Horticultural News January - February issue

More documents

Recommendations

Info

use clean water for post-harvest john Mbaria talks to Ellen Merk (above) Sales Engineer, Hatenboer-Water b.v De s c r i b e c o m m o n i m p u r i t i e s in water and their effects on fresh produce Water is the basis of all life. We all need water to live and grow. So does your crop. The quality of water can really make a difference. Depending on what water source you are using, you will meet different kind of water quality <strong>issue</strong>s. When starting from rain water (harvested from the roof of your 36 greenhouse for instance), you will have (chemically speaking) a very good quality water. However you should take into account, that biology – all kind of micro organisms - can grow in your basin or silo and create biofilms. Biofilms are the perfect surrounding for more micro organisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi) to grow in. Or you might be using surface water from a river or a lake. Water from the lake could have a good water composition; however the quality will fluctuate, depending on all kind of influences. For H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I j a n u a r y - F E B r u a r y 2 0 1 2 instance rainfall can strongly influence the quality. Water could contain a lot of fine particles of clay or dust. During drought periods, meanwhile the water quality can be very different again. Salinity of the water can vary in time. also temperature and other seasonal changes can affect the water quality. Surface water is therefore a water source not always as trustful with respect to availability and quality. What are the effects of utilizing unclean water in post harvest stage? Please state the specific difficulties that could arise or which normally arise whenever flowers or other fresh produce are washed, or stored in unclean water unclean water can affect flowers in every stage. From the post harvest stage to the water that the consumer uses in the vase. The effects of the above mentioned micro organisms and pollution on the flowers can be of all kind. a flower, like every living creature, needs good water of a stable quality to remain in an optimum condition. When water is polluted by biology, diseases have a breeding ground for development, causing lower quality and unconstant quality flowers. The post harvest stage is important. The flower is freshly cut and needs optimum and stable circumstances. your treatment product such as flower food and care have a proven enhanced effect on the vase life of flowers in combination with clean water. How important is it to ensure the water used up in the post harvest stage is purified? The flower is cut from its roots but still needs to be fed. Without good water it would not survive. Moreover the grower wants to supply a stable quality product to the market. Therefore it is important that the water is of a stable and constant quality. Surface water (from a lake or river) can vary in quality through the season. after heavy rainfall the water will be very different from water in drought periods. all kind of seasonal influences play an important role. Temperature is of course an important influence as well. a very interesting effect of starting with clean water is: the water can be re-used! re-use of water = saving water = saving costs! Is it true that you can increase the shelf life of horticultural products by using purified water during the post-harvest stage? yes, this is very much true! The consumers satisfaction depends on the quality of the flowers. Through the whole flower chain there are several influencing factors like time and temperature. Post harvest circumstances are the first step in the chain. By giving the flower clean water of a stable and constant quality, your flower food products will have more effect. This will lead to an increased vase life. The fact remains that the next steps in the chain must be dealt with care as well to have a healty and long lasting product at the consumer.
H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I j a n u a r y - F E B r u a r y 2 0 1 2 37
Page 1 and 2: NO. 20 JAN/FEB 2012 Ksh 300, US$5 H
Page 3 and 4: H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I
Page 5 and 6: seasonal credit for food security Y
Page 7 and 8: GODOWNS FOR SALE/TO LET SAKU BUSINE
Page 11 and 12: ONIONS Onions are important horticu
Page 13 and 14: Wins Second MDG Award Eradicating E
Page 15 and 16: An Amiran agronomist shares a light
Page 17 and 18: secondary schools in the water scar
Page 19 and 20: HIGH CONCENTRATION POTASSIUM SOLUTI
Page 21 and 22: For over 30 years farmers have trus
Page 23 and 24: Chrysal Africa now offers — Pre-t
Page 29 and 30: 40-50 % PA Fund job creation for on
Page 31 and 32: Sources of seed Farmers should use
Page 33 and 34: Anti-counterfeits committee chairma
Page 35: Harakisha....wapi page za AAK? you
Page 43 and 44: Jos Hansen (EA) Ltd, a pump supplie
Page 45 and 46: Belspray range Bellspray High N: NP
Page 47 and 48: Good neigbours traditional sugarcan
Page 51 and 52: Soil sampling using Trimble GPS now
Page 53 and 54: HORTICULTURAL CROPS DEVELOPMENT AUT
Page 55 and 56: HORTICULTURAL CROPS DEVELOPMENT AUT
Page 57 and 58: Between June and November 2
Page 59 and 60: Market overview sales volume
Page 61 and 62:   Self‐service Sales volume
Page 63 and 64: June  Flowers  9,324,582  3,2

Horticultural News January - February issue

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?