Interview with Hishtil – a Global Horticulture Specialist

Horticulture powerhouse, Hishtil, uses DryGair in their greenhouses to control humidity, create uniform conditions, prevent diseases and save energy.

We’ve recently interviewed Yaron Peretz, manager of their Ashkelon greenhouses, to discuss why they chose DryGair, how they use their units, the benefits they reap, and future plans.

 

Watch the Full Hishtil Interview:

 

Tell us a little bit about Hishtil and your role in the company.

“Histhil is an international company, with greenhouses in Israel and around the world.

I’ve been working at Hishtil for 27 years and am a professional agronomist. In the past 15 years, I’ve been managing Hishtil’s Ashkelon greenhouses, which produce vegetables as well, but specialize in grafted and organic plants.”

 

What are the challenges and problems that made you equip your greenhouses with DryGair?

“In general, the problem with humidity in cultivation is complex. Almost all leaf diseases love humidity.

Over the years, we’ve been dealing with humidity by using very strict cultivation protocols, to reduce greenhouse humidity as much as possible, and to shorten the duration in which leaves are wet. But these protocols are limited in their efficacy and require very strict operation. It’s also very expensive.

Exchanging air with the environment on a cold night has a very high energy cost. We want to reach the same result, in an easier way, which would give us more leeway in our protocols, and save the energy we’ve been losing over the years.”

 

How did Hishtil start out with DryGair?

“When we started working with DryGair, we put 2 different systems in different greenhouses. We tested the efficiency of each system individually. The result was that DryGair both decreased humidity, as well as shortened, and almost eliminated the presence of wet leaves in the greenhouse.”

 

How does Hishtil use DryGair?

“The dehumidification systems are installed in the greenhouses and operate according to our climate control system. They’re turned on when necessary. Once humidity in the greenhouse rises, DryGair begins operating, keeping a constant humidity level through the night. Constant and low, of course.

Hishtil uses two types of DG-12 units. One is a split unit, which lets us position the system in a way that doesn’t interfere with other systems operating in the greenhouse. Some greenhouses require this, and some don’t. So we also use standard DG-12’s, which are one compartment. They both perform the same, but DryGair provides the option, to ensure you can fit the right unit in the right place.”

 

How do you control and operate DG units?

“We know how to operate a DG-12, but all DryGair units operate the same. They can be connected to any climate control system. We can control their operation, as part of our entire system in the greenhouse.

They don’t require anything special, even though each unit can operate independently as well. We prefer for the system to integrate into the ensemble of equipment in our greenhouses. For us, this improves our operation and control of the units.”

 

What results do you see from using DryGair?

“When it comes to DryGair’s efficiency, we check it online. Our climate control system monitors all of the machinery in the greenhouses. We can monitor humidity, and we see that when we need and operate DryGair, humidity remains constant, and doesn’t rise.

Greenhouses with DryGair are always at a low humidity level, far from the dew point. So we almost completely prevent condensation on the leaves.”

 

What other benefits does DryGair provide Hishtil?

“There are many benefits to using DryGair. First of all, reducing humidity. Second, is the prevention of wet leaves. When the leaves aren’t wet in the morning, it allows us to maximize our work hours in the greenhouse, and we aren’t limited in our use of manpower.

We see uniform conditions in the greenhouse as well. We use fans, in addition to dehumidifiers. At the end of the day, we can see that conditions are homogenous throughout the entire greenhouse.

One of the targets we set when we integrated DryGair, is to reduce our environmental impact and pesticide use. Of course, as DryGair does what it’s meant to do, we hardly use pesticides anymore. Rather, we use preventative products, at a significantly lower rate than before.

I forgot to mention energy. Ventilation involves removing high-energy air from the greenhouse and introducing low-energy air. This process is extremely wasteful in terms of energy. DryGair helps us save this energy as well.”

 

Does Hishtil plan on incorporating more DryGair units in their greenhouses?

“Over the past few years, we’ve incorporated more DryGair units. We purchase more every year, as a result of seeing how it eliminates the need to deal with leaf diseases.

We’re also witnessing a change in climate conditions over the years. Not just global warming, but more minor phenomena as well, which increase from year to year. Heavy rains, long dry periods. A few months ago, we experienced a long period of high humidity. It’s getting harder to grow. But DryGair provides us with a safety net. Even in extreme conditions, the systems work. This saved us the need to deal with humidity issues in our greenhouses.”

 

How does Hishtil view cooperation with innovative companies like DryGair?

“Innovation is an integral part of Hishtil. It’s part of our company vision. We’re constantly busy pushing the science and knowledge forward.

DryGair’s systems were a distant dream, only a few years ago. These days, we see this dream come true. DryGair works exactly as expected. We’re happy to learn the system and to incorporate the knowledge we gain from it in other aspects as well.

It’s part of our mission to cooperate with companies that develop technologies at the forefront of science and agronomical knowledge.”