronze Rose winner was Pieter van de Berk from 

Van den Berk Nurseries in the Netherlands. Right: A 2009 

innovation from Van den Berk, the Swing Tree. 

8 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | October 2009 

International Grower 

All six nominees, who are 

each the winners of their 

respective national contests, 

were highly commended by the 

international jury members with the 

fi rst prize and Gold Rose awarded 

to Marc van Hulle from the forest 

nursery Sylva van Hulle in Belgium. 

An outstanding aspect in the jury’s 

motivation is the company’s attitude 

to quality, which encompasses not 

only the end product but also the 

people in their business and market 

knowledge. Sylva is commended 

for not being afraid of the cost of 

quality. 

Marc van Hulle says, “We have 

the ability to grow good quality 

products, but the production system 

has to be controlled carefully and 

the products do have to be sold. 

In this respect our business relies 

on human resources and market 

knowledge. Our staff are the most 

important asset in the company 

and we promote a friendly working 

environment to motivate the whole 

team and enable us to ask for the 

highest output. Th is strategy is 

incorporated into our company 

mission and is called the BARK 

values, which translated into 

English refer to culturing a pride 

in being a nurseryman/woman 

and showing a high level of respect 

for all colleagues and customers.” 

Th e HR management program at 

Sylva actually received a Pioneer 

in HR Diversity Management 

prize in 2008. Th e actions range 

from regular meetings and training 

courses to self-managed innovation 

projects, an informative personnel 

newsletter including a ‘who’s who’ 

section, a welcome-brochure and 

a DVD to illustrate production 

practices (including quality aspects) 

for new employees. 

Th e close cooperation is not 

restricted to internal management 

alone; Sylva has active contacts 

with a number of universities 

and research institutions to stay 

well informed about current 

trends in innovative production 

and commercial techniques. In 

combination with the inherited 

family knowledge, production 

systems are continually 

developing based on advanced 

environmentally-friendly and 

mechanized techniques. Th e MPS- 

VMS A-label was achieved in 1997. 

Th e family Van Hulle has been the 

owner of a forest nursery in Flanders, 

Belgium, since 1750. In 2003, the 

7th generation of the Van Hulle 

family arrived; Marc Van Hulle took

of the Year 2009 

over the company from his brothers 

together with his sons, Bram and 

Tim. Spread over 80 ha, Sylva 

produces 25 million plants annually; 

150 diff erent types of plants from 

the acer, fagus, populus, prunus, 

quercus, etc. forest species to buxus, 

taxus etc. hedging plants and shrubs 

can be found in the nursery, all 

cultivated on market demand with 

90% of the production exported to 

27 countries. Marc van Hulle ends, 

“Knowledge and service is highly 

important, especially with export 

to diff erent climatic conditions. 

Th e quality starts with the seed 

and together with our investments 

in quality guarantees throughout 

production, we want to hold our 

value in the market of forest and 

hedging plants with a socially 

responsible and highly qualitative 

image.” 

Colombia takes 

Silver Rose 

Th e Silver Rose winner is the fl ower 

producer and exporter Silvino 

Marc van Hulle from 

the Belgian nursery 

Sylva van Hulle 

proudly receives the 

Gold Rose from AIPH 

President Doeke 

Faber. 

Salguero from Flores de Tenjo Ltd 

in Colombia. Th e jury’s motivations 

related to: the consistent and high 

level of personnel care, training and 

education; initiatives in the breeding 

of varieties suited to local growing 

conditions; eff ective environmental 

practices, in particular the effi cient 

use of water. 

Flores de Tenjo has 28 years of 

experience in producing and 

exporting fl owers with roses, 

alstroemeria, hydrangea, freesias 

and ranunculus cultivated on 55 

ha. Th e company history is marked 

by innovation, constantly seeking 

new methods and tools to improve 

effi ciency of processes as well as the 

quality of the fl owers, along with 

the welfare of the workers and the 

environment. It was one of the fi rst 

nine farms to receive the Florverde® 

certifi cation created by Asocolfl ores. 

Being one of the farms in the 

Esmeralda Group Flores de Tenjo 

has also worked with Primacide (a 

company of the Esmeralda Group) 

on production techniques where 

improvements have been achieved 

in soil conditions (using organic 

products) and plant pathogen 

The Silver Rose was presented to Silvino Salguero from Flores de 

Tenjo in Colombia by the Mayor of Zaragoza. 

control. Another, more recent 

initiative is the creation of the 

company Bella Breeding with a 

grant from the Dutch government 

in a program oriented towards 

the creation of local employment. 

Th e breeding goals are focused 

on developing new alstroemeria 

varieties suited to the particular 

growing conditions of Colombia. 

Since its start in 2006, Bella 

Breeding has already developed 

seven varieties, all of which meet the 

environmental and legal standards 

required of export fl owers. 

Total production from the Flores 

de Tenjo facilities reached 22 

million stems in 2008 with over 

95% consumed in the USA. One 

further noteworthy process in the 

farm’s production system, with a 

very important socio-environmental 

impact, is the effi cient rainwater 

collection system. Th is system 

captures 90% of the rainwater to 

ensure an adequate farm water 

source throughout the year. 

No tree is too strange 

Th e third prize Bronze Rose goes 

to Pieter van den Berk, managing 

director of the semi-mature and 

mature trees specialist Van den Berk 

Nurseries in the Netherlands. Th e 

company product range covers 1700 

varieties of deciduous trees, conifers, 

shrubs and rhododendrons. Th e 

business areas that impressed the 

jury are: the company’s engineering 

innovations to complement 

progressive production techniques 

in a specialised business; compliance 

with environmental standards; 

its professional marketing and 

promotion activities including a 

multilingual website, Tree Book, 

guides and newsletter. 

Winning both the 2009 Dutch 

Horticultural Business Prize and 

the International Bronze Rose is, 

in Pieter van den Berk’s opinion, 

a real victory – recognition for the 

work of his uncle and father and 

the company staff . Being unafraid 

of the unusual is a management 

characteristic that has resulted in the >>> 

October 2009 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com m 9

AIPH and FCI 

Organisers and Jury 

Jury Members (left to right): Lionel Mills, England; Augusto 

Solano, Colombia; Secretariat Gerard de Wagt; Karl Heinz 

Compes, Germany; Gery Heungens, Belgium; Chairman 

Doeke Faber; Rob Bogers, The Netherlands. 

During the 61st Annual Congress of the International 

Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) six 

grower candidates from six countries participated in 

the fi rst “International Grower of the Year” contest. 

Doeke Faber from the AIPH, Jaap N. Kras from 

FloraCulture International and invited secretary 

Gerard de Wagt from the VKC Permanent Judging 

Committee organized the event in cooperation with 

national organizations in Belgium (AVBS), Colombia 

(Asocolfl ores/Cenifl ores), England (NFU), Germany 

(Taspo/ZVG), The Netherlands (Horticultural Business 

Prize) and Spain (FEPEX). 

Each of the candidates were judged on four main 

criteria; (1) economic performance, (2) sustainable 

business strategy (including social responsibility), 

(3) innovation and (4) overall company image. 

The Award Ceremony took place during the AIPH 

Gala Dinner on Tuesday 15 September in the grand 

city hall of Zaragoza, Spain, which was the host city 

of the 2009 AIPH Congress. 

A special thank you goes to the members of the 

international jury, who represented the national 

associations of the individual country candidates: 

• Gery Heungens, AVBS Belgium 

• Augusto Solano, Asocolfl ores Colombia 

• Lionel Mills, NFU England 

• Karl Heinz Compes, ZVG Germany 

• Rob Bogers, ISHS The Netherlands 

• Josep Pages, Girona Association 

of Nurseries Spain 

Chairman: Doeke Faber 

Secretariat: Gerard de Wagt 


diversity of products, gleaned from 

his uncle Paulus van den Berk, who 

together with his father, Jan, has 

helped build up the family nursery 

into the current international 

company. Th e latest product 

innovation is the Swing Tree. 

Mechanization of production has 

also been critical to Van den Berk 

Nurseries’ development, allowing 

digging out and delivery to be 

carried out rapidly and adding 

to the job satisfaction of the staff 

team. Van den Berk adds, “Using 

an overlapping design of the knives 

fi tted to the mammoth digging 

machine, we can work with rootballs 

of varying diameters (up 

to a maximum of 2.6 m).” Th e 

timing and targeted quality of the 

service in the wide-ranging projects 

undertaken by Van den Berk has 

also led to an extension of the 

planting season by using containers, 

Spring Ring and especially coconut 

fi bre root-balls. Th e coconut fi bre 

root-ball method is a relatively 

unknown method that involves 

wrapping the root-ball with a mat 

that consists of two layers of coconut 

fi bres that sandwich a biologically 

degradable plastic; as a result mature 

trees can be planted in the summer. 

Van den Berk Nurseries has been 

ISO certifi cated since 1997 and is 

further committed to the sustainable 

Geoff Caesar from Bransford Webbs Plant Company in England. 

and environmentally friendly 

production of trees according to the 

requirements of the ‘Milieukeur’ 

Ecolabel. Th is has resulted in a 

number of soil, cultivation and 

landscaping measures, such as 

sowing grass in between the trees – 

good for the insects while reducing 

the need for weed killers. 

Honorary Plaques 

Honorary plaques were awarded 

to Geoff Caesar from Bransford 

Webbs Plant Company, the 

wholesale nursery of garden plants 

(nursery stock) in England; Markus 

Wittmann from the pot plant 

nursery Gartenbau Wittmann in 

Germany; and Joan Roig Mas from 

Grup Roig, the ornamental plant 

nurseries (specialising in geranium) 

in Spain. 

Geoff Caesar commented that 

choosing the right products and 

marketing them in an imaginative 

manner has been a rewarding sales 

strategy for Bransford Webbs. 

He referred in particular to their 

Campaign Plants initiative, which 

quadrupled the sales of timed 

plant deliveries from February to 

August in 2008 (primula, dianthus, 

fuchsia, dahlia, leucanthemum 

and sedum). Caesar adds, “Th e 

initiative has allowed us to build a 

relationship with our garden centre

customers but it is critical that the 

POS material, which targets the 

customer’s emotions and involves 

plants in their lifestyle aspirations, 

is used professionally; the centres 

are encouraged to create a large hot 

spot display.” Bransford Webbs is 

also renowned for having a dynamic 

and strong management style with 

an emphasis on personnel input and 

creating a team spirit. Caesar says, 

“It is people that make the business. 

Th e Investor in People assessment 

is extremely worthwhile: through 

a system of business planning, 

objectives and staff reviews, we 

maintain a proactive training and 

development program across the 

whole business.” 

Th e German candidate, Markus 

Wittmann from Gartenbau 

Wittmann, was highly commended 

by the jury for the continual 

modernisation of the company: 

adapting to specifi c market 

opportunities; the close attention 

paid to customer demands; the 

operational management actions 

implemented to minimise costs and 

increase revenues. 

All year round approximately 130 

diff erent pot plants are produced. 

In addition to the tried and tested 

Joan Roig Mas 

from Grup Roig 

in Spain. 

products, niche products such as 

Gomphrena globosa, Lobelia valida 

and Catharanthus are also produced 

in large quantities. Many other new 

varieties are tested every year, some 

of which enter the standard product 

range. Also, for several years, a wide 

variety of summer pot plants in 

13 cm pots have been produced 

and marketed as mixed containers. 

Th e purchasers are mainly owneroperated 

garden centres, garden 

centre chains, specialist shops, DIY 

stores and C&C. A large geographic 

area is served by the nurseries own 

fl eet of vehicles with extensive 

additional services available, 

such as plants labelled to clientspecifi 

cations. 

Grup Roig, a leading ornamental 

plant nursery specialising in 

geranium, was highly commended 

by the jury for: professional 

representation of the sector 

through technical customer 

services; its breeding innovation 

and research collaboration for 

genetic improvement; its socioenvironmental 

responsibility 

strategy. Th e company produces and 

commercializes about 25 million 

cuttings per year (20 million in the 

Iberian Peninsula). Geraniums, the 

Christmas poinsettia, petunias and 

the aromatic herbs are some of the 

most important crops off ered by 

the company. Th ese are sold with 

the support of a team of highly 

trained technicians. Th e idea is that 

the service the company provides 

to its customers does not stop at 

the door of their own nursery, but 

goes deep into the greenhouse of the 

buyer. Some of the basic breeding 

material is obtained in collaboration 

with an offi cial local research 

institution, the IRTA (Institute for 

the Development of Agricultural 

Technologies, run by the regional 

government of Catalonia). Th is 

collaboration produces results; one 

successful commercial project is 

the development of two lines of 

geraniums specially adapted for 

growing in high temperatures. Th e 

lines are called Costa Brava and 

Costa Daurada. Th e company also 

sources its material from prestigious 

breeders all across Europe. ||| 

Please visit 

us at the 

Horti Fair 2009 

Stand 0510 

Hall 7 

FOUR 

SEASONS 

QUALITY BV 

FIRST 

FLOWER 

TRADER 

AEO-CERTIFIED 

ECUADOR ROSES, 

WWW.FSQ.NL

Lake Naivasha 

“Without water we 

have no horticulture, 

without the Lake 

we have no water.” 

Words of wisdom or 

words of doom? Lake 

Naivasha is probably 

at its lowest level 

for about 60 years, 

and whilst it is all 

too easy to blame 

the fl ower growers 

for this situation, a 

more balanced view 

is called for, and 

indeed, is beginning 

to come to the fore in 

discussion. 

by David Gray 


Too little 

too late? 

Naivasha has been described 

as the ‘hot bed’ or 

‘birthplace’ of Kenyan 

horticulture due to the fact that 

this is where most of the early, 

large scale development of the 

industry took place (not forgetting 

the famous DCK Masongaleni 

project in the late 1970s!). It is 

still assumed in some quarters that 

whatever happens in, and around, 

the Naivasha area is typical of the 

industry as a whole, and vice versa. 

Th ere has in fact been rapid and 

signifi cant development in other 

parts of Kenya around Kericho, 

Eldoret, Th ika, Athi and Nanyuki/ 

Timau, which do not seem to attract 

as much publicity, perhaps because 

these areas are not as concentrated. 

Whilst only about 30 of Kenya’s 

approximately 120 commercial 

fl ower growers are located around 

the Lake, they are generally the 

larger units, proportionately 

producing more export product 

(over 50% of the national total), 

employing more staff and taking 

relatively more water than the rest 

of the industry as a whole. Th e 

Municipal Council of Naivasha 

reckons that the local population 

has increased from about 25,000 

to around 300,000, bringing 

serious strains on its resources in 

terms of basic town planning: road 

maintenance, housing, provision 

of domestic water and sanitation 

facilities. Contributing to the local 

social problems are: the increasingly 

heavy traffi c (Naivasha is on the 

main route from Mombasa to 

Uganda and Central Africa); the 

continuing development of the 

geothermal projects in the hills to 

the West of the Lake; the increasing 

investment in tourist hotels along 

the lakeshore. 

Directly or indirectly, all these 

seemingly local developments 

have had far reaching eff ects. 

Th e most obvious of which is the 

potentially disastrous lowering 

in the volume and quality of the 

water in Lake Naivasha, which the 

fl ower growers are constantly being 

blamed for in the press and by some 

environmental interest groups. 

As one local environmentalist 

points out, the critical point (not 

recognised by everyone concerned) 

is not the level of the water but 

the volume of water in the lake, 

which means the depth. Th e lake 

has always been rather shallow, and 

its depth has almost certainly been 

reduced very signifi cantly over the 

years by siltation, quite regardless of 

any off take by the fl ower growers or 

anyone else. 

Th e overall ecology and hydrology of 

Lake Naivasha are very complicated; 

as the only ‘clean water’ lake in 

this part of the Great Rift Valley, 

with subdued volcanic activity still 

ongoing in the surroundings (the 

Ken Gen geothermal project, which 

produces some 20% of Kenya’s 

electrical power, is alongside), 

and with few, and only small 

rivers fl owing into the lake, the 

intake volume depends heavily on 

underground seepage. Th is is directly 

from the Aberdare and Kinangop 

mountain ranges to the East and 

indirectly from the Mau and the 

Eburru ranges to the West. All these 

‘water towers’ have been largely 

denuded of vegetation in recent 

years; a situation exacerbated by the 

on going drought. Furthermore, 

the Malewa River (not large but 

an important and reliable source 

of surface intake) besides having its 

supply reduced considerably by the 

destruction of the upriver forests 

was further reduced some years 

ago by partial diversion to supply 

water to Nakuru Town and certain 

neighbouring estates. 

Th e intake has 

subsequently been drastically 

reduced in recent years and 

for one reason or another the 

lake bed is said to have risen 

through siltation. Th e volume of 

water is thus reduced; at the same 

time increasing volumes of water 

have been (and continue to be) 

removed from the system. Th ere 

are many forms of abstraction, 

and of course, the most recent and 

therefore the most ‘popular’ as far as 

the press and the ‘disaster merchants’ 

are concerned, is laid at the feet 

of the fl ower growers. Somewhat 

belatedly, surveys are underway and 

it would seem that no real fi gures are 

available, but the following have to 

be noted as signifi cant removers of 

water from the system, of which the 

lake itself is only a part. 

Signifi cant water users 

• According to the Lake Naivasha 

Riparian Association’s (LNRA) 

recent newsletter there are 

560 surface water permits and 

945 groundwater permits (i.e. 

boreholes, wells etc), though there 

is very little real monitoring and 

control of actual water taken out. 

• Evaporation has always been 

considered a major factor; and 

though some discount this, it is 

obvious that as the volume of 

water reduces the ratio of surface 

to volume increases and therefore 

the relative eff ect of evaporation 

increases, and is likely to continue 

to increase as global warming 

continues. 

• Many boreholes in the 

surrounding area are deep enough 

to be actually draining the lake.

• Whilst most of the fl ower 

growers use drip irrigation under 

plastic greenhouse conditions 

(and therefore with very little 

wastage), the increase in number 

of centre pivot systems for outdoor 

vegetable growing is, by all 

accounts, becoming a serious drain 

on the aquifers as well as being 

wasteful (as with all overhead 

systems). 

• KenGen, the operator of the 

Ol Karia geothermal project is 

said, by some, to actually remove 

more water than any of the other 

‘culprits’, but fi gures do not seem 

to be available. 

Aside from volume, the quality of 

the water has also been aff ected, 

both from direct lake water and 

from boreholes; EC has been 

increasing as the lake level drops 

and growers are having to introduce 

reverse osmosis systems, aff ecting 

the quality of the lake water as the 

‘by product’ fi nds its way back into 

the lake. Add to these factors, the 

ever increasing population with the 

inevitable requirement for water and 

the less inevitable (in theory at least) 

production of waste, much of which 

fi nds its way back into the lake as a 

potent pollutant. 

However, recent newspaper headlines 

and newsletters of interested 

Kenya’s fl ower 

growing regions. 

parties (such as: ‘Lake Naivasha is 

dying: Government and users wake 

up to nightmare reality’; ‘Eff ects 

of forest destruction put lake at 

risk’; ‘Lake Naivasha is facing an 

environmental catastrophe’) have 

been bringing the situation out 

into the open after, it would be 

said by many, ‘too many years with 

our heads in the sand’. 

A Management Plan was drafted 

nearly 20 years ago, this was initially 

gazetted by the Government to 

make it ‘offi cial’ but has apparently 

been mired in political, legal 

and personal self interest so has 

still got be offi cially introduced. 

Naivasha Na N Fair 

The Naivasha Horticultural Fair, held in mid 

September, was instituted some six years ago to 

present the ‘friendly face of horticulture’ and to 

cement relations with the local population and 

authorities. Since then it has grown each year and 

has been able to contribute increasingly to local 

organisations and charities. In addition, some of the 

fl ower growers contribute individually, for instance, 

to a planned new maternity wing at the local 

hospital, and one contributes a signifi cant amount 

to the ‘Safe House’ project every month. The local 

Rotary Club, one of the benefi ciaries of the Fair, has, 

among other projects, set itself a target to plant at 

least 50,000 trees over the next year, desperately 

needed in an area that has been largely denuded of 

its rain-making, water-holding cover in recent years. 

Although the published program listed 98 exhibitors, 

there were in fact about 125 trade stands and 10 

‘social’ stands, in all slightly more than last year. 

There was a good mix of plant breeders (six of the 

locally based rose breeders); seed, equipment and 

input suppliers (such as Pannar, Hygrotech, Syngenta 

and Koppert); international organisations (like 

NAKTuinbouw); and, a plethora of local non- or semihorticultural 

companies and organisations ranging 

from cheese makers, various handicraft stalls and a 

charity football maker (next year’s World Cup in South 

Africa is very much the ‘talk of the town’ even though 

Now, at least (and at last) the local 

District Commissioner is trying 

to bring everyone and everything 

together to establish a proper 

working relationship of all the parties 

and hopefully, a proper workable 

plan with sensible monitoring, 

development limitations, and 

minimum corruption. 

All too little too late? Unless the 

ongoing rape of the surrounding 

environment can be stopped and 

unless the promised El Nino dumps 

a deluge on the catchment areas, 

many fear the worst... the economic 

and social eff ects could be a real 

nightmare. ||| 

Kenya will not be participating). Slightly surprisingly, 

the rose breeders (a fair barometer of prospects?) 

were reasonably upbeat about the industry, reporting 

fairly good sales for replacement, but very little 

increase and virtually no new investment this year. 

Dilpack in conjunction with the fl ower trader, The 

Flower Hub, were launching their new cut fl ower 

food and reporting capacity expansion at their 

Nairobi factory, whilst UFO, representing Bartels and 

other suppliers, were launching their new marketing 

concept of scented bouquets. 

Probably slightly fewer visitors than last year 

attended the Fair, some perhaps discouraged by the 

looming threat of a thunderstorm, which actually 

fl ooded the Fair early on Saturday afternoon... most 

welcome it was too, though apparently localised. 

As a result of this year’s Fair (and with the help of 

some overseas well wishers) the organisers are 

hoping to be able to donate at least Ksh 6 million 

shillings ($80,000) to their usual local charities; 

support which, although perhaps modest by 

international standards, is always most welcome, 

particularly this year when so many lives have been 

disrupted by the still continuing tensions from last 

year’s election aftermath and exacerbated by the 

well documented drought. 


Plant Breeders’ Rights 

Addis Ababa, the 

capital city of 

Ethiopia means 

“new fl ower” when 

translated into 

English - and is thus 

also a synonym for 

one of the main 

drivers of economic 

growth: horticulture. 

The backbone of 

the industry is the 

varieties, which 

are available for 

production, and new 

varieties will only be 

introduced to Ethiopia 

when suffi cient Plant 

Breeders’ Rights (PBR) 

protection exists. This 

is not (yet) the case. 

1 CIOPORA, 

the international community of 

breeders of asexually reproduced 

ornamental and fruit plants. 

by Dr Edgar Krieger, 

Secretary General of 

CIOPORA 


A ray of hope 

in Ethiopia 

Horticulture is one of the 

fastest growing industries 

in Ethiopia with a fi vefold 

increase in export earnings 

from 2005 to 2007. In 2008 

US$186 million were generated 

by export of horticultural products 

and 60,000 people are working 

in this industry already. Today, 

Ethiopia is ranked behind Kenya 

as Africa’s No.2 in the fl ower industry, 

and given its climatic and 

geographical conditions chances for 

further growth are good. But good 

climatic and geographical conditions 

are not the only prerequisite 

for a strong horticultural industry. 

Th e Ethiopian Plant Breeders’ 

Right law went into force in 2006. 

However, from 2006 until today no 

PBR offi ce has been established in 

Ethiopia, which in practice means 

that breeders cannot obtain PBR 

rights for their varieties. Additionally, 

the law focuses, as in many 

– especially developing – countries, 

on agricultural farming and misses 

the chance to effi ciently protect 

PBR and thereby strengthen one 

of the very important industries in 

Ethiopia. Ethiopia is thus another 

example where adequate consideration 

is not given to tension areas 

between the (alleged) requirements 

of small agricultural farmers on the 

one hand and the needs of growers 

of ornamental and fruit varieties on 

the other hand. 

Many loopholes 

in protection 

Th e main reason for CIOPORA’s 1 

concern is the very limited scope 

of rights in the Ethiopian PBR 

law, combined with an extremely 

broad interpretation of the so called 

“farmers’ privilege” (which in fact 

is a farmers’ exemption) - also applicable 

to vegetatively reproduced 

ornamental and fruit varieties. In 

eff ect, these rulings more or less 

completely erode away the protection, 

especially for vegetatively 

reproduced ornamental and fruit 

varieties. Th e natural process of vegetative 

propagation means that these 

varieties are very easy to reproduce 

true to type. Th us, the permission to 

use – without the prior authorisation 

of the title holder - harvested 

material for further propagation 

and even more to sell such material 

for propagation purposes make the 

“protection” of the varieties ineff ective. 

As a result the current PBR law 

of Ethiopia does not comply with 

the TRIPS agreement: this requires 

that WTO-members (Ethiopia 

applied for membership to WTO in 

January 2003) protect plant varieties 

by either patents or an eff ective sui 

generis system or any combination 

thereof. 

Many other loopholes exist in the 

Ethiopian law, such as: the limited 

number of species eligible for pro- 

tection; the lack of protection for 

Essentially Derived Varieties (EDV); 

the omission of a suffi cient transitional 

period for PBR applications; 

and, a lack of enforcement tools. 

CIOPORA has recently provided 

the Ethiopian government with its 

detailed comments and proposals 

for its PBR law. CIOPORA has also 

engaged in a workshop on Plant 

Breeders’ Rights in May 2009, 

organized by the Ethiopian government 

and the Dutch Agricultural 

Attaché in Ethiopia. All participants 

at the workshop agreed that the 

level of PBR protection must be 

increased soon. As a result of the 

discussions CIOPORA developed 

a roadmap for the establishment of 

an eff ective PBR system in Ethiopia 

and is in close communication with 

the Ethiopian government about the 

implementation of this roadmap. 

From CIOPORA’s point of view it 

would be benefi cial and is feasible to 

improve the PBR law and establish 

the Ethiopian PBR offi ce within 

the next 12 months. Furthermore, 

CIOPORA recommended that 

an international network for cooperation 

is built up for the DUS 

(Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability) 

examination, for example, and to 

establish an eff ective enforcementstructure. 

Urgent priority 

More and more disputes occur in 

the Ethiopian fl ower industry due 

to the economic crisis but also, to 

a large extent, because of the complete 

lack of eff ective protection for 

plant varieties. Th e disputes often 

escalate at the borders or in the 

consuming regions, where breeders 

enforce their PBR rights in these 

territories. For the benefi t of their 

national fl ower and fruit business, 

Ethiopian politicians should give 

this matter a high priority and solve 

the issues as soon as possible. |||

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©G GW 9/09

Quality Measure 

The Permanent 

Judging Committee 

VKC, the Netherlands’ 

leading organization 

dedicated to judging 

and registering 

ornamental crops 

is to embark on a 

course of action that 

will provide new and 

improved customer 

service. VKC 

coordinator Gerard 

de Wagt unveils some 

details of VKC’s 

ambitious 10 year 

plan featuring product 

judging with added 

value for both grower 

and trade, as well 

as an International 

Grower of the Year 

competition. 

VKC coordinator Gerard de Wagt unveils 

some details of VKC’s ambitious 10 year 

plan featuring product judging with 

added value for both grower and trade. 



VKC embarks 

on a new course 

No time for this, no time for 

that. In our hurried society 

even growers of fl owers 

and plants tend to work faster than 

the rhythm of nature, having not 

much time left to participate in 

fl ower shows and the associated 

quality competitions. “Th ese shows 

will continue to exist but the grower 

who zestfully marks, selects, harvest, 

transports and displays his best 

fl ower at a fl ower show will become 

increasingly rare. Growers are less 

content with the mere honour of 

winning a prize, they want more 

added value,” says VKC coordinator 

Gerard de Wagt. 

A new style of 

trial judging 

Analyzing these facts the management 

of the VKC has opted for a 

new style of trial judging; a strong 

focus will be put on the trade sector 

and the presentation and performance 

of the fl ower and plants 

throughout the supply chain. 

In order to limit the amount of 

work for the grower, the VKC will 

be taking care of the product selection 

by picking out two to three A1 

quality bunches stored in the cool 

rooms of the auctions. One bunch 

will be used for a vase presentation, 

the two remaining bunches will 

be displayed in the usual auction 

container. 

“At the top of the grower’s list of 

wishes is better communication 

with buyers. Th e VKC judging new 

style aims to build a bridge between 

production and trade. New judging 

committees and new criteria will 

be formed: the main criteria to be 

checked being bud presentation, 

overall freshness of the product, 

transportability, packaging, product 

information and product images,” 

says De Wagt. 

Th e VKC plans to organize its new 

quality competition per product 

during its supply period, two to four 

times a year during trade fairs and 

auction shows. Year-round crops like 

roses or gerberas could possibly be 

judged on more occasions. “Consequently 

the buyers will acquire a 

clear image of the diff erent producers. 

A list of growers will appear. As 

a grower you’d better be listed at 

the top rather than at the bottom. 

Th is list should be stimulating less 

competent growers to gain a higher 

ranking.” 

Asked if this list should be interpreted 

as a sign of distrust towards 

the quality controllers at the Dutch 

fl ower auction, De Wagt says, “Th e 

promised A1 quality is not always a 

reality. In this context the new VKC 

quality competition is an example 

of added value for both growers and 

buyers. In the end the grower will 

receive a better price for his products 

giving the buyer premium quality 

in return.” 

Role outside national 

boundaries 

Facing sky-high production costs, the 

Netherlands sees its production area

of ornamentals clearly decreasing: 

in 2007 the total area of ornamental 

greenhouse crops was 5,743 

ha which has decreased by 5.1% 

to 5,452 ha. Th is has resulted in a 

decrease in the total number of VKC 

judgings from 7,901 in 2006 to 

6,550 in 2008. “Th e signifi cant decrease 

in Dutch production raises the 

question whether the VKC should be 

increasing its role outside its national 

boundaries? An increasing number of 

Dutch growers have already moved 

half of their production to Africa 

or South America. Why not set up 

a local quality competition in these 

countries using their international 

trade shows as a platform? One good 

example would be the Colombian 

trade show Profl ora where this year 

we have been organizing for the 

fourth time a quality contest for 

breeders and growers. In Colombia a 

committee of four judges will assess 

roses, bulb fl owers, alstroemeria, 

carnations and lots of greens. Th e 

VKC would like to kick off a similar 

contest at the upcoming Hortec 

trade fair in Kenya.” 

International Grower 

of the Year Award 

Th e internationalisation of the VKC 

is also progressing with the new 

International Grower of the Year 

contest. “Th e VKC has been chosen 

to become the offi cial secretariat 

for this new competition which 

is organized by the International 

Association of Horticulture Producers 

(AIPH) and the FloraCulture 

International magazine. Each of 

the candidates, who are each the 

winners of their respective national 

contests, are judged on four main 

criteria: economic performance, sustainable 

business strategy innovation 

and overall company image.” 

Th e nominees already represent the 

top ranked horticultural businesses. 

“Special attention is given to the 

economic performance. Every 

candidate has to provide an audit 

certifi cate. We are really looking 

for fi nancially healthy companies,” 

stresses De Wagt. 

In this year’s fi rst edition of the 

contest, six countries participated. 

From the UK is the Worcester-based 

Bransford Webbs Plant Company; 

the Netherlands is represented by 

Van den Berk Boomkwekerijen; 

while the Joan Roig Mas plant 

company is representing the Spanish 

fl ag. Belgium sends in the tree nursery 

run by Marc van Hulle, while 

German born Markus Wittman 

is defending the German honour. 

Finally, Flores de Tenjo represents 

Colombia. 

“Th e award ceremony took place 

during the gala dinner of the 2009 

Annual AIPH Congress in Zaragoza, 

Spain. It is an event where we 

will be striving to encourage more 

participants year-on-year with the 

target for 2010 being 10 countries. 

We strongly believe that the nominees 

should not only originate from 

the big producing countries, but also 

from the large consumer markets 

like China and Japan - these growers 

should also be participating,” 

concludes De Wagt. ||| 

A new style of trial judging will put a strong focus on the trade sector and the presentation 

and performance of the fl ower and plants throughout the supply chain. 

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Potted Plants 

“Don’t fear the 

unknown. Check it 

out.” With this motto 

the Dane Torben Moth 

Madsen is running his 

nursery RosaDanica, 

convinced that if 

you don’t constantly 

look for new ways 

of working, you will 

never get anywhere. 

by Lotte Bjarke 


You can 

always 

do better... 

At RosaDanica pot roses are 

the key product. Every year 

12.5 million pot roses in fi ve 

diff erent pot sizes are produced in 8 

ha of greenhouses. Th e experience 

and know-how about pot roses goes 

back 20 years but this has never 

been an excuse to be indiff erent 

about innovation. A high priority is 

always given to the constant search 

for new and better products as well 

as new and improved production 

methods. “We are always hoping to 

fi nd what we didn’t even know we 

were looking for,” says Torben Moth 

Madsen. “And in order to achieve 

this we can’t leave any stone unturned. 

We have to check out ideas 

even if they seem crazy to begin 

with. Th is is the only way to be truly 

innovative and without innovation 

we as a company cannot expect to 

survive in the future.” 

Durability comes fi rst 

For Torben Moth Madsen the primary 

goal is to improve durability of 

the pot rose. Th is is a goal that has 

been pursued for years with remark- 

Diversifi cation, fi rst Heuchera 

able new standards as a result. But if 

you ask Torben Moth Madsen even 

longer durability can be achieved. 

“At RosaDanica we have seen new 

markets for our products growing in 

the Eastern part of Europe. Markets 

we can only service because our 

products can stand up to the long 

trip in the back of a truck and still 

keep their ornamental value at the 

point of destination. Th is is why 

durability is the key to success,” says 

Torben Moth Madsen. 

RosaDanica is doing all the testing 

of new pot roses from the German 

rose breeder Kordes Roses. A 

cooperation which goes back almost 

20 years. 

“Th e potential in rose breeding is 

enormous and there is still plenty 

to achieve. Basic objectives, such as 

the scented rose with long durability 

is still awaited. Not to mention the 

complete series of roses with special 

characteristics that we don’t yet see 

today. You are welcome to try and 

guess what these are!” says Gert 

Jensen, who is R&D manager at 

RosaDanica. 

Pot roses are, and will continue to be, the key product of RosaDanica. But since the demand for pot roses 

changes from season to season the nursery has adapted the amount produced to match the needs of the 

market. This strategy is resulting in unexploited greenhouse capacity during certain periods. In order to 

fi ll this gap the nursery is in the process of searching for new products, which will fi t into the schedule of 

the pot roses. The fi rst product under test is Heuchera and more will follow. “We are looking for something 

new and different, which is not too easy to handle, and we keep an open mind. We know that we need to do 

things differently from our colleagues to maintain our market space, and we know that this is not achieved 

overnight,” says Torben Moth Madsen. 

Fit for export 

Jensen is enthusiastic and when roses 

appear with specifi c potential during 

his trials, he couldn’t be more happy. 

But still one feature comes fi rst. Th e 

durability. Heartbroken, interesting 

varieties with special characteristics 

have been rejected simply because 

of their lack of durability. “It is 

tough, but it is better to make the 

decision at this point. It is better 

for both Kordes Roses as a breeder 

and RosaDanica as a nursery. Th e 

weak characteristics always show up 

sooner or later,” says Jensen. 

All the potential new varieties have 

to undergo a cooling period followed 

by simulated transport, retail 

presentation and fi nally, living room 

conditions to evaluate their durability. 

“We know that our plants are 

exposed to tough challenges, especially 

during transport. But in order 

to be of value to the fi nal consumer, 

they have to be able to withstand 

these conditions without loss of 

ornamental value,” says Jensen. His 

goal is to have a 21-day shelf life of 

a single fl ower after the simulations. 

Trials have proven that an even 

longer shelf life can be achieved, so 

the search for new, improved varieties 

has certainly not stopped.

Mechanical growthretarding 

effects 

Th e search for new and improved 

varieties is important but this is not 

a quality that stands alone. Even 

the best, most durable plant can 

be spoilt if it is not grown under 

optimal conditions. Th is means that 

also the research on improved growing 

techniques is an important issue 

at RosaDanica – and an area where 

interesting results have recently 

been found. A research project was 

A new, mechanical growth-retarding 

technique is resulting in stronger, more 

uniform plants, which have more fl owers 

due to the better growth of lower side 

shoots. 

(left) Torben 

Moth Madsen, 

RosaDanica owner, 

and Gert Jensen, 

R&D manager. 

Durability is the key to success of their Kordana® pot roses. 

initiated at the nursery to discover a 

means of saving energy, but out of 

the results a diff erent aspect of production 

management caught their 

attention and is now being further 

developed in the greenhouses. Pot 

roses need to be treated with growth 

retardants to achieve the presentation 

of attractive, compact plants. 

RosaDanica, however, is currently 

reducing dramatically the amount 

of chemical growth retardants applied. 

Th e research project, which 

is carried out in cooperation with 

the Universities at Copenhagen and 

Aarhus, proved that a mechanical 

treatment can do the trick and not 

only keeps the plants compact but 

also results in a better quality of 

roses. 

“It is known that the movement of 

plants, for instance by wind breezes, 

makes them less tall, but it is new 

to use this knowledge for keeping 

ornamental pot plants compact,” 

says Torben Moth Madsen, who 

has been surprised by the potential 

of the method. So far 30-40% of 

applied chemical growth retardants 

have been saved while new results 

indicate that maybe almost all 

chemical growth retardants can be 

dispensed with, if the right method 

and strategy is developed. 

Environmentally friendly 

At RosaDanica the plants are 

brought into movement by plastic 

sheets, which are pulled through the 

greenhouse by the spraying boom 

installation, which is normally used 

for spraying several times a day. Th e 

results are remarkable. Not only are 

the treated plants compact, they are 

also stronger, more uniform and 

have more fl owers due to the better 

growth of lower side shoots, which 

are not eff ected by the plastic sheet 

as they would have been by chemicals. 

Actually, so far the results have 

been so promising that RosaDanica 

has implemented the new method 

for production in a large part of the 

nursery. 

“Not all of the results have been 

scientifi cally documented, but 

there is no doubt that we are onto 

something here. We have to develop 

the method with regards to the sheet 

material and the mechanical-drive 

solution. We also have to improve 

our understanding because to get 

optimal results from the new technique 

there is a matter of adapting, 

for instance, our strategies of climate 

control, fertilization and even take 

into consideration the time of the 

year. But we are ready to take up the 

challenge as we can clearly see the 

potential for pot rose production, 

and also probably many other pot 

plants,” underlines Torben Moth 

Madsen. He is also enthusiastic 

about the improvements to the 

working environment, which are 

made possible by the introduction 

of mechanical growth-retarding 

eff ects. Not to mention that further 

introduction of the system might be 

compatible with, for example, the 

implementation of UV light as an 

environmentally friendly means of 

fi ghting fungal diseases, thus taking 

the next step into the future. ||| 


Crop Protection 

Powdery mildew 

and Botrytis control 

normally occurs under 

different climatic 

conditions but both 

are good examples 

of how the principles 

of Good Agricultural 

Practices (GAP) 

can contribute to 

not only improved 

crop protection, but 

also reduce input 

costs and improve 

yield, quality and 

profi tability. 

by Louise Labuschagne 1 , 

The Real IPM Company (Kenya) 

Ltd (labuschagne@realipm.com) 

1 Real IPM (www.realipm.com) 

is based in Kenya and works in 

fl oriculture throughout the world, 

providing training and consultancy as 

well as biological control agents for 

growers trying to reduce pesticide 

inputs into fl ower crops. 


GAP for disease 

management 

beginning’… disease 

management on a new 

the 

‘In 

fl ower farm may seem 

easily manageable with fungicides. 

Initially, a grower may be more 

focused on getting the new crops 

planted, the irrigation and fertiliser 

systems functioning and harvesting 

teams trained to identify correct 

picking stages. During this stage 

in the business the grower is likely 

to rely strongly on a prophylactic 

fungicide program to control 

diseases. However, as the ‘diseasecarry-over’ 

between seasons increases, 

then the need for GAP to underpin 

the disease management program 

also increases. Failure to implement 

GAP and recognise the importance 

of this in disease management is an 

expensive oversight. 

GAP for powdery 

mildew 

Over three million powdery mildew 

spores can be released over several 

weeks, from one square inch of live 

powdery mildew on a leaf! Spores are 

carried by air currents and can quickly 

invade young leaf and stem tissue. 

Growers need to be vigilant and have 

rapid reactions, if they are to contain 

powdery mildew without resorting 

to constant blanket preventative 

sprays, which are not only expensive 

but a symptom of poor management 

and limited understanding of the 

way in which the disease develops 

and spreads. Money spent on good 

scouting and prompt reactions will 

be recouped many times over in 

more healthy plants, higher yields 

and reduced spray costs. 

Even without the fi nancial crisis, 

many growers tend to rely on the 

familiar fungicide based programs and 

seem to accept the gradual increase 

in losses from disease pressure, such 

as powdery mildew, as an inevitable 

consequence of growing fl ower crops. 

Those growers who invest in training 

and develop innovative improvements 

to scouting and are responsive to 

continuous improvements are likely to 

survive, to take advantage of the change 

in tide when it comes. 

Real IPM has teamed up with 

Scarab Solutions in Kenya which 

has developed a state of the art 

GPS scouting system, which uses 

a hand-held data-logger linked to 

a GPS satellite system to produce 

fast, accurate contour maps of all 

pests and disease in a greenhouse 

within a few hours of the data being 

submitted for analysis via email. 

Powdery mildew spray programs 

have now been reduced to simple 

spot spraying with a knapsack on 

some farms where this program has 

been used for several seasons. Th e 

IPM scouts undergo a three week 

on-farm training program to ensure 

they can use the equipment and 

reliably record the presence of any 

pest or disease, including powdery 

mildew. Th e cost per ha per month

of this service is less than the cost of 

employing one scout and one scout 

can use the data-logger to scout 7 

ha per week. Often farms seem to 

employ more scouts than necessary 

who produce less than reliable data – 

which is sometimes ignored anyway 

by the crop protection manager. 

Less scouts, properly trained and 

equipped are worth their weight in 

gold. 

As well as yield improvements due 

to powdery mildew control, leading 

farms have confi dently recorded 

reduction in powdery mildew 

fungicides of 60% over previous 

programs. Th e main reason for this 

is that pest and disease contour 

maps appear on the crop protection 

manager’s computer within 4 to 6 

hours of the data being submitted 

for analysis. Th is enables maps to 

be printed and given to scouts to 

mark the hotspot areas and direct 

the sprayers to spray only powdery 

mildew hotspots – when they are 

only small areas. 

GAP for Botrytis 

Botrytis is also an airborne disease, 

but unlike powdery mildew, it can 

also bridge between wet weather 

seasons (which encourages botrytis) 

by growing on organic matter. 

Th is includes dead fallen leaves, 

rose branch structures and even 

organic matter on the growing 

media surface. Crop hygiene is an 

important IPM principle in the 

prevention of botrytis. Only young, 

soft leaf and petal tissues can be 

invaded by botrytis spores – mature 

leaves cannot be infected. Th ose 

spores which land on petal tissues 

are the ones which result in post 

harvest rejections, due to disease 

development as the petals mature 

and are subjected to fl uctuating 

temperatures during transport. If the 

cycles of botrytis spore production 

can be controlled on all ‘breeding 

sites’ in and near the crop, then the 

volume of botrytis spores which 

come into contact with petals 

can also be reduced. Th is must be 

combined with a robust resistance 

management spray program which 

also includes bio-fungicides such 

as Trichoderma and Bacillus to 

prevent any remaining spores from 

germinating on young tissue. 

Fallen leaves may be swept up from 

the alleyways between fl ower beds 

but it is often diffi cult to remove all 

those which fall between the rows 

of plants onto the soil surface below 

the crop. Th is is an ideal area for 

botrytis (and downy mildew) spore 

production, since the irrigation 

system conveniently provides a 

high relative humidity under the 

crop canopy. However, a benefi cial 

fungus such as Trichoderma will also 

grow on organic matter and can be 

applied down the drip irrigation 

lines. Trichoderma can contribute 

to suppression of botrytis by even 

using the fallen crop leaves (infected 

with botrytis) as a source of organic 

matter. Resistance management 

of fungicides in the canopy can be 

enhanced by alternating or even 

tank mixing Bacillus subtilis (a 

benefi cial bacteria), which has a 

broad spectrum of activity against 

powdery mildew and downy mildew 

as well as botrytis. 

Capacity building 

and innovation 

Growers facing fi nancial pressures 

during the economic downturn 

are likely to be more risk-averse 

than usual. However, the economic 

downturn should be the force for 

innovation and capacity building. 

Consider: Th e budget for crop 

protection programs is often a 

static fi gure per square metre per 

year and may not always take 

into account the fi nancial losses 

resulting from individual diseases. 

A more appropriate benchmark 

for budgeting purposes would 

be to include the fi nancial losses 

from historical data to determine 

what positive fi nancial gains 

would be achieved by improving 

the crop protection program 

with new Integrated Pest (and 

Disease) Management (IPM) 

strategies, which incorporate a 

serious approach to GAP and 

include biological control agents 

with fungicides in a synergistic, 

sustainable program. ||| 

by Hans de Vries 

Comforting? 

Our cell phones leave a footprint which is not wiped out for months. 

By reading our movements between transmitters every step we make 

is stored. Within a couple of yards my position is known, 24 hours 

a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Comforting? It does 

not feel that way. Every telephone call we make is stored for a year. 

Th ey store the connection, date, time and duration of my call. Not 

the content, I think, although there is no country in the world where 

phone tapping is such a custom as in Holland. Millions of hours 

conversation is stored. 

So, I do not use my phone much, I use the mail. Even my thoughts 

I occasionally mail to myself, to work later on a certain idea. 

A recently changed law forces providers to store our mails for at least 

one year. My thoughts are stored. Comforting? 

Th e tools Mahmoud Ahmadinejad uses to follow every move his 

students make on the internet, are of Dutch origin. Google is willing 

to adjust its search machine according to the wishes of the Chinese 

Government. International Giants combined with Governments 

make you feel secure? 

Parking? We pay a small fortune to park in our cities and control is 

now getting computerized. You tell a machine your number plate 

and the camera system will check if your car is still within its parking 

time limits. More data stored. Driving our roads is soon to be paid 

for, according to the time of day and kind of car you drive. Camera 

systems over every single road, to monitor all this, store the data. 

What more does one need for total control? 

Dust 

Ah... “One needs to control the money”, you are stating? Th ey are 

working on it. To prevent hold ups all payments in supermarkets 

will need to be done electronically within the next 4 years. No cash 

will be accepted anymore. One can be sure all other shops, restaurants, 

pubs and even the beggar on the street corner will follow this 

example. Just visualize this, a tramp sitting on the street holding his 

pin pad in front of you, “Could you please transfer a spare dollar to 

my account”. Our banks monitor our spending real time and every 

change in your “normal” spending pattern is noted and reacted on. 

Th ey keep our fi nancial data for 10 years. Banks link directly to our 

tax offi ce. Our Governments are working to connect all the banks 

worldwide to their computers, “to avoid any mistakes”. Comforting? 

It is for our good, they tell us. Comforting words but while they 

are spoken our country is transferred into a dictators dream. Just 

awaiting the next Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot or any other “enlightened 

ruler” to gain control. All achieved with the 911 excuse. Our 

Governments did not panic, as I thought, they just use the perfect 

excuse. 

Hans de Vries is a grower 

in Kudelstraat, the Netherlands. 

hans@jdevries.nl 

www.jdevries.nl 


Plant Nurseries 

Uruguayan plant 

nurseries are well 

positioned to take 

advantage of new 

money fl owing into 

their country as 

rich Europeans and 

Americans discover 

the ‘Provence’ of 

South America. 

by Jennifer Neujahr 


Competition 

warms up 

in Uruguay 

What used to be the best 

kept secret in South 

America has been 

discovered. For years, Uruguay has 

been in the shadow of Brazil to the 

north and Argentina to the south. 

“When Brazil or Argentina sneezes, 

Uruguay gets a cold.” Th is common 

joke among Uruguayans probably 

best summarizes how Uruguay has 

evolved over the years. In the period 

from 1999-2002 when Brazil and 

Argentina both experienced fi nancial 

meltdowns, it resulted in a large 

spill-over eff ect on the country of 

Uruguay. Unemployment, infl ation 

and the country’s debt rose to astronomical 

numbers during this period. 

Th e relaxed and self-assured Uruguayans 

persevered and have slowly 

rebuilt their country. Under the 

rule of the socialist Tabaré Vázquez 

Rosas Uruguay has tried to instil 

policies to protect itself from future 

fi nancial meltdowns. Th e economy 

Vivero LaQuarta’s owner Julio Imparatta is the only professional plug grower in 

Uruguay. Julio’s wife, Adrianna, has a fi nished plant business focusing on the newest 

varieties in 15cm pots and larger, rather than the traditional 9 and 12 cm pots. 

is largely dependent on agriculture 

exports and is rapidly expanding its 

production of new agriculture crops 

such as olive oil and blueberries. 

Tourism is also a very important 

source of money for this country. It 

is rapidly becoming the ‘Provence’ 

of South America. Rich Europeans 

and Americans are fl ocking to this 

country because of its extensive 

beaches and vast availability of inexpensive 

farming ground. A fairly safe 

country with a stable government 

has made it extremely enticing for 

foreign investment. 

Th e Uruguayan plant nurseries are 

well positioned to take advantage of 

this new money fl owing into their 

country. Rich Europeans purchasing 

second homes have displayed a 

strong desire to mimic gardens from 

their home lands and are consuming 

a lot of plant material in order 

to accomplish this. Uruguayans are 

starting to see an increase in the 

amount of money that they have to 

spend and are buying houses and 

planting fl ower gardens. All positive 

developments for those involved 

in the horticulture production. 

Although no formal association of 

horticulture exists in Uruguay, it is 

estimated that there are about 100 

plant nurseries in Uruguay. Most 

nurseries are about 1 ha in size. Employees 

working at plant nurseries 

earn between 200 and 500 Uruguay 

Pesos per day ($10 to $25). Because 

resources are limited, most growers 

have to take care of all aspects of 

their production process such as: 

mixing their own soil, growing their 

plugs, fi nishing their own plants 

and delivering them to the stores, 

on their own. Th e garden centre is 

still the place where most consumers 

purchase their plants in Uruguay. 

FCI recently caught up with a handful 

of Uruguayan growers, each of 

whom has a diff erent approach to 

this small market serving a population 

of 3.2 million people. 

Each their own 

approach 

LasLandas is located on the east side 

or Uruguay near Punta del Este, the 

most famous beach resort area of 

Uruguay. It was started by Francois 

Pinet, about 35 years ago. With a 

degree in Ag Engineering, Francois 

started by producing vegetable 

plants and tree liners. It wasn’t long 

after that she switched to bedding 

plant production in order to 

generate higher profi ts. “It is every 

man for himself here,” explained 

Francois. “Th ere is no horticulture 

association and no cooperation 

among the growers. Everyone grows 

the same thing and the only way 

to diff erentiate yourself is by your 

service and plant quality.” LasLandas, 

which specializes in delivering 

products for landscaping needs, has 

carved a niche for themselves by 

being a source of plant material for 

private and commercial needs in 

the nearby beach resorts. One of the 

biggest frustrations of the market, 

as explained by Francois, is the lack 

of plant knowledge. “Many of our 

customers have a specifi c look in 

mind based on their home country 

and are disappointed by the plant 

performance when planted in their 

landscape here because it doesn’t 

perform the same in the Uruguayan 

climate.” Last year LasLandas 

produced about 150,000 bedding

plants. It also grows perennials and 

some hardy outdoor tropical plants. 

To help them expand their market 

off erings, they recently started 

importing pots to allow them to be 

able to make and sell bedding plants 

in premium containers. 

Vivero Gonzales in Montevideo is 

the fi rst of the expected new greenhouse 

developments. Owner Lito 

Gonzales is rapidly on his way to 

becoming the largest bedding plant 

producer in Uruguay with 3,000 m 2 

currently developed and three staff . 

Contrary to his counterparts, Lito 

has put in new greenhouses that 

make use of wide bays. Th is type 

of structure is traditionally used in 

the vegetable trade, allowing him to 

capture a higher amount of light. 

His ability to deliver a complete assortment 

in large volumes, separates 

him from the competition. He also 

relies heavily on new varieties with 

high seed quality and the advice of 

knowledgeable seed salesmen to help 

him decide which new crops will 

work best in his greenhouse. Lito 

explained that most Uruguayans 

are traditionalists, so it takes them 

a while to warm up to new crops. 

As with any operation that grows 

as rapidly as his is, he has started 

to buy in plugs and is planning to 

delegate some production responsibilities 

and hire his fi rst salesman 

next year. 

Vivero LaQuarta’s owner Julio Imparatta 

is the only professional plug 

grower in Uruguay. He started in the 

business in 1989, working with one 

of the largest vegetable companies to 

produce vegetable plugs. He grows 

Vivero Gonzales’ owner Lito Gonzales is 

rapidly on his way to becoming the largest 

bedding plant producer in Uruguay. 

Vivero Toma & 

Hijos’ owner 

Guillermo Toma is 

optimistic about 

the upcoming 

spring sales 

season. 

about 10 million plugs per year, a 

majority of which are tomatoes. As 

vegetable growers in Uruguay continue 

to struggle, Julio is seeing the 

demand for his ornamental fl ower 

plugs increase. Th e most expensive 

cost in his plug production is the 

peat moss or Turba, as the locals call 

it. It can easily amount to 30% of 

the cost of the plug tray because it 

has to be imported. Th ere is no peat 

moss in Uruguay. Contrary to the 

way plug producers work in other 

markets, Julio only provides the 

service of growing the plug (growers 

purchase the seed). On average a 

480 cell plug tray from Julio costs 

about $8.00. Although some of 

the seeds are sown by hand, Julio 

imported a simple automatic seed 

sower from Italy to help him with 

the work. One of the major changes 

over the years, as explained by 

Julio is the request for early plants, 

“Growers are asking for plug trays 

earlier all of the time. Th eir philosophy 

is if you can have product in 

the store earlier, before the rest, you 

can sell more.” Th e lack of climate 

control in the germination chamber 

does sometimes prevent them from 

being able to supply the plug trays as 

early as the growers are requesting. 

Vivero Toma & Hijos in Montevideo, 

one of the oldest nurseries in 

Uruguay, has been opened to the 

public for more than 30 years. After a 

mediocre winter sales season, Guillermo 

Toma is optimistic about the upcoming 

spring sales season. “We are 

in an election year. Unemployment is 

down and people are optimistic about 

the future. If we can have good spring 

weather early on, this will help us 

with our sales.” Th e target market for 

Toma is other retailers, city hotels and 

the municipality. “Th e greenhouse industry 

is a very risky business because 

no one places an order ahead of time. 

We are constantly trying to guess 

what the customers will want.” Last 

year, they produced about 1 million 

bedding plants. What are some of the 

biggest changes that Guillermo sees 

in his market? “An increased demand 

in perennials and more interest in 

fl owering baskets. Th e types of products 

that we are growing in baskets is 

increasing every year.” 

Vivero Flowers’ owner Luis E. Fernandez 

Calvette has 1 ha of bedding 

plant production in Maldonado. 

Having been in the business for over 

20 years, Luis has seen the market 

change from one of no competition 

to one with increasing competition. 

“It is diffi cult to compete. I sell my 

bedding plants on average for about 

$0.25. Many smaller growers are 

using illegal seed. Th e quality is not 

the same but since most gardens are 

planted when the plants are green 

the consumer doesn’t realize the poor 

choice that they made until after the 

fl owers start fl owering.” 

Vivero Don Manuel is located on the 

edge of Montevideo, the largest city 

in Uruguay, and enjoys several sales 

channels for bedding and fl owering 

potted plants (homeowners, market 

stall vendors, landscapers, garden 

centres). Since land is cheap in Uruguay, 

most growers choose to grow 

the products at a cooler temperature: 

owner Javier Falero has already started 

his (Mother’s Day) cyclamen crop 

for next year because of this. Disease 

is Javier’s biggest challenge in production. 

Although many chemicals are 

allowed in Uruguay, there continues 

to be a lack of information on how to 

use them properly. ||| 


HilverdaKooij_178x124.indd 1 19-08-2009 09:30:26 

TrefSubstrates_178x124.indd 1 19-08-2009 09:35:05

International Events 

October 2009 

30 to October 2. Colombia 

Profl ora 2009, Bogotá. 

profl ora@asocolfl ores.org; 

www.profl ora.org.co 

30 to October 4. United States 

International Plant Propagators’ 

Society (IPPS) 50th Anniversary 

Event of the Western Regional 

Meeting, San Diego Crowne Plaza 

Hotel Circle. www.ippswr.org 

2 to 4. India 

4th International Landscape & 

Gardening Expo 2009, Exhibition 

Grounds, Necklace Road, 

Hyderabad. Organizers: Media 

Today Pvt. Ltd., T-30 First 

Floor, Khirki Extn., Malviya 

Nagar, New Delhi 110017, 

India. Mr. M B Naqvi, 

M (91) 9811152139/ 

9312407851; 

F (91) 11 26682045/ 26681671; 

mediatoday@vsnl.com, 

ifl ora@vsnl.net, 

mediatodaymails@gmail.com; 

www.mediatoday.in 

2 to 5. India 

Agri Intex, Codissia Trade Fair 

Complex, Coimbatore. 

www.codissia.com 

6 to 7. Denmark 

Symposium “Intelligent use 

of Energy in Greenhouses”, 

University of Southern Denmark, 

Odense. www.energysymposium.agrproject.dk 

7 to 8. Canada 

Canadian Greenhouse Conference, 

Toronto, Ontario. 

T (1) 905 945 9057; 

F (1) 905 945 8643; 

info@canadiangreenhouseconference.com;www.candiangreenhouseconference.com 

8 to 11. Turkey 

7th Yalova Ornamental Plants 

Specialization Fair, Yalova Expo 

Center. CYF Expo Ltd. 

T (90) 312 442 28 20; 

F (90) 312 442 26 96; 

atilim@cyff uar.com.tr; 

www.cyff uar.com.tr 

18 to 20. United States 

PRO Institute Miami, 

Hyatt Place Hotel. 

T (1) 209 295 1577; 

george.staby@volcano.net 

13 to 16. The Netherlands 

International Horti Fair, Amsterdam 

RAI. T (31) 297 344033; 

F (31) 297 326850; 

info@hortifair.nl; www.hortifair.nl 

14 to 16. The Netherlands 

FloraHolland Trade Fair, Aalsmeer 

(previously called Aalsmeer 

Market). www.fl oraholland.com 

14 to 16. Spain 

Iberfl ora, Valencia. 

T (34) 963 861 100; 

F (34) 963 636 111; 

feriavalencia@feriavalencia.com; 

www.feriavalencia.com 

22 to 25. Romania 

Golden Chrysanthemum Flower 

Exhibition, Timisoara. 

Star Expo Timisoara, 

T/F (40) 256 431 015/487 406; 

starexpo@clicknet.ro 

November 2009 

11 to 13. Japan 

Ifex/Gardex /Extepo, Makuhari 

Messe, Tokyo. Japan Floral Marketing 

Association (JFMA) and 

Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd. 

T (81) 3 3349 8511; 

F (81) 3 3345 7929; 

www.ifex.jp 

15 to 19. Japan 

ISHS VI International Symposium 

on Light in Horticulture, 

Tsukuba. www.lightsym2009.jp 

15 to 19. New Zealand 

Postharvest Pacifi ca 2009, Napier. 

www.postharvestpacifi ca.org.nz 

December 2009 

1 to 3. China 

IPM China, Foshan City, 

Guangdong Province. 

info@messe-essen.de; 

www.ipm-china.com 

3 to 6. Turkey 

Growtech Eurasia, Antalya. 

International Exhibition & 

Congress Organizer Ekinciler 

Cd. Ertürk Sk. No:5 Kat: 3 

Mehmet Özçelik İş Merkezi, 

34810 Kavacık / Istanbul. 

T (90) 216 425 63 00; 

F (90) 216 425 63 02; 

info@growtecheurasia.com; 

www.growtecheurasia.com 

5 to 7. India 

5th International Flora Expo, Palace 

Grounds, Bangalore. Indian Flowers 

& Ornamental Plants Welfare Association 

(iFlora) and Media Today 

Pvt. Ltd. Mr. S Jafar N, 

T (91) 9312407851; 

F (91) 11 26682045, 26681671, 

26680153, 26660683; ifl ora@ 

vsnl.net , ifl oramtpl@gmail.com; 

www.fl oraexpo.com 

14 to 18. India 

Kisan ’09 Agri Show, Pune. Kisan 

Forum Pvt. Ltd., 1170/17b 

Shivajinagar, Pune 411005, India. 

T (91) 20 30252005/ 30252003; 

team@kisan.com; www.kisan.in 

January 2010 

13 to 14. Israel 

20th AgroMashov Exhibition, 

Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds. 

www. mashov.net; Ms Carmel 

Beham T (972) 54 2271149; 

info2@ofekpr.co.il 


Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition 

(TPIE), Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, 

T (1) 407 295 7994 

F (1) 407 295 1619 

info@tpie.org; www.tpie.org 

12 to 15. Taiwan 

ISHS I International Orchid 

Symposium, Taichung. 

http://hrt.msu.edu/IOS/ 


Mid-America Horticultural Trade 

Show, McCormick Place West, 

Chicago. T (1) 847 526 2010; 

mail@midam.org; 

www.midam.org 

26 to 29. Germany 

IPM Essen, Essen, 

T (49) 201 7244 0; 

F (49) 201 7244 248; 

www.ipm-messe.de 

February 2010 

2 to 4. Ukraine 

13th Ukraine International 

Agriculture and Horticulture 

Exhibition, Kiev. 

T (31) 55 534 11 40; 

F (31) 55 534 01 68; 

info@bto-exhibitions.nl; 

www.bto-exhibitions.nl 

16 to 18. France 

Salon du Végétal, Angers. 

T (33) 2 41 79 14 17; 

F (33) 2 41 45 29 05; 

salon@bhr-vegetal.com; 

www.salonduvegetal.com 

March 2010 

2 to 3. Belgium 

Florall Spring Fair, Flanders Expo, 

Ghent. T (32) 9 241 5091; 

F (32) 9 241 5095; 

info@fl orall.be; www.fl orall.be 

6 to 15. Taiwan 

Taiwan International Orchid 

Show, Tainan County. 

www.toga.org.tw 

8 to 10. United Arab Emirates 

IPM Dubai, Airport Expo Dubai. 

T (49) 201 7244 226; 

F (49) 201 7244 513; 

www.ipm-dubai.net 


World Floral Expo, Miami, Florida. 

T (31) 20 662 2482; 

F (31) 20 675 2326; 

melvin@hpp.nl; 

www.hpp.nl 

11 to 14. Portugal 

ExpoJardim, Batalha. 

T (351)244 76 94 80; 

F (351) 244 76 74 89; info@ 

exposalao.pt; www.exposalao.pt 

18 to May 16. The Netherlands 

Keukenhof Holland, Lisse. 

T (31) 252 465 555; 

F (31) 252 465 565; 

info@keukenhof.nl; 

www.keukenhof.nl 

19 to 21. Slovenia 

13th Flora Fair, Celje. 

T (386) 3 54 33 000; 

F (386) 3 54 19 164; 

info@ce-sejem.si; 

www.ce-sejem.si 

24 to 26. Kenya 

Hortec 2010, Kenyatta International 

Conference Center, Nairobi. 

T (31) 20 662 2482; 

F (31) 20 675 2326; 

melvin@hpp.nl; www.hpp.nl 

April 2010 

8 to 11. Kazakhstan 

Hortifl owers Kazakhstan, Almaty 

Hortec 2010, Kenyatta International 

Conference Center, Nairobi. 

T (31) 20 662 2482; 

F (31) 20 675 2326; 

melvin@hpp.nl; www.hpp.nl 


California Spring Trials (previously 

called Pack Trials). www.ngb.org 

14 to 17. China 

Hortifl orexpo China, Beijing 

Exhibition Center. 

T (86) 21 62956677 

8367/2131/2132; 

F (86) 21 62780038; 

intexcl@sh163.net/ 

intexljs@sh163.net; 

www.hortifl orexpo.com 

23 to May 9. Korea 

15th Goyang Korea Flower Show, 

Ilsan Lake Park, Goyang City. 

www.fl ower.or.kr 


World News 

From Russia with flovvers 

The largest, annual Russian exhibition of 

plants, materials and equipment for ornamental 

gardening and the fl ower business 

took place in Moscow from September 3 to 

6, 2009. At this year’s 16th edition exhibitors 

and visitors were again warmly welcomed 

to the huge exhibition park with the abbreviated 

name VVC (All-Russian exhibition 

centre). 

In the period of the Soviet Union the main 

purpose of the VVC was to show the achievements 

of the national economy. Since 

the Iron Curtain has been lifted, forgotten 

and abolished, not only local companies but 

also numerous foreign participants come 

to Russia. In fact over 700 companies from 

30 countries took part in the exhibition this 

year: Austria, Belgium, Byelorussia, China, 

Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, 

Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, 

Holland, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Kenya, 

Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, 

Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, USA and Vietnam. The 

total exhibition area (together with outdoor 

displays) covered 36,000 m 2 . 

A larger part of the fl oor space was occupied 

by Russian exhibitors: there were 

about 400 local companies representing 25 

Russian regions, which again demonstrates 

the prestige of the “Flowers” exhibition 

and an appreciation of its role to broaden 

contacts with potential consumers and 

partners. Interesting and highly professional 

displays were presented by well known 

companies such as “Rose Garden” (Kaluga 

region), “Yuzhnyi” (Karachaevo-Cherkessia), 


“Ornamental and Flower Cultures” (Izhevsk), 

“Pulkovo – Flowers – City Flowers” 

(St. Petersburg); “Flowers of Udmurtia” 

(town of Izhevsk), “Chekhov Garden”, “Yug- 

Agro” (Krasnodar), “New Holland” (Leningrad 

region) and many others. 

Altogether a unique atmosphere was 

created by the wide-ranging and highly 

decorative company booths and country 

stands (in particular I would like to mention 

those from Colombia, Ecuador, Holland, 

France, Italy and Poland). Smiling participants 

visibly welcomed the opportunity to 

intermingle with businessmen, serious VIP 

guests from the Russian government and of 

course consumers, who came to look and 

make nice photographs. 

Tech section 

A new section at the 2009 exhibition was 

the “Flowers IPM Tech Moscow”, jointly organized 

by Flowers and Messe Essen, with 

a key focus on greenhouse construction 

and equipment, gardening and landscape 

design. The number of German, Dutch and 

Polish companies offering tools and technical 

novelties to the Russian market has 

notably increased. At the same time, year 

on year, the competition among suppliers 

increases, with a wider ranging assortment 

of goods, services and conditions clearly 

offered to potential clients. 

There was also an intensive exhibition 

business program of seminars, presentations, 

roundtable discussions, master-classes 

and popular fl ower competitions, including 

the 6th Russian Championship for Professional 

Flower Arrangers. In my opinion, 

many seminar subjects are worthy of their 

own full-scale event: the interest of Russian 

growers in their own produce directs a high 

level of attention to both greenhouse reconstruction 

and new complexes furnished 

with up-to-date machinery and equipment. 

In relation to these tendencies the conference 

“Resource Saving in Contemporary 

Greenhouse Sector: Engineering Provision, 

New Technologies, Equipment, Materials for 

Production and Selling of Flowers” was held 

for the third year running. 

The Flowers exhibition has become an indicator 

of developments in the Russian fl ower 

market: a main event where local fl ower 

growers can become acquainted with foreign 

partners, and international participants 

can promote their products and services to 

the prospective Russian market. Nobody 

left the show disappointed: it was of course 

more successful for some companies than 

for others. But, since the main reason to 

visit Moscow is to acquire more information 

on the fl ower business and particularly what 

is happening in Russia - “Flowers-2009” 

was highly satisfactory. ||| 

Nataliya Chorna, 

sales representative 

Terra Nigra

TFA Online 

Webshop 

TFA, the Tele Flower Auction located in Amstelveen, 

the Netherlands, has expanded its trade-related 

activities with the launch of an online webshop on 

September 9, 2009. 

This new online trading system offers registered 

buyers an option to purchase from actual stock prior 

to the regular auction; registered growers are simultaneously 

provided with an extra tool to market their 

products. Both buyers and growers can therefore 

benefi t from the easiness of this tool without extra 

costs or work. The online shop is available 24/7, 

except during auction hours from 04:00-09:00 hrs 

(CET); irregular opening hours may be applicable 

during special days. 

TFA Online 24/7 joins the company’s existing “market 

of tomorrow” services: at the TFA Online Flower 

Auction trading takes place daily between 06:00 and 

08:00 hrs; via the Direct Trade service wholesalers 

can indicate in advance their fl ower requirements 

and make agreements regarding quantities, delivery 

guarantees and possibly even fi xed prices for a 

specifi c period. ||| 

The offi cial launch of TFA Online by Jan Leliveld, a well-known 

fi gure in the fl oral industry and founder of Top Flora, was 

celebrated during the TFA Contact Day, an annual occasion 

organised for breeders, growers and buyers. (left) Wendy van der 

Goes, PR & Communications. 

NEW 

Now available 

Ornithogalum Snow Flake ® bulbs 

Visit us at 

the International Hortifair 

stand: 07.0802 

(Breedersmarket) 

Pothos Plant Nederland B.V. 

Zwethlaan 38, 2675 LB Honselersdijk 

The Netherlands 

T +31 (0) 174-242112 F +31 (0) 174-244440 

��

Takii_178x124.indd 1 19-08-2009 09:34:34

World News 

New shop-ready 

sales concept 

At a time where consumption patterns are changing and 

business closures are commonplace, Bøg Madsen, a leading 

plant exporting company with its headquarters in Funen, 

Denmark, is swimming against the current, with innovative 

and future-oriented initiatives. The company has recently 

introduced a completely new, shop-ready, consumer-oriented 

sales concept, branded as House of Flora ® . 

Brede Bjerke, commercial manager of the company, says, “Our 

recent house fair in connection with Odense Flower Festival and 

the professional plant fair Handelspladsen were much appreciated 

by our customers and extensive feedback has convinced us that our 

innovative and end-user oriented approach to the market hits the nail 

on the head.” 

Bjerke continues, “The idea behind the concept is ready-made plant 

solutions for modern consumers who are interested in their homes 

and surroundings. Our target group belongs to the working part of 

the population who has limited time available to search the market for 

seasonal plants and trendy accessories. We have considered this need 

in our House of Flora concept that includes instructions about the 

plants, soil types and containers used as well as recipes for styling the 

solutions. This way, there is still room for creative, personal staging of 

solutions which in the end means added value for the consumer.” 

Despite the record high growth in discount store sales levels – one of 

the consequences of the fi nancial crisis – the House of Flora brand is 

found at the exclusive end of the scale. 

“With House of Flora we do not want to differentiate ourselves on 

the price since many consumers still demand quality and good design 

and sometimes like to indulge in luxury because the new kitchen, for 

example, has been put on standby”, says Brede Bjerke. 

First delivery of ‘Chinese plants’ 

RijnPlant CHN Co. Ltd., a subsidiary 

company of RijnPlant, delivered its 

fi rst rooted plants from its Shanghai 

greenhouse in August. The 

plants, mainly from the varieties 

Red King and Beijing Success, were 

delivered to a grower, who like 

many other Chinese growers, breed 

mainly large fl owered, red varieties. 

The reason for a subsidiary company 

in China is based on the desired improvements 

in the quality of outgoing 

material to the growers and the 

prevention of possible damage due to 

cold temperatures during transport. A 

search was conducted for an A1 location 

within China, both for international 

fl ight connections, availability of qualifi 

ed personnel and a suitable climate 

for the anthurium. An agreement was 

signed in December 2008 between 

RijnPlant and Shanghai Flowerport 

Enterprise Development Co. Ltd. for 

the use of a modern greenhouse with 

Dutch origins. 

From every available internet location 

worldwide, Rijnplant uses GrowWatch 

to follow the conditions of the plants 

in the greenhouses of customers and 

their own locations 24/7. The Grow- 

Watch system is also implemented in 

the location in Shanghai; it is the 92nd 

GrowWatch location worldwide, but 

it is one of the most important ones 

Establishing the foundation of the actual brand took some time. 

“House of Flora is the result of the entire strategic process 

which Bøg Madsen has gone through for the last three years 

with our current managing director, Hans Schultz at the helm. 

Our basic values have been defi ned and thoroughly integrated 

among our employees in order to prepare them for turning the 

brand strategy into practice. Bøg Madsen builds upon respect 

for the plant and its personality, quality and good design - a 

positive signal for the industry which in the end will help build 

credibility among consumers”, Brede Bjerke concludes. ||| 

for RijnPlant. A number of climate 

parameters can be controlled (leaf 

temperature, surrounding temperature, 

quantity of PAR-light, CO2 levels, VPD/ 

evaporation, photosynthesis and root 

temperature) and adjusted using the 

remote-control function of the Priva climate 

computer. The foreman is never 

truly alone! 

The fi rst delivery of Chinese plants 

is seen as a milestone, as much for 

RijnPlant as the Chinese growers and 

the East Asian market. In spite of 

the decline in the worldwide market 

economy, RijnPlant still sees a positive 

growth in the Chinese market for the 

pot plants and cut fl owers market. ||| 


THE FERN FIRM 

Is introducing an innovative method of growing ferns: Vitro-Plug TM 

These plugs are: 

• sterile coco peat Jiffy plugs 

with rooted and developed 

ferns; 

• produced and grown 

under completely sterile 

conditions, so no 

phytosanitary restrictions; 

• available for all our tropical 

and hardy ferns; 

• available in trays that 

contain 48 or 126 plugs; 

• ready to use on arrival 

Tel: 0031 111 468088 

Fax: 0031 111 468608 

info@vitroplus.nl 

www.vitroplus.nl 

Other benefi ts: 

• reduced growing times 

• plant losses are kept to 

a minimum 

• ideal for automatic 

transplantation 

You are welcome to visit us 

at ‘Horti Fair Amsterdam’ 

Booth number 07.0805 

Suntory Collection 2010 

SURFINIA ® Petunia 

SURDAISY ® Brachyscome 

PRINCETTIA ® Poinsettia 

SURDIVA ® Scaevola 

TAPIEN ® Verbena 

TEMARI ® Verbena 

MILLION BELLS ® Calibrachoa 

SUNDAVILLE ® Dipladenia 

SENETTI ® Pericallis 

SUMMERWAVE ® Torenia 

LEMON MIST ® Scoparia 

FRIOLINA ® trailing Viola 

LOFOS ® Lophospermum 

SURPHLOX ® Phlox 

SUNTORY ® Ipomoea 

SUNTORY ® Mecardonia 

Vitro_85x124.indd 1 22-09-2009 10:30:48 

MoerheimNewPlants_85x124.indd 1 21-09-2009 14:45:10 

S U N T O R Y 

Weteringweg 3a, NL - 2155 MV Leimuiderbrug 

The Netherlands, Tel. +31 172 506700 

SUNTORY COLLECTION www.suntorycollection.info 

Taiwan_OGA_178x124.indd 1 21-09-2009 15:33:38 

C O L L E C T I O N

World News 

Professionals go Global Sweet peas 

and more 

Lutgo Global is the international 

branch of the Lutgo Group in Aalsmeer. 

It started as an independent 

unit at the end of 2006, specifi cally 

aimed at the worldwide recruitment 

and selection of management and 

specialists for international horticulture 

(fl oriculture, vegetables and 

fruit). 

Since the establishment of Lutgo Global 

international candidates have been 

placed in nearly all types of functions and 

on all continents: from crop specialists in 

roses or tomatoes in Canada or Ecuador, 

to farm or production managers of young 

plant propagation companies in East 

Africa and Central America, up to and 

including a CEO of a banana plantation 

in Mozambique, and a sales manager for 

crop protection products in Angola. 

Since its establishment it was clear that 

Lutgo Global answered a need. As a 

consequence per September 1, 2009 

two well known faces in the horticulture 

sector, Geert Houwers and Elise 

Wieringa, will be strengthening the 

consultant team of Lutgo Global and 

Christine van der Klei, a current staff 

member, will also be consulting more 

directly with clients in the fi eld. Both 

Houwers and Wieringa have many years 

of experience in the international horticulture 

sector, having held management 

functions in various countries: in their 

consultant roles at Lutgo Global, Houwers 

will be focusing on Africa and Van 

der Klei on the Anglo-Saxon countries 

in Europe, North America and Oceania. 

Wieringa will have a central role 

coordinating the team’s activities in the 

Aalsmeer offi ce. Jan Meijer will remain 

responsible for the existing clients and 

the geographical areas – Central-, South 

America and Asia. The owner/directors 

of Lutgo Global are Jan Meijer and Joost 

Siereveld. ||| 

For over 90 years, many things have spoken 

for our substrates – your plants, for instance! 

Your passion is our calling – 

new professional substrates, based on experience. 

Three market novelties and good reasons for your success: 

• Flora-Instant Plus ® – the PLUS in water supply to your plants 

– more gain: more sales 

• Flora-Protect ® – biological control of fungus gnats 

– minimises your plant protection costs 

• Flora-Expert – 3,000 x recipe experience for you, onsite 

– the world’s largest known recipe archive 

To do the best. Since 1919! 

Hall 2 · Stand 02.0118 www.floragard.com · Tel. 0049 441 2092-0 

Hem Zaden has purchased the open 

pollinated fl ower seed varieties and related 

sales activities from Bodger Seeds Ltd. 

In 1998 the company established Hem Genetics 

with activities in breeding and marketing of 

ornamentals for the professional grower market. 

The management of the company is pleased with 

the recent purchase, especially with the addition 

of the extensive sweet peas assortment and 

Bodger bred varieties. Hem Zaden will continue 

the activities in breeding, selection and production 

of sweet peas. The production will be continued 

in the Lompoc area. Orders for sweet peas 

within the USA and Canada will be processed 

and shipped from California. Consequently there 

are no signifi cant changes in processing and shipping 

of orders to customers in North America. 

The remaining Bodger fl ower seed varieties will 

be processed and shipped from the Netherlands. 

These will be integrated in the sales programs of 

Hem Zaden and/or Hem Genetics. ||| 

Visit our website 

for more than 

400 varieties 

Anthura is the world’s number one in the fi eld of 

breeding and propagating Anthurium, and is ranked 

amongst the best for Phalaenopsis. Developments are 

translated into beautiful new varieties and innovative 

growing techniques. 

Anthura BV 

+31 10 529 1919 info@anthura.nl www.anthura.com

Producing & supplying 

high quality roses 

to the world 

Webshop online 24/7 

� �� 

www.vanderdeijlroses.com 

VanderDeijl_178x124.indd 1 23-09-2009 13:06:20

Urbinati Open Days 

On November 13 and 14, 2009, the Italian company 

Urbinati, which specializes in mechanized systems 

for the fl oriculture industry from seeders to labelling 

machines, is holding its Open Days at their newly 

renovated site, located in San Mauro Pascoli (FC). 

The visitor program includes machinery demonstrations 

and a conference covering topics related to the fi eld of the 

horticulture (such as mechanization/ hobby/ professional/ 

aromatic plants). 

Contact Erica (erica@urbinati.com, 

www.urbinati.com, +39 0541 932018) ||| 

Designation ‘Royal’ 

‘’The great admiration for the Hilverda Group is 

endorsed by the Royal Decree to confer the designation 

‘Royal’ on this marvellous company.” These 

were the words of Mayor Pieter Litjens of Aalsmeer 

at the conclusion of his speech during the centenary 

celebrations for the Hilverda Group in Haarlem on 

Wednesday 9 September. 

Jan Hilverda, managing director of the fl oriculture company, 

said that he also regarded the royal decoration as a 

token of appreciation for all staff and business associates. 

“It is an achievement for a company to celebrate its hundredth 

birthday in good health. The complementary recognition 

shown by the designation ‘Royal’ is an exceptional 

honour for us and our predecessors, but also for the new 

generation,” declared Jan Hilverda in his word of thanks to 

Mayor Litjens. ||| 

Peter Eveleens, Jan Hilverda, Mayor Pieter Litjens and Jan Eveleens 

(from left to right) at the presentation of the deed on the conferral of the 

designation ‘Royal’ on the Hilverda Group 

by William Armellini 

Floral Conventions 

After reading my last few columns I have, once again, decided I talk 

way too much about me! I like myself so it is not a total surprise, but I 

can’t subject those of you brave enough to read this column each month 

(thank you) to my personal insights for too long. I promise never to 

bore you. 

So let’s talk about another favourite topic of mine, fl oral conventions. 

Th ere are way too many and those of us who would like to participate 

and support these industry functions have to make Solomon’s choice 

each year, but there is some good news that I can report. Th e fl oral industry 

in America has fi nally come to the conclusion that many of us have 

known all along. Miami is the hub of the American fl ower industry! (Of 

course California is also very important and cannot be ignored). For 

as many years as I can remember the WF&FSA, SAF, SuperFloral and 

PMA conventions have crisscrossed the USA in an eff ort to serve their 

members in many states. 

Th is was a good idea at the time and allowed us participants to visit 

many fi ne US cities that we would not likely see otherwise. But with 

changing fortunes everyone has been travelling less and forced to 

carefully allocate funds for these shows. Th e result has been a drop in 

attendance at all events across the board. 

Times are changing and look what is happening. WF&FSA has announced 

that they are changing their format to a more user-friendly 

show that will cost less, be a bit shorter and without many of the fancier 

features of years past. Th ey also plan to hold the show in Miami for the 

foreseeable future. 

Th e SuperFloral show that caters for the mass marketers is now planning 

to hold their conventions in Miami as well. Th ey have also decided 

that keeping certain industry segments out of the show was a bad idea 

and will now allow a much more open show. Th at clever Dutch guy 

from the World Floral Expo (WFE) had it fi gured out all along and has 

been swimming against the tide for several years with his Miami show. 

Now everyone has got the idea that it is better to bring the mountain to 

Mohammed (ok, there are no mountains even close to Miami, but we do 

have a few trash mountains). 

I think the American industry would benefi t from one large show like 

the Horti Fair held in Amsterdam. Wouldn’t it be great to have plants, 

foliage, fl owers, supplies and logistics in one venue (held in Miami of 

course). 

So I say, come on down the weather is great, the fl ower companies are 

right here, the beach is nearby and of course... 

Remember to wear your sunscreen, Miami is hot! 

Miami 

William Armellini has been in the fl oral industry 

since birth and works for Greenleaf Sourcing in 

Miami. william@fl oracultureinternational.com 

www.greenleafwholesale.com. 


urbinati_114x92 1 16-09-2008 12:31:57 

Breeding beautiful Callas since 1981 

Tel. + 64 9 431 7094 Fax + 64 9 431 7445 

www.callasnewzealand.com 

�� 

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�� 

Callas_54x60.indd 1 20-08-2009 

Florimer_54x60.indd 

10:22:13 

1 22-09-2009 11:01:50 

Market 

leader 

Outsider 

During the Horti Fair you are warmly 

invited to visit the Flower Trials of Royal 

Van Zanten in Valkenburg (just 25 minutes 

away from the RAI complex). 

From Tuesday 13 October to Friday 16 

October 2009. Escape the business of 

the fair and enjoy a wonderful flower 

trial of cut Chrysanthemums in a beau- 

tiful atmosphere. Next to that we 

will show you all our newest, different 

and trendy Chrysanthemums in the best 

conditions! 

The Flower Trial is open for visiting every 

day from 10.00 till 18.00 o’clock. 

We will be glad to see you! 

or 

Come and see our 

Chrysanthemum 

Trials 

Van Zanten Cuttings B.V. 

�� 

�� 

cuttings.nl@royalvanzanten.com 

www.royalvanzanten.com

World News 

18 New Products in the Race 

The international jury of experts 

has announced that 18 of the new 

products and services at the Horti 

Fair, 13 to 16 October in Amsterdam, 

have been nominated for the Horti 

Fair Innovation Award. The two 

defi nitive winners in the categories 

Horti Grow & Trade and Horti Tech 

will be revealed on the fi rst day of 

the exhibition. 

The jury have observed many 

continuing developments relating to 

saving energy. “Progress is being made 

step by step and previous winners 

are being refi ned, like the concept of 

the closed greenhouse and initiatives 

like the greenhouse as a source of 

energy. But new insights into growing 

and techniques are needed as well, as 

we have seen once more this year,” 

says Gijs Kok, the chairman of the jury. 

“Another clear trend is the stronger 

interest in sustainability. A range of 

products is being introduced in the 

packaging and materials handling 

category that only just missed out on 

nomination, but did receive citations,” 

says Kok. 

Nominations in Horti Tech: Boal 

Systemen for Lumenex ® 5.60, which 

has the advantage of translucence in 

addition to the Double PVC system 

for improved energy control, water 

tightness and durability; Hoogendoorn 

Growth Management for i4Energy, 

where Hoogendoorn, LetsGrow and 

Jortech EMS have bundled their 

collective knowledge to create a unique 

application that collects all information 

relating to crops, climate and energy; 

Hortiquip for the Hortiquip Staking 

Machine, which uses triangle laser 

technology to position stakes, including 

the automatic fi tting of Clips; Knook 

Energy Solutions International for the 

Knook ‘Waste to CO2’, a complete 

process for the conversion of biomass 

into electricity, CO2 and heat, without 

odour and other emissions, and for 

which 10-year contracts are concluded; 

Van Dijk Heating for the AVS (Active 

Ventilation System). This system 

uses relatively dry outside air for the 

dehumidifi cation of greenhouse air, 

which makes a substantial difference 

to natural gas consumption with good 

air distribution ensuring maximum 

effi ciency; Lek/Habo Groep for the 

LT gauge pressure humidity control 

system, which eliminates humidity 

problems in growing fl oricultural and 

vegetable crops; Maurice Kassenbouw 

for Energiewand.nl, a ventilation 

system integrated into the side wall of 

a greenhouse for savings on energy 

and on CO2, the basic version of 

which regulates humidity and uses 

the screens to save energy; Russell 

IPM for Qlure-TUA, a Tuta absoluta 

pheromone lure for the monitoring and 

mass trapping of the tomato leaf miner 

Tuta absoluta; Lemnis Lighting for 

Lemnis Oreon Combi 16W/E27. This 

replaces a 100W incandescent lamp 

used for cyclic lighting and produces an 

equal amount of PAR light with more 

than 80% less energy; Wilk van der 

Sande for the SanAquastore, which 

uses advanced technology to store 

clean (rain)water underground and 

to pump it back up again, thanks to 

years of accumulated knowledge and 

experience with sources (aquifers) and 

fi lter systems. 

Horti Grow & Trade: The ‘Frrresh... ® ’ 

fl oral concept is a new innovative 

turnkey solution for cut fl owers in 

supermarkets and other retail outlets, 

which promises a sustainable and 

fresh supply of cut fl owers; Könst 

Alstroemeria for Alstroemeria 

X-treme®, which with 16-20 creamy 

green fl owers per stem, a very long 

vase-life and striking infl orescence 

is outstandingly suitable for any 

bouquet or fl ower arrangement; Fides/ 

Dutch Creations for Chrysanthemum 

Raisa – bi-coloured (red/yellow) 

single-fl owered spray chrysanth, with 

beautiful branching and many fl owers. 

Response time is 48 days; Florist De 

Kwakel for Gerbera Twice ® , a largefl 

owered bi-coloured variety with a 

black centre. Combination of lilac and 

white; mKoppe for Begonia Beleaf ® 

‘Evening Glow’. The claret colour of this 

foliage begonia is literally the centre 

of attention and the back of the leaf 

is silver grey with jet black veining 

and a claret coloured edge; Anthura/ 

Dutch Creations for Phalaenopsis 

Anthura Santos p (phalcrazoh). This pot 

phalaenopsis is suitable for the smaller 

pot sizes (9 cm pot and 12 cm pot) and 

has many 4.5 cm lilac coloured fl owers 

with orange lips; Morel Diffusion for 

Cyclamen Tianis Fantasia Scarlet Red 

Ref 3310; a cyclamen with a round 

habit and extremely attractive Fantasia 

fl owers with a contrasting white edge 

and gorgeous bright red colour; Florist 

De Kwakel for the Garvinea ® Perennial 

Gerbera series. A new hardy series of 

gerbera garden plants available in 14 

different varieties and fl oriferous. 

All new products registered with the 

Horti Fair can be recognized during the 

trade show by the special New logo 

accompanying the products, beside 

the stand numbers of the relevant 

participants and along the special new 

products route. They can be viewed 

and assessed in advance on the new 

website at www.hortifair.nl. ||| 


Come to see our Rosa Tinto® at booth nr. 07.0303 at the Horti Fair 2009 

Visit us at the 


Standnr. 

02.0203 

hall 2 

Aqua-Hort ® 

BartelsStek_85x124.indd 1 21-09-2009 DutchPlantin_85x124.indd 14:12:03 

1 24-09-2009 13:37:27 

young plants for potplant and 

cutflower cultivation 

NEW 

exclusive 

Anthurium 

HORTIFAIR 

Visit us at the 

Horti Standnr. 

Fair 2009 

Standnr. 08.0509 

01.0432 

AVO Anthurium Vogels bv 

P.O. Box 65 2290 AB Wateringen Holland 

Tel. +31 (0)174 292044 Fax +31 (0)174 296665 

info@avo.nl www.avo.nl 

copper fertilization and electromagnetic 

treatment of nutrition water 

PREVENTS : 

Pythium 

Phytopthora 

Clavibacteria 

Xanthomonas 

Agrobacteria 

Ralstonia 

Erwinia 

Algea 

Aqua-Hort ® 

Engdalsvej 26 

Brabrand, Danmark 

+45 (70) 226611 

aksel@aqua-perl.dk 

BENEFITS : 

stronger roots 

better plants 

less fungicides 

Improves environment 

lower costs 

HORTI FAIR 

STANDNR. 04.0408 

For agents 

worldwide see : 

www.aqua-hort.dk

Online 

Anthura opens its new state-of-the-art greenhouse 

BLEISWIJK: Dutch anthurium and orchid breeder, 

Anthura, has defi ed the doom and gloom in the world 

economy by offi cially opening its new 40 million 

premises in Bleiswijk. Inspired by the Palm House at 

Kew Gardens, hot house builder J.M. van der Hoeven 

and architect Aad Bom gave a royal look to the 12 ha 

greenhouse featuring curved sidewalls and a second 

story. The new facility incorporates modern technology 

with a fully automated container and grading system; 

a diaphragm screen that opens and closes within a few 

seconds; and a greenhouse-in-greenhouse technique. 

Finally, the counter-fl ow air fl ow system ensures that air 

fl ows up the sides of the greenhouse and exits via air 

vents in the roof. Hortus Antura has now centralized its 

young plant production, which was previously spread 

over fi ve different locations. 

Plantarium attracts 5% more visitors 

BOSKOOP: The 27th edition of the international nursery 

stock trade fair Plantarium 2009, held in Boskoop, 

the Netherlands between 26 and 29 August, has 

attracted 5% more visitors than last year. Plantarium 

2009 attracted 17,013 visitors. With 301 national and 

international participants from 12 countries, another 

record was broken. An increase of both the number of 

participants and professionals is a remarkable result, 

especially in times of economic trouble, which also 

considerably affects the horticultural sector. 

EU launches € 1,800,000 program to 

support Mediterranean fl oriculture 

SAN REMO: A ceremony was held on July 2 in 

San Remo’s Villa Nobel to mark the launch of 

the €1,800,000 Flormed project to promote the 

Mediterrenean fl oriculture and to provide support 

and training for Italian, Spanish, French and Greek 

ornamental growers over the next three years. Flormed, 

which is co-fi nanced by the European Commission (MED 

Program), will be implemented by the Liguria region, in 

partnership with the Valencia region (Spain), the Var 

region (France) and the Thessaloniki region (Greece). 

FLORALL growing, thanks to international 

interest and new commercial initiatives 

GHENT: The August edition of FLORALL was a 

resounding success. Exhibitors and organisers can 

look back on the trade fair with great satisfaction. 

The FLORALL trade fair is certainly growing, thanks to 

international interest and new commercial initiatives. 

Half of the fair visitors were foreign companies, with 

the Dutch and French markets being the most heavily 

represented. Other notable delegations were present 

from countries such as New Zealand, USA, Russia, 

Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Denmark. Top fl orist 

Tomas De Bruyne held a fl oral demonstration, giving a 

sizzling overview of potted plant trends. 

by William Armellini 

Miami Prices 

FloraHolland Boobs vs 2009 Blood 

Weeks 1 to 37 (December 29 to September 11, 2009) 

Category Product I was recently travelling with Quantity family in Europe % 09:08 and, Price although 2009 Price this was 2008 

Cut Flowers Alstroemeria not my fi rst trip, I was reminded 159,139,954 of some of -13.7 the many cultural 0.14 dif- 0.14 

Anthurium 

ferences between Europe and 

55,421,617 

America, which 

-1.0 

are hard to 

0.37 

miss. During 

0.45 

my stay with family in Germany we were very pleased to fi nd that the 

Chrysant. 115,420,062 5.7 0.29 0.35 

availability of organically grown and raised food was widespread. In the 

Chrysant. US you Spray have to look harder 732,052,574 and read more labels -4.8 to fi nd 0.18 good choices. 0.21 

Chrysant. Santini 148,790,487 -6.1 0.15 0.16 

Cymbidium Germans refer to these products 9,777,138 as Bio-products 15.6 and this 2.42 was a bles- 3.65 

sing for a man travelling with his vegan wife, or perhaps she was the 

Cymbidium Mini 3,975,846 1.7 1.15 1.68 

vegan travelling with her carnivorous husband. In either case it made 

Carnation eating less of a hassle, which 80,266,045 in itself is an understatement -7.3 0.15 in a land 0.15 

Carnation where eating Spray and birthday 40,109,836 celebrations take -18.1 on a whole 0.10 new meaning 0.11 

Eustoma for us, on-the-go russellianum Americans 81,894,072 used to our fast -4.8 food. Make 0.30 no mistake 0.31 

about it though, Germans are serious about their birthdays and all of 

Freesia Double 60,002,983 -10.0 0.16 0.17 

the associated cakes, pies, coff ee and libations that go with them. It is 

Freesia amazing that they are not 178,111,272 all obese, for indeed, -7.1 they are 0.14 not! 0.15 

Gerbera Large 144,393,578 2.2 0.15 0.19 

Gerbera For some Mini entertainment 515,450,052 a few of the boys decided -1.7 to go 0.10 to a water 0.10 

park for a day of fun and getting water in places it does not belong. 

Gladiolus 54,052,975 -4.4 0.13 0.13 

Th e park was very clean and warm inside, a stark contrast to the cold 

Helianthus 

weather outside. As we entered 

44,944,287 

the changing 

-3.2 

area I was 

0.25 

a bit surprised 

0.27 

Hippeastrum to see a hint of nudity from 14,928,437 men and women -17.3 alike, however, 0.61 there 0.60 was 

Hypericum no embarrassment or giant 107,899,715 eff orts to conceal -10.2 themselves. 0.14 0.15 

Total 

Iris 55,029,501 -19.8 0.12 0.10 

After several rides and slides we decided to take a sauna, my 12 year- 

Lilium 

old nephew, 

Asiatic 

who was also 

29,683,862 

acting as my translator, 

-27.0 

said, 

0.27 

“Let’s go in 

0.27 

Lilium this one, Longifl it’s orum nude!” Hmm! 37,312,187 Sure, let’s go. Th -16.6 ere we were 0.33 like living 0.36 

Lilium statues Oriental parading Hybr. around 111,428,706 for all to see with a -7.7 bunch of young 0.52 and not 0.56 

Limonium so young Germans. Now, I 43,297,239 am no stranger to 9.0 nudity and 0.18 have seen 0.19 

my share of naked people but the tone was quite relaxed and natural, 

Rose Large 1,783,324,999 1.3 0.23 0.28 

despite my well-placed towel (there’s still some Catholic in me). 

Rose Small 543,172,514 -8.0 0.10 0.12 

Rose Conversely, Spray American culture 41,995,128 is just so uptight -18.8 about nudity 0.34 that the 0.33 

Cut site green of one and nearly Decorat. exposed 345,331,276 breast during the Superbowl -5.7 a 0.13 few years 0.15 

back created a media frenzy of biblical proportions. Yet on any day of 

Solidago 49,823,252 -6.3 0.11 0.13 

the week you can watch people on television get shot or cut up into 

Tulip little pieces with blood fl 1,370,132,944 ying everywhere, plus 1.9 a whole host 0.13 of stranger 0.15 

things. But one misplaced 8,145,474,849 boob, butt or other -3.4 fun body 0.19 part gets loose, 0.21 

and look out! However, there is some consolation for us because as every 

Indoor Plants 

American boy knows - if there is a TV show on about indigenous people 

Berry/Fruit plants 4,317,790 6.7 1.65 1.61 

living in the jungle we can see boobs and lots more beside. On these 

Flowering shows the Plants boobs have been 294,076,908 deemed safe by some 5.9 Government 1.11 agency 1.16 as 

Bulb/Tuberous they are not the ‘same boobs’ 75,426,219 found on white -8.9 American 0.99 girls. 0.82 

Bromelia 23,176,292 2.1 1.75 1.89 

Cactus/Succulent 

Th e vacation party moved 

28,432,136 

on and we ended 

-1.0 

up at our 

1.11 

favourite place 

1.11 

in Europe, Amsterdam , which is also the location of the offi ces of this 

Green 

wonderful 

Plants 

magazine, Floraculture 

116,864,577 

International. 

-5.3 

As we 

1.41 

ventured out 

1.51 

Orchids into the streets of my favourite 79,489,817 European city 32.0 to see the 3.45 sites, one did 4.14 

Palms not have to look too hard 12,602,337 to determine that -11.3 the culture 2.91 in Amsterdam 2.85 

Ferns 

is very diff erent to that in America. 

7,610,140 

Th anks 

-2.5 

for the memories! 

1.05 1.08 

Total 664,744,412 3.1 

Remember to wear your top, Miami is hot! 

1.50 1.54 

Garden Plants Tree/Shrub/Climbing 52,738,093 11.8 1.83 1.75 

Conifers 

William Armellini has 

8,949,103 

been in the fl oral 

28.5 

industry 

1.19 1.24 

Annual/Biennial since birth and works 203,485,245 for Greenleaf Sourcing -6.1 in 0.61 0.54 

Perennial Miami. william@fl oracultureinternational.com 

58,618,203 6.0 0.95 0.88 

Total www.greenleafwholesale.com. 

322,765,666 -1.3 0.88 0.79 


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Stand no. 

07.0302 

1

are a modern and broad 

alliance of countries, which 

are active in the fl oriculture ‘‘We 

trade,” determines Sandro 

Cepollina, the President of Union Fleurs. “We 

are all convinced, however, that Union Fleurs 

needs to improve its range of activities in a 

more multilateral way, with a broad and open 

philosophy,” Sandro Cepollina says. “Our interests 

are worldwide, in ornamentals production 

and trade. Europe is no longer the centre 

of the fl ower world! Th e new consumption 

markets and new production areas are giving 

us the opportunity to take on a global role and 

this is the real mission of Union Fleurs.” 

Secretary-General Peter van Ostaijen says, 

“Defending the interests of the fl owers and 

plants sector means an independent organization 

is a must. Union Fleurs not only represents 

and defends the common interests of its members 

through lobbying activities in relevant 

fi elds (such as phyto-sanitary policies, import 

tariff s, VAT rates, transport and customs), but 

also addresses very specifi c problems facing 

traders and growers. For example, when shipments 

are stopped at a border Union Fleurs can 

intervene, contact the correct line of control 

and fi nd an eff ective solution with 6-12 hours.” 

Th ere is a role for every member. “You must 

do it together,” is the motto. Hereby, the 

governing board and the secretariat are the 

initiators, but the strength of the organisation 

is the collectiveness: taking action and 

working together for a free and smoothly run- 

Advertorial 

Peter van Ostaijen, Secretary-General Union 

Fleurs: “The strength of the organisation is the 

collectiveness. Taking action and working 

together for a free and smoothly running trade 

between all countries.” 

Union Fleurs drives 

World Trade forward 

ning trade between all countries. With more 

members Union Fleurs’ representation at an 

international level will increase. “Th e more 

members we have and the more representative 

we are, then the more infl uence we can exercise 

when we sit at a table with governments 

and institutions, such as the EU. It will also 

let our voice be better heard in the media,” 

advocates Cepollina. “We can proactively 

support the ornamentals sector worldwide so 

that all stakeholders profi t from the start of 

the fl oriculture supply chain to the end.” 

Network of Trade Opportunities 

Union Fleurs strives towards a healthy, worldwide 

mix of countries where the fl owers and 

plants business plays an important role. 

At present 16 countries are a (full) member 

of Union Fleurs: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, 

Ecuador, Ethiopia, Germany, Italy, Israel, 

Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, 

Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey. Th e recruitment 

of new members is directed towards (among 

others) the American continent. Union Fleurs 

would gladly incorporate Colombia back into 

its ranks; a country that is already for decades 

an important exporting and production country 

of cut fl owers and a former long time member. 

But there is also a focus on trying to encourage 

countries such as Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Costa 

Rica and Guatamala to become members. 

Furthermore, it targets the United States and 

Canada. Also the African continent stands 

high on the list, with the former member South 

Sandro Cepollina, President of Union Fleurs: 

“We must show the international consumer 

more effectively that the ornamentals business 

is a sustainable business. From living 

and working conditions to the state of the 

environment; from socially responsible matters 

to international trade rules, we are working 

hard in all these areas.” 

Celebrating 50 years, the Union Fleurs association is more ambitious than ever. The most important aims: 

more members and an improved, more realistic image of the fl owers and plant sector where imports and trade 

must develop freely for the benefi t of a better, more sustainable world. 

Africa being a priority. In Asia, Union Fleurs 

aims to incite interest from (among others) India, 

Japan and China. In Europe, Union Fleurs 

looks to former members such as England and 

France, but also at the new markets in Eastern 

Europe: Russia, already associate member, 

Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Croatia. 

As a country with an important ornamentals 

industry, why would you become a member of 

Union Fleurs? What are the advantages? You 

have a stronger position as a member of the 

international wholesale trade organisation than 

as an individual country. On your own, you 

can have very little infl uence on the complex 

structures of the world economy. Th e largest 

advantage is thus the cooperation. As a collective 

it is much easier to take the arguments 

for free trade to the authorities and have access 

everywhere to look after trade interests. On a 

global scale, a collective can have more impact, 

the more members it has. 

Sign up 

The membership to Union Fleurs is 

open to national branches and private 

organisations. For those who have 

questions about membership or 

wish to become a member, please 

contact Secretary-General 

Peter van Ostaijen (0031 297 380090, 

p.vanostaijen@hbagbloemen.nl) 

www.unionfl eurs.com 


Biodiversity 

The access to 

genetic resources is 

becoming increasingly 

diffi cult and subject 

to formalized 

administrative 

procedures. CIOPORA 1 

has subsequently 

adopted a Position 

Paper on Biodiversity, 

which recommends 

unrestricted access; 

underlines that 

benefi ts are already 

shared in a suffi cient 

way; and queries the 

manageability of any 

additional formalized 

ABS-instruments. 

1 Th e International Community 

of Breeders of Asexually 

Reproduced Ornamental 

and Fruit Plants 

by Dr Birte Lorenzen, 

CIOPORA 


Access and Benefi t- 

Sharing Solutions 

The Convention on Biological 

Diversity (CBD), which 

went into force on 29 December 

1993, names as its objectives 

the conservation of biological diversity; 

the sustainable use of its components; 

and the fair and equitable 

sharing of the benefi ts arising out of 

the utilization of genetic resources. 

To fulfi l these objectives the aim is to 

adopt an International Regime (IR) 

at the 10th Conference of the Parties 

(COP10) in the fall of 2010 in Japan. 

In the meantime and parallel to 

an IR, some countries have already 

adopted their own laws on Access 

and Benefi t Sharing (ABS). 

By the negotiators of the IR, the 

awareness increases that a “one size 

fi ts all” regime might not be feasible 

and instead the concept based on a 

“sectoral approach” was introduced 

last year. Th e IR details are still under 

discussion but the fi rst proposals 

for an operational text are available: 

one question of interest for breeders 

is its relationship with the International 

Treaty on Plant Genetic 

Resources for Food and Agriculture 

(ITPGRFA). At the last meeting of 

the Ad-hoc Open Ended Working 

Group on Access and Benefi t-Sharing 

it seemed that a consensus might 

be reached to exclude the Annex 1 

crops of the ITPGRFA from the 

scope of an IR. Th is might be good 

news for breeders of agricultural 

crops, but there are no ornamental 

and hardly any vegetatively reproduced 

fruit varieties covered by the 

ITPGRFA. 

CIOPORA puts forward an 

argument that the system for the 

vegetatively reproduced ornamental 

and fruit varieties sector is already 

balanced and that no additional 

instruments are needed to reach the 

goals of the CBD. Even taking over 

the rules in the ITPGRFA and its 

standard material transfer agreement 

(sMTA) would therefore be an 

overregulation. Th e introduction of 

more formalized procedures for this 

sector might even harm the CBD 

goals. CIOPORA’s position on Biodiversity 

is explained hereinafter: 

Unrestricted Access 

Access: Benefi ts, which might be 

shared, only accrue if access to 

genetic resources is possible and 

also guaranteed by an international 

regime. Currently, the discussions 

tend to focus on benefi t sharing, not 

on granting access. Furthermore, the 

ongoing discussions and introduction 

of ABS laws create uncertainty 

among users of genetic resources 

and hence discourage breeders from 

seeking access to them. To stimulate 

research and breeding, clear and 

non-discriminatory access rules 

creating legal certainty and clarity 

about the administrative procedure 

as well as the responsible authorities 

are vital for breeders of asexually 

reproduced ornamental and fruit 

varieties. Given the realities in the 

ornamental and fruit breeding sector 

CIOPORA recommends unrestricted 

access to genetic resources used 

for the purpose of breeding. 

Th e reason for this is that the eff orts 

plant breeders are taking are very 

important for the conservation – 

and even further development – of 

biological diversity as well as the 

sustainable use of its components. 

Breeders create new varieties, which 

usually have many advantages over 

older ones and the ones found in 

nature, and hereby enlarge and 

improve the available gene-pool. 

And breeders protect the existing 

gene-pool: some genetic resources already 

became extinct under natural 

conditions and are still only available 

because of the eff orts breeders (and 

others) have taken to preserve them, 

at least in gene banks. Additionally, 

many of the genetic resources 

breeders are using in their activities 

are already available in their own or 

other commercially available stocks 

and have been legally acquired prior 

to the enactment of any ABS-laws. 

So only in a limited number of cases 

breeders of asexually reproduced 

ornamental and fruit varieties need 

access to resources which will fall 

under future ABS-rules. Finally, access 

to cultivated and protected plant 

varieties is unrestricted because of the 

breeders’ exemption in the UPOV 

Convention. Unrestricted access to 

all kinds of varieties is indispensable 

as it is the key for breeding activities 

and therefore for the preservation 

of and contribution to biological 

diversity. 

Benefi ts are already 

shared suffi ciently 

Benefi t-sharing: CIOPORA believes 

that suffi cient mechanisms for 

benefi t-sharing already exist. First 

of all, new varieties are a benefi t to 

society because of their improved 

traits. Breeders thus improve and 

increase the gene-pool of those 

countries where a new variety is 

introduced, which by the way is one 

of the reasons why countries provide 

for plant variety protection. 

Horticultural production takes place 

to a large extent in various countries 

in Africa, South America and Asia 

and is often the fastest growing sector 

of the economy. And, in contrast 

to a very high number of other products, 

trade with ornamentals is not 

subject to any restrictions or trade 

barriers; for fruits hardly any such 

regulations exist. Th is underlines 

their importance in international 

trade, especially for developing and 

newly industrialized countries and 

needs to be kept in mind when discussing 

any biodiversity regulations 

which might establish bureaucratic 

barriers and additional cost. Additional 

access and benefi t sharing 

mechanisms at least in the ornamen

tal and fruit breeding business would 

create a lot of additional bureaucracy 

for all parties involved (thus increasing 

cost and therefore might prevent 

research projects) but overall would 

not create proportional gains. Breeding 

is carried out to a large extent by 

small and medium size enterprises, 

which are neither fi nancially nor in 

terms of personal resources equipped 

to deal with increased administrative 

and legal requirements. Plus, 

most countries will not be in a purely 

‘provider’ or ‘user’ position, but will 

be both: countries that perhaps view 

themselves as being a major source of 

genetic resources might realize that 

their economy also relies heavily on 

products which have their genetic 

origin in other countries. 

Additionally, legal mechanisms in 

international conventions provide already 

for benefi t-sharing: the breeder’s 

exemption in the UPOV 1991 Act 

provides that the breeder’s right shall 

not extend to “acts done for the 

purpose of breeding other varieties”. 

So each (protected) variety is freely 

accessible and can be used by any 

third party for further breeding. Th e 

(improved) gene-pool is a source for 

any breeder for breeding other varieties 

– a major diff erence, for example, 

to patents. Th is free access to protected 

varieties for breeding purposes 

is a very important form of benefi tsharing 

and this approach is unique 

for the sector of plant breeding; no 

other industry knows this form of 

benefi t-sharing institutionalized by 

law. It acknowledges that unrestricted 

access to any kind of genetic resources 

as breeding material is essential to 

ensure future progress in breeding, 

which, again, is to the benefi t of the 

society as a whole. By additional ABS 

rules the strange situation would be 

created whereby protected varieties 

(in which a lot of R&D has been 

invested) would be freely accessible for 

breeding, but not wild varieties. For 

all these reasons CIOPORA believes 

that no additional ABS-regulations 

are necessary; otherwise additional 

barriers to progress and utilization of 

genetic resources will be established. 

In a very practical manner benefi ts 

are shared by the creation of business 

opportunities for producers: breeders 

grant growers, who often are located 

in developing and newly industrialized 

countries, the right to use a protected 

variety, grow and sell plants and hereby 

“utilize” its genetic resource (against 

payment of a license fee). It should be 

noted in this regard that license fees 

are the smallest (fi nancial) part of the 

value added chain compared to the 

profi ts of growers and traders of the 

plant. Th e production of ornamentals 

and fruits has considerably positive 

eff ects on the economy of the production 

areas. It creates numerous yearround 

jobs in these countries. Due to 

this fact not only single companies but 

many families and the society as such 

are benefi ting. 

Proposed instruments 

for ensuring compliance 

unmanageable 

Single ABS-instruments: Since already 

suffi cient benefi t-sharing is carried out 

in the ornamental and fruit breeding 

business, no additional legal instruments 

which are designed to ensure 

compliance with ABS rules need to 

be introduced. Th ose which are currently 

under discussion will hardly be 

manageable and it is doubted whether 

they will be capable of fostering the 

CBD goals. 

Obligations on disclosure of origin/ 

source/legal provenance are neither 

useful nor practical. For technical 

reasons identifi cation of the exact 

geographic origin of the material used 

for breeding might be diffi cult or 

even impossible. Additionally, often 

resources are used which are not in 

the public domain but owned by 

public or private entities (e.g. research 

institutes, gene banks, breeding companies). 

In many cases no records are 

kept of the original source, since no 

need existed to keep such records in 

the past. And, in some cases the material 

was obtained under a contract 

containing confi dentiality clauses; 

disclosure of the origin would then 

result in a breach of contract. 

For similar reasons a certifi cate of 

origin/source/legal provenance/ 

compliance is not an adequate tool 

to monitor or enforce compliance 

with ABS-rules: CIOPORA doubts 

that any potential advantages of such 

a certifi cation system will be able to 

outweigh its downsides. 

Furthermore CIOPORA does not 

believe that it will be possible to create 

a workable, manageable certifi cation 

system. First, where the genetic origin 

is unclear – which often is the case 

– it cannot be certifi ed. Second, the 

introduction and maintenance of such 

a system would generate enormous 

cost. Additionally, such a system will 

impose high additional bureaucratic 

hurdles in international business. Any 

goods transaction containing genetic 

resources would be subject to legal uncertainty 

instead of increased certainty. 

Everyday millions of transactions of 

goods containing genetic resources 

take place. It will be extremely diffi cult 

to defi ne which of these transactions 

require a certifi cate (e.g. for each plant 

sold in a supermarket, each bottle of 

perfume, each apple, each bottle of 

wine?) as well as how and by whom 

all these certifi cates should be rendered. 

CIOPORA also queries how 

certifi cation laws could be properly >>> 


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STÅL & PLAST a-s 

Industrivej 19 . DK-5750 Ringe 

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your future... 

www.fl oracultureinternational.com 

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Zwethlaan 38, 2675 LB Honselersdijk 

The Netherlands � T +31 (0) 174-242112 

www.pothosplant.nl � info@pothosplant.nl 

Hortifair: 07.0802 

Photos_54x60.indd 1 23-09-2009 17:39:50 

J_H_178x60.indd 1 16-09-2008 13:55:08

enforced: national checkpoints 

in user countries will not be able 

to identify the origin of a genetic 

resource and therefore will be unable 

to control whether it is correctly 

declared, especially since it might 

originate from either a CBD member 

state with ABS certifi cation legislation, 

or a member state without such 

laws or even a non member state. 

For many of the ABS measures a 

linkage with intellectual property 

rights is discussed. Some parties 

claimed that a disclosure of origin/ 

source/legal provenance and the 

submission of a certifi cate of origin/ 

source/legal provenance, Prior Confi 

rmed Consent (PIC) and/or Mutually 

Agreed Terms (MAT) should 

become mandatory in applications 

for intellectual property rights such 

as patents or plant variety rights. 

CIOPORA recommends refraining 

from any such linkage and respect 

the existing international treaties 

on intellectual property rights: the 

UPOV Convention establishes the 

prerequisites of intellectual property 

protection for plant varieties. As 

such UPOV solely stipulates novelty 

distinctness, uniformity and stability, 

plus a suitable denomination. 

CIOPORA agrees with UPOV that 

the introduction of additional conditions 

via an IR would violate the 

UPOV Convention and, therefore, 

would not be acceptable. Additionally, 

any such linkage would run 

counter to the concepts of intellectual 

property rights. And, from a 

practical point of view, such linking 

would overburden the authorities 

responsible for granting IP-rights: 

they are neither equipped technically 

nor by manpower to carry out the 

necessary examinations. 

CIOPORA supports principles of 

transparency and ethical behaviour; 

nevertheless, the requirements 

of formalized PIC and MAT for 

plant breeding purposes make any 

research and development projects 

even more complicated and expensive. 

Breeders especially question any 

advantages and gains of formalized 

instruments like PIC and MAT for 

the ornamentals and fruit breeding 

industry given its particularities as 

described above. Again, introduction 

of such formalized instruments 

might lead to many uncertainties. 

To implement the CBD provisions, 

which in general require PIC and 

MAT, one could consider a rule in 

ABS laws and the IR granting PIC 

automatically by law when access is 

sought for the purpose of breeding 

asexually reproduced ornamental 

and fruit plants, and requiring no 

additional MAT in these cases. 

Lastly it needs to be highlighted 

that any ABS-regime should not be 

applied to material received before 

the CBD went into force, or before 

such new rules become legally binding 

for individuals in the respective 

countries. Any other proceeding 

would violate basic principles of the 

rule-of-law, especially the prohibition 

of retroactive eff ects of laws. 

Conclusion 

Since in the sector “breeding of 

asexually reproduced ornamental 

and fruit varieties” already the CBD 

goals are met, CIOPORA recommends 

fi nding ABS-solutions tailored 

to diff erent sectors, which for 

the ornamentals and fruit breeding 

sector are: (1) ensure non-discriminatory, 

transparent, fast and legally 

secure access to genetic resources; 

(2) do not introduce any additional 

benefi t-sharing obligations on top 

of the breeder’s exemption and 

other already implicitly exercised 

benefi t-sharing; (3) do not introduce 

any additional administrative elements 

for access to and utilization 

of genetic resources (like disclosure 

of origin, a certifi cate, formalized 

PIC and MAT or the linkage of any 

such instrument to the granting of 

IP-rights). ||| 

by Leaora Policar 

Why does the 

train stop here? 

Th ere isn’t a month, a horticulture show, or symposium, where breeder’s 

rights aren’t discussed. Our business relies heavily on innovation, on new 

and improved cultivars, not to mention varieties and down-right new fl owers 

never seen before. Th e investments made by seed companies, nurseries, 

government agencies, universities and freelance breeders are astronomic. 

Companies will actively retain lawyers and experts to advise them and sue 

any intruder. Certain countries are black-listed because they do not have an 

aggressive enough system to protect the breeders and their interests. During 

every Pack Trial the talk of the town is who has come up with what new 

varieties, the eff orts are endless. Although I am not completely familiar with 

this side of the industry allow me to assume that there is probably a fair 

amount of industrial espionage continually going on among the rivals. 

Ever wonder who is fi rst to pay the price for all this activity…that’s right the 

farmer, the grower. A breeder can talk until he is blue in the face about how 

the market will love his new variety, how they have done market research and 

surveys and that there is no doubt that the market will love the new product. 

But it’s the farmer who is asked to gamble, either on a small or large scale, to 

grow the new cultivar and hope that the market will recognize and pay the 

added dividend needed to justify the eff ort. 

How many times has it turned out that the variety has “problems”? It doesn’t 

transport well, it has a short shelf life, suff ers from discolouring or wilts 

quickly in the bouquet or in the pot? Th e market is very fussy with little 

room for mistakes, not to mention the bad rumours spread by fearing competition. 

Get the picture? I am not talking about the companies that do their 

own research and development and do the growing, marketing and sales 

by themselves, or outsource to growers with fair earnings, they take their 

chances along the chain and either gain or strain. 

On the other hand, like I said, we need these new innovations to keep the 

industry going. Th is is a very complex issue and the fi rst thing I would like 

to do is look at other industries to see what is going on there and see if we 

can learn something. Let’s look at the music business. You have the artists, 

the record companies and the buying public. Now, when I was growing up 

if I liked a certain song I would have to buy the whole album unless they 

were selling it as a 45 rpm single. Th e price I paid for the album was always 

around $12-14. Maybe I only liked one or two songs, but I was forced to 

buy the whole album. In certain countries a local affi liated record company 

would have local sales (usually recordings of an inferior quality) at a price 

that fi tted those particular countries’ market price capabilities. As technology 

progressed the industry moved away from records, to cassettes and then CD’s 

and now everything has changed again, the technology, the distribution, the 

market … 

To be continued next month 

Leaora Policar, together with 

her husband Eyal, runs a fl owerfarm 

in the Arava Desert in Southern Israel. 

Leaora@arava.co.il 

Touch 


Certifi cations 

Four Seasons Quality 

(FSQ), a leading 

importer of premium 

quality roses from 

Ecuador, is the fi rst 

fl ower company to 

be awarded with the 

‘Authorised Economic 

Operator’ customs 

security and safety 

certifi cate, which 

enables a swifter 

clearance of fl owers 

at the border. 


(right) FSQ managing director 

and owner, Huib van Veen, and 

project manager, Arnoud Bolten. 


Swift customs 

clearance secured 

with AEO 

Immediately upon entering 

FSQ’s offi ces in Kudelstaart, the 

Netherlands, visitors are kindly 

requested to register to obtain a 

visitor’s pass. For outsiders it’s one 

of the notable changes in the FSQ 

organizational structure since the 

company earned the AEO customs 

and security certifi cate in June 2009. 

But insiders like FSQ’s managing 

director and owner, Huib van Veen, 

and project manager, Arnoud Bolten, 

know perfectly well that there 

is a lot more going on when AEO 

certifi cation has been achieved. “An 

AEO must be fi nancially solvent 

and demonstrate impeccable conduct,” 

says Huib van Veen. 

Th e applicant must also demonstrate 

that it complies with security 

and safety standards. Van Veen: “In 

the past our company had already 

earned the ISO 9001 certifi cate. All 

business operations were already 

mapped and include a track and 

trace system. Each batch is managed 

via a barcode. If a box with roses has 

gone through the system, even three 

months later we are still able to see 

on which day and on what hour it 

was put into stock and selected out. 

Th is has made it more easier for us 

to obtain the AEO status. Probably 

most of the time and energy has 

been spent on installing cameras 

and special door locks. AEO is also a 

very new certifi cation. It took us one 

year to fi nd out about the objectives, 

the advantages and the background.” 

Of crucial importance 

AEO stands for Authorized Economic 

Operator and has everything to 

do with the September 11 attacks in 

the USA, in 2001. After these attacks 

the Bush administration was very 

focused on international safety and 

security measures. Both civil aviation 

and international goods traffi c were 

aff ected. In 2005 the European Community 

developed a new legislation 

to secure an international goods fl ow 

against terrorism 1 . Incoming and outgoing 

goods have to be checked more 

strictly. At the same time, companies 

can qualify as safe companies and 

can therefore be spared these stricter 

checks. For companies that acquire 

this status a ‘Green Lane’ will be 

created, so that they are less bothered 

by this customs legislation. 

Importing 30 million Ecuadorian 

rose stems per year, FSQ has every 

reason to obtain the AEO status. 

“It is of crucial importance for 

fl owers to be cleared quickly so that 

their quality can be maintained as 

much as possible. Flower importing 

companies that do not have the 

certifi cate will literally be stopped 

behind the customs clearance in the 

long run. With simplifi ed customs 

procedures at the customs control 

we can easily gain 3 to 4 hours in 

time, strengthening our competitive 

position. In addition, an Authorized 

Economic Operator helps to maintain 

the cool chain,” says Van Veen. 

Explosives and 

contraband goods 

AEO accreditation is being issued 

by customs bodies across the EU. 

Th e certifi cation is intended for all 

companies that are established in 

the EU and that participate in the 

logistics chain by transporting goods 

from and to the European Union, 

including importers, exporters, 

transporters and forwarders. AEO 

applies to both large and small 

companies. AEO’s main goal is to 

provide proper security controls to 

ensure the protection of the internal 

markets, in close co-operation with 

major trading partners around the 

world. “Th e worldwide rose trade 

can be less romantic and innocent 

than one might think. Explosives 

and contraband goods can be hidden 

in the boxes,” says Van Veen, 

adding that since his company 

has been in business (1997) it has 

luckily never experienced these kind

of problems. “Th is doesn’t mean 

you have to close your eyes to the 

rest of the world. With the AEO 

certifi cation FSQ is developing a 

global perspective, taking a more 

broader and critical view of the 

world fl ower business.” 

AEO versus other 

safety programs 

FSQ imports 99% of its roses from 

Ecuador where many fl ower farms 

are involved in BASC (Business Alliance 

for Secure Commerce). AEO 

and BASC’s objectives are more 

or less identical: a business/customs 

partnership to promote safe 

international trade in cooperation 

with governments and international 

organizations. According to Arnoud 

Bolten of Florimer.nl (the company 

that helped FSQ through the AEO 

application and administration), 

the existing customs-business 

partnership program BASC is 

strongly focused on Latin America 

while AEO has a strong European 

focus. BASC and AEO are not yet 

homologous but they do cooperate. 

In June 2007 the World Customs 

Organization (WCO) and the 

World BASC Organization (WBO) 

signed an agreement recognizing 

the long-term supportive relationship 

between the two organizations. 

In the meantime, for the business 

community, it remains unclear how 

other safety programs like TAPA 

(Transported Asset Protection Association), 

ISPS (International Ship 

and Port facility Security code), 

ISO 9001 and ISO 4001 relate to 

AEO. 

Costs and benefi ts 

Refl ecting on the extra investments 

required to become AEO certifi 

ed, Bolten says that costs of the 

total project vary from €50,000 to 

€55,000. “It may diff er per company. 

Our 3,000 m 2 building and 

2,000 m 2 parking lot where already 

fenced and only accessible via one 

entrance. A company that has not 

taken any measures at all yet, will 

have to invest more.” 

FSQ doesn’t look only to the costs 

but also to the benefi ts. Th e AEO 

status means fewer physical controls 

by customs; goods controls will be 

announced beforehand and the 

company will be given priority at 

these controls. Furthermore, controls 

may be requested to be carried 

out on a specifi c location; data can 

be supplied later and less data are 

needed for the customs declaration. 

Will Europe really be safer? Th is will 

depend on how the new legislation 

will be interpreted and executed by 

the various member states. “AEO is 

creating two fl ows of goods: goods 

from certifi ed companies and non 

certifi ed companies. In the end this 

will lead to a safer Europe - yes,” 

believes Bolten. 

Th e new EU Customs Code came 

into force in January 2008, and by 

mid 2009 over 1,000 AEO certifi - 

cates had been issued across the EU, 

but Bolten admits, “In the fl ower 

business there’s still little awareness 

of AEO. As far as I know, fl ower 

forwarder Van de Put Fresh Cargo is 

only the second fl ower company to 

become AEO certifi ed. But we are 

absolutely convinced that there is no 

way back. Th e World Customs Organization 

has announced that AEO 

has to be widely accepted by 2013. 

FSQ is prepared for the future.” ||| 

by Kerry Herndon 

1 European Union’s Community 

Customs Code: Th e measures were 

introduced by an amendment to the 

European Union’s Community Customs 

Code in April 2005, Regulation 

648/2005. Th e arrangements came 

into force in January 2008, and by 

mid 2009 over 1,000 AEO certifi cates 

had been issued across the EU. >>> 

Waiting for 

the Mail 

Stuff 

For the fi rst time in many years I will not travel to Holland for the 

fall plant and fl ower shows. I have to stay at home and manage the 

company through these diffi cult economic times. Also, I will not pay 

the cost of air travel and hotels. Still, I am not happy about this. Th e 

hangover from the economic crisis of last year means hard choices and 

lean times for at least one more year. 

Th e constant pressure for lower prices in the market is strong. If you 

don’t lower your price to get the sale your neighbour will. But our costs 

are not going down as fast as the price we are paid for the plants. Th e 

largest controllable cost we have is workers. My company has reduced 

staff a lot and it seems that even this is not enough. We must do more 

work with far fewer people. I speak to many colleagues every day and 

I do not know of anyone who is satisfi ed with the current business 

condition. And it is my understanding that I have nothing to complain 

about compared to my friends growing plants in Holland where the 

prices have been even worse. 

Th is shows us all once again that the laws of supply and demand are 

brutal. Too much new production when prices were high is the reason 

for the current situation. Th ere is too much capacity for the current 

demand. Now consumers are more careful with their money and that 

includes our products. When people are afraid, they spend only on 

essentials. Th ey save money and live more modestly. I know that I am 

doing these things. All of us are living simpler than during the boom 

times of two years ago. 

Th e only outcome is that many companies will go out of business and 

their greenhouse capacity will become unused by our industry. Maybe 

they will be taken over by vegetable growers because people will always 

buy food. In the meantime people will lose their life’s savings and their 

life’s work due to events completely beyond their control. I cannot say 

how many companies will fail during this time but it will not be a small 

number. If this is a cold winter and energy prices go up then failures 

will happen much faster. 

When conditions get better in the market the strongest companies will 

grow bigger and stronger, but even strong companies must manage 

money more carefully than in the past. We have no extra to waste. 

In the U S market most payments are still made by cheques sent 

through the mail. It is old fashioned but this is how it is done. I must 

wait for payment from my customers before I can write a cheque to pay 

my suppliers. Many of my customers are out of cash and cannot pay. 

I talk to people every day that haven’t been able to pay themselves for 

months. 

To my friends that I am used to seeing at the fairs, I will miss you. 

I have to stay here and wait for the mail. 

Kerry Herndon owns Kerry’s Bromeliads, 

a tropical potted plant nursery 

in Homestead, Florida, United States. 

kerryherndon@msn.com 


Classifieds 

HELP WANTED 

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performing confidential key employee searches 

for the horticulture industry and allied trades 

worldwide. Retained basis only. Candidate contact 

welcome, confidential, and always free. 

1740 Lake Markham Rd., 

Sanford, FL 32771 USA 

Phone (1) 407 320 8177, 

Fax (1) 407 320 8083, 

E-mail: search@fl orasearch.com, 

Website: www.fl orasearch.com 

FOR SALE 

SRI LANKA COCOPEAT HUSKCHIPS 

BEST GROWING SUBSTRATE FOR ROSES 

TOMATO POTPLANTS HOME GARDENS 

IN BALES GROWBAGS BRICKS. UNICEYL 

(PVT) LTD uniceyl@slt.lk 

PAPER-POTS MACHINE: Our paper-pot 

machine has been developed to produce 

paper-pots, capacity up to max. 5,000 paperpots 

per hour. www.hetotuinbouw.nl 

UNITED STATES GREENHOUSE & 

BUSINESS FOR SALE. Profi table greenhouse 

& business located in eastern Pennsylvania, 

close to Philadelphia & New York city. 20 

acres of modern greenhouses on 98 acre farm, 

includes cold storage, packing & shipping 

complex, sale also includes two retail stores. 

Company is a full service provider of nursery 

& ornamental fl oriculture. Products shipped to 

wholesale customers throughout the US. For 

more information contact: 

Hiram Hershey 

Hershey Farm Agency, Inc. 

Phone: 610-287-8888 

Fax: 610-287-8890 

E-mail: MJHershey@aol.com 

www.hersheyfarmagency.com 

FLOWER BUNDLING MACHINE 

Axro-RLC. For bundling small and various sized 

products with elastic string. Capacity up to 96 

cycles / min. Power supply 230 V, 3 Ph., 50/ 60 

Hz, 100 V. Feed-through height 150 mm, depth 

250 mm. €2,600.00 ex works. www.cyclop.nl 

WWW.RIJNBEEK.NL: We supply quality 

young plants of evergreen clematis varieties. 

Advertising Index 

COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE 

AMA Plastics Ltd. ....................................................38 ...........................www.amaplas.com 

Anthura B.V. ..............................................................33 ..................................www.anthura.nl 

Aqua-Hort ..................................................................38 ............................ www.aqua-hort.dk 

Colombian Association .........................................3,7 ............................www.fl orverde.org 

of Flower Exporters, Asocolfl ores Florverde www.asocolfl ores.org 

AVO Anthurium Vogels ...........................................38 ..........................................www.avo.nl 

Bartels Stek ...............................................................38 ........................... www.bartelsstek.nl 

Brandkamp GmbH ...................................................44 ......................... www.brandkamp.de 

Callas New Zealand Ltd. ........................................36 .........www.callasnewzealand.com 

Container Centralen ..................................................2 .....www.container-centralen.com 

Cubecap .....................................................................50 ..............................www.cubecap.ca 

Van der Deijl Roses B.V. .........................................34 ........... www.vanderdeijlroses.com 

Dutch Plantin B.V. ....................................................38 ....................www.dutchplantin.com 

Ellegaard A/S ............................................................34 ...................................www.ellepot.dk 

Flora Co., Ltd. .............................................................48 .............................www.HB-101.co.jp 

Floragard Vertriebs GmbH ....................................33 ............................. www.fl oragard.de 

Floricultura B.V. ........................................................40 .......................www.fl oricultura.com 

Florimer .......................................................................36 ..................................www.fl orimer.nl 

Four Seasons Quality B.V. .....................................11 ...........................................www.fsq.nl 

Goyang International Flower Foundation .........40 ................................www.fl ower.or.kr 

Hamilton Design Ltd. ...............................................44 .......... www.hamilton-design.co.uk 

HilverdaKooij B.V. ....................................................26 ........................www.hilverdakooij.nl 

COMPANY SERVICES 

Valley Horticultural Seeds, Inc. 

Mission, TX, USA 

International Flower Seed Distributor 

valleyhort@aol.com 

US Company in business 6 years, which owns 

two major innovative product lines with 

good distribution throughout the US and 

with solid reoccurring revenue is interested in 

a partnership, merger, or acquisition. 

Th e Company is well known in the fl oral 

industry and is looking to expand operations. 

If you are interested in this opportunity and 

would like to know more about this US 

Company please contact: Kathy Bertone, 

Partner, CO Group, Inc., Certifi ed Merger 

& Acquisition Advisor, CM&AA, AMMA, 

11921 Freedom Drive, Two Fountain Square, 

Suite 550 Reston, VA 20190, USA. 

Tel: 866-998-0528 

Direct: 703-615-0050 

Fax: 703-991-8093 

www.cogroup.com 

kathy@cogroup.com 

COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE 

Horticoop .....................................................................4 ..............................www.horticoop.nl 

J&H Japan Inc. ........................................................44 ............................ info@jh-japan.com 

Lex+ ....................................................................... 18,19 ...........................................www.lex.nl 

Lutgo Global ..............................................................30 ..................................www.lutgo.com 

Mardenkro .................................................................17 .......................www.mardenkro.com 

Messe-Essen ............................................................52 ........................ www.ipm-dubai.com 

Moerheim New Plant .............................................32 ...........www.suntorycollection.info 

Moerheim Roses & Trading ..................................36 ........................www.moerheim.com 

PanAmerican Seed .................................................51 .....................www.panamseed.com 

Pöppelmann GmbH & Co. KG ...............................15 .................www.poeppelmann.com 

Pothos Plant Nederland B.V. ................................29 ..........................www.pothosplant.nl 

Rosen Tantau ............................................................15 ...................www.rosen-tantau.com 

SBW International ...................................................40 ....................................... www.sbw.nu 

Stal & Plast A/S ........................................................44 ........................... www.staal-plast.dk 

Takii & Co., Ltd...........................................................30 ...................................www.takii.co.jp 

Taiwan Orchid Growers Association .................32 ...............................www.tios.com.tw 

Tref Substrates B.V. .................................................26 ..........................www.trefgroup.com 

Jiffy Products International AS ...........................26 ...............................www.jiffypot.com 

Urbinati S.r.l. ..............................................................36 .............................www.urbinati.com 

Van Zanten Cuttings B.V. .......................................36 ..............www.royalvanzanten.com 

Vitro Plus ....................................................................32 ................................ www.vitroplus.nl 

This index is provided as a service to our readers. The publisher does not assume responsibility for errors or omissions. 

Visit FloraCulture International advertisers on the internet by linking to their Websites from our Digital Online Advertiser Index at 

www.fl oracultureinternational.com. For readers who do not have internet access, please send your request for additional information from 

any of our advertisers to FloraCulture International B.V. (claudia@fl oracultureinternational.com). Be sure to include your name, company name, 

address, faxnumber and the name(s) of the companies about which you would like to receive additional information. 


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