We are thrilled to share that DryGair was recently featured in HortiDaily, highlighting a major step forward for cucumber cultivation in Europe.

As energy markets shift and cultivation methods evolve, cucumber growers are facing a unique set of agronomic challenges. To tackle these issues with rigorous, field-proven data, DryGair has signed a new 3-year strategic agreement with CTIFL (Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes) in France.

We have installed a DG-3 unit at their experimental station specifically to run comprehensive trials on cucumbers. To explain the significance of this project, HortiDaily interviewed DryGair’s European Engineer, Justin van der Putten, and CTIFL Plant Physiologist, Landry Rossdeutsch.

Here are the key takeaways from their conversation:
Q&A: Understanding the Cucumber Paradox & The CTIFL Trial

Q: What exactly is the “Cucumber Paradox”?
Justin van der Putten: It comes down to the nature of the plant itself. The cucumber is perhaps the most demanding ‘athlete’ of all greenhouse crops, acting as a massive biological water pump. To achieve maximum yield, you must have high planting density, high temperatures, and intense lighting. Yet those exact conditions generate a continuous flood of water vapor. If left uncontrolled, you stall growth and invite disease.

Q: How did growers traditionally handle this, and why is it changing?
Justin: Historically, growers solved this by ‘heating and venting’ – opening windows to release moisture while blasting the heating pipes. But in today’s energy market, throwing heat out of the window is simply no longer a viable equation.

Q: Why was it important for CTIFL to implement this trial now?
Landry Rossdeutsch (CTIFL): Our mission at CTIFL is to improve the performance and competitiveness of the fruit and vegetable sector. Partnering with DryGair allows us to test this innovation – active dehumidification – within our unique experimentation network in Europe. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate active dehumidification into a 30% reduced carbon footprint climate strategy to provide growers with a technical solution for economic and ecologic performance.

Q: Does the industry-wide transition to LED lighting make humidity management harder?
Justin: It actually complicates the picture significantly. When growers switch from HPS to LED to save electricity, they lose the radiant heat that HPS lights used to emit. Suddenly, the greenhouse is colder and significantly wetter, leading to outbreaks of Botrytis and Downy Mildew that they didn’t experience before. You also have to deal with the ‘Green Wall’ – the dense foliage blocks airflow. You need a system that can penetrate that canopy.

Q: Is this trial just for academic research, or can growers get involved?

Justin: Not at all. We are viewing this project as a ‘living showroom’. It is important to us that this isn’t just a closed lab; we want it to be a hub for knowledge transfer. We are inviting growers from France and the surrounding European regions to visit. We will be hosting open days and VIP tours where they can see the DG-3 in action and review the live data with us.

Are you a commercial grower interested in seeing the results firsthand? DryGair is now scheduling visits to the CTIFL facility.
Contact the DryGair team today to book a tour and see how active dehumidification can transform your greenhouse operations.