German and Dutch Growers Learn About DryGair in Dutch Rose Nursery
Growers from the Netherlands and Germany recently visited Van der Hulst rose nursery in Meterik to learn about DryGair, humidity control, and energy savings.
The event was organized by Agrobusiness Niederrhein and Royal Brinkman. Agrobusiness Niederrhein is a German network initiative that connects growers, entrepreneurs, and horticulture experts in order to support innovations in the agriculture value chain.
DryGair Presentation by Eef Zwinkels
The visitors received a tour of the Van der Hulst rose nurseries. The facility is an advanced, technological greenhouse that follows MPS-A and MPS-GAP guidelines. The greenhouses utilize equipment such as thermal screens and DryGair dehumidifiers.
As part of the tour, Eef Zwinkels, technical account manager at Royal Brinkman gave a presentation on DryGair.
DryGair dehumidifiers are widely used in the Netherlands, and around the world, in flower greenhouses, among other crops. The patented dehumidification system allows growers to improve their yields and save energy, through effective and efficient humidity control.
DryGair’s Benefits in Flower Greenhouses
Prevent Diseases and Molds
Humidity control is crucial when growing roses, or any flowers, in a greenhouse.
There are several reasons high humidity harms flowers. First, is diseases and molds. Some of the most common flower diseases, such as botrytis, may only develop in humid conditions. These diseases can lead to large percentages of yield loss, while reducing the quality of the surviving plants.
Controlling humidity and maintaining the ideal relative humidity range effectively prevents diseases and mildews from breaking out in the greenhouse.
Stimulate Growth and Flowering
Besides disease outbreaks, humidity also has a major impact on the plants’ physiological processes. Roses, like all plants, need to transpire in order to initiate the process of taking in nutrients, through the roots.
However, when humidity is too high, the roses aren’t able to transpire. The air is already saturated with water vapor and can’t hold any more moisture. This stunts growth and flowering.
On the other hand, maintaining an ideal relative humidity, or VPD level, optimizes transpiration. This stimulates the flowers, allowing them to take in nutrients efficiently, and maximize growth and development.
By providing the best conditions, using DryGair, you can ensure consistently large yields, of uniform, high quality roses. It significantly reduces blemishes and other issues that reduce the roses’ value, and improves color saturation and vibrancy.
In an article published earlier this year, Van der Hulst rose nurseries discussed DryGair’s ability to improve their crops and prevent diseases:
“This will result in a firmer crop. We expect the greenhouse climate to be more even and the mildew pressure to go down, as the greenhouse air is drier.”
50% Average Energy Savings
Using DryGair in a greenhouse has also been shown to save significant amounts of energy. This is due to the ability to close the greenhouse, and control humidity without ventilation or excessive heating.
In fact, Van der Hulst have reported 35% savings on gas since integrating DryGair. The company invested in DryGair for this purpose, due to rising energy prices.
The switch from traditional humidity control to DryGair also allowed the company to further reduce their energy consumption. Some examples include adding additional thermal screens for even more insulation, and adding LED lighting, without suffering from the excess humidity they may cause.
