Sun-kissed ornamentals heat up northern autumn

Transcription

‘Concordia res parvae crescunt’
October2010•www.floracultureinternational.com
The business magazine for floriculture worldwide
Sun-kissed ornamentals
heat up northern autumn
Val’Hor France
Mr. Moinet
reflects on
floral
industry 08
2010 Flormart
2010 edition of
Flormart sees
its business
blooming 17
South Africa
Important steps
to professionalise
Protea
industry 25
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Greenex A/S
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Greenex is as an international plant broker of
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The marketplace of operations is global and
Greenex has become the distributor and supplier of choice for many breeders and growers
providing an ever broader range of quality plant
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Greenex is represented worldwide with six locations spanning Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Europe:
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Table of Contents
May 2010October
Volume2010
20 Number
Volume520 Number 10
Gibberellin/sucrose pulsing improves the performance of Iris
Pulsing with a combination of gibberellin and
sucrose is a simple and practical post harvest
treatment for improving the opening and vase
life and thus the marketability of
Iris flowers.
byAndrewMacnish,Cai-Zhong
Jiang,SireenaChiengand
MichaelReid
Flormart sees
business blooming
Mardenkro
By presenting the ongoing research and development of ReduFuse at the upcoming Horti
Fair, Mardenkro, proves once again to be a true
innovator in the field of high performance greenhouse coatings.
The 61st edition of Flormart, held in Padua, Italy, drew to a close on Saturday September 12th. According to the official figures, the attendance was up by 10% from last
year and organizing body PadovaFiere was thrilled with the quality of attendees, the
quantity of key retailers and international visitors to the show with an overall positive
customer feedback.
‘France’s flower industry is more
sexy than most people think’
Val’Hor, the industry body promoting the
French ornamental industry and campaigning
to encourage the production, marketing and
consumption of sustainable flowers and
plants, is going strong.
byRonvanderPloeg
08
Diploma day at Flormart
Maurizio Lapponi, chairman of Italy’s national
association of exporting nursery stock growers
ANVE has presented 10 students with their
diplomas of Experts on Internationalisation of
Italian Nursery Stock Producers on Friday 10
September during a graduation ceremony at
the Flormart trade exhibition in Padua,
Italy.
byRonvanderPloeg
11
Madrid lacks a central
flower market
“Sicily, green, sweet and salt” this was the
theme of the 51st Congress of the European
Young Horticulturists (CEJH) organized
by the CEJH Italian member GFA, Giovani
Florovivaisti Associati, in Marsala
(Sicily-Italy) from July 18th to 24th.
byArturoCroci
12
14
South Africa takes important
steps to professionalise Protea
industry
The Cape provinces of South Africa are
unique. They have a specific flora, Flora Capensis, with plants exclusive to this region. The
South Africans call it ‘Fijnbos’ which includes
Protea, Leucospermum, Leucadendron,
Erica, Berzelia, Brunia and all kinds of
unique greens.
25
CubeCap proudly presents 4”
(10cm) DripCap®.
The new DripCap® has a list of attributes and
features that come with it, some of the
most notable include an innovative
hose holder and dripper technology.
byRonvanderPloeg
43
HerkuPlast announces
its presence at IFFT
CEJH helps to promote crosscultural understanding
byJaapN.Kras
Madrid is a sizeable market for cut flowers.
If some day this economic crisis ends, then
consumption could be increased
substantially.
byMiguelMerino-Pacheco
byRonvanderPloeg
17
byRonvanderPloeg
38
31
HerkuPlast-Kubern GmbH, a leading manufacturer of QuickPot and HerkuPak trays has
announced its presence at the new International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF).According to
Alfred Boot from Herkuplast, the Herkuplast
stand at the IFFT will give a comprehensive
overview of the extensive range of propagation
trays with a brand new series of paper
pot trays as absolute show stoppers.
byRonvanderPloeg
48
Departments
WorldNews
InternationalEvents
Prices
Lettertotheeditor
AdvertisingIndex
Columns
InMyOpinion
Miami
Touch
CertifiableinCalifornia
HappyGardening
DutchComfort
23
32
37
40
49
06
21
35
41
45
47
October 2010 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com
05
©
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the Netherlands.
With compliments
Quality, innovation, sustainability and logistics are words that
often appear in our editorial. Th is is a compliment to you, the
floriculture industry; the interviewees and contributors remain
focused on “what can be” rather than “what isn’t”. The cut flower
market is difficult, but a glimpse of relief is being experienced by
the pot and bedding plant growers with the spring sunshine having
made a well-timed appearance in Europe.
myopinion
opinion
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Autumn
With
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Working backwards in this issue; in East Africa, Ethiopia’s
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Beytes has a well-penned article bringing to life the
California Pack Trials, which, like the auctions,
are another institution that have a long history in
presenting innovative ideas and quality products.
27-04-2009 13:08:58
Anabel Evans, Editor
Ron van der Ploeg, editor
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Please visit us at:
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License to grow:
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Phone: +45 86 94 89 88
Fax: +45 86 94 92 89
E-mail: [email protected]
www.roses-forever.com
Member of
Southern Europe
Val’Hor, the industry
body promoting the
French ornamental
industry and
campaigning
to encourage
the production,
marketing and
consumption of
sustainable flowers
and plants, is going
strong. Established
in 2004 in Paris,
Val’Hor today
acts as a voice
to government
on behalf of the
industry and
represents a large
majority of France’s
horticultural
companies.
Chairman Philippe
Moinet reflects on a
dynamic, somewhat
closed industry
worth €9 billion in
turnover.
Philippe Moinet, chairman of Val’Hor:
‘Our sector is more
sexy than most
people think’
“T
rès bien, merci”, with
three single French
words Val’Hor’s chair
Philippe Moinet summarizes the
well-being of his association. “Established in 2004 Val’Hor regroups
today the sector as a whole, including 50,000 horticultural companies
and representing 150,000 jobs and
€9 billion in turnover. Val’Hor
gathers growers, cooperatives,
wholesalers, landscapers, florists,
garden centres and seed suppliers.“
Challenge
by Ron van der Ploeg
08
In 2010 Val’Hor has at its disposal
a budget of over €4.5 million.
That’s 20% less than in the preceding year, but Moinet isn’t easily
scared off, considering that doing
the same job with less money is a
challenge rather than an impossible task. “There is so much work to
be done”, says Moinet, plant grower and wholesaler in Niort himself.
He continues, “Firstly, we aim at
promoting all the ins and outs of
the ornamental sector among the
general public in order to increase
the consumption of flowers and
plants. Our goal is to transform
the consumer’s green mindset into
green purchases. Also, we focus on
the excellent job opportunities the
French ornamental industry has
to offer. Finding qualified workers
is not an easy job nowadays. The
building sector faces more or less
the same problem with lots of
people still considering working
conditions too harsh and it’s our
goal to put aside all the prejudices
that people may have towards this
beautiful sector. One of our tools
www.FloraCultureInternational.com | October 2010
is our new website
www.tonavenirenvert.com (Your
future in Green) addressing young
people between 14 and 16 years
which has been launched recently.“
Research
Val’Hor’s second major field of
activity is financing research in
close cooperation with Astredhor, an organization running 13
research centres across the country.
Végépolys is also named key partner
in horticultural research. Végépolys
is a horticultural cluster of French
plant companies and research and
training centres and is part of a new
economic vision launched by the
French government in 2004. The
idea behind the “Pôle de Compétitivité” program is to increase the
competitiveness of specific economic sectors by clustering an association of commercial companies,
research centres and educational
institutes. France has currently 71
“Pôles de Compétitivité” clusers
of which Végépolys is the only one
having an agricultural identity.
Végépolys includes renowned businesses and institutes such as Ernest
Turc, Océane, Vilmore, the French
National Instiute for Agronomic
Research (INRA), the institute for
agricultural sciences AgroCampus
Ouest and the regional training
centre Valcampus. The program
runs until 2011 and is co-financed
by the French government.
“Much emphasis is put on sustainable production with 50% of all
horticultural companies certified in
2012 under our own sustainability
label.”
High Environmental
value
The new French eco label, for which
the name has yet to be unveiled,
follows the French Ministry of
Agriculture’s decision to certificate
all agriculture companies in France,
including livestock companies and
winemakers. This decision has been
taken in the political framework
Haute Valeur Environmentale
(High Environmental Value) and
Val’Hor is currently involved in fine
tuning the certification program for
the French horticulture industry.
One of the major questions to answer is what to do with the already
110 MPS certified companies in
France. MPS, being a private initiative has not been recognized yet
by the French Ministry but Moinet
ensures that they will find a way to
resolve this problem with the lowest possible costs for the involved
companies.
Philippe Moinet, chairman of Val’Hor.
Val Hor's Sainte Fleur's campaign.
Tailormade campaigns
Commenting on Val’Hor’s third
objective, the funding of economic and social research, Moinet
says that this type of research is
fundamental in terms of getting
better acquainted with the sector’s
economy and its consumers. “More
information on consumption behaviour, trends, demand and supply
will allow us to develop even better,
tailor-made promotion campaigns.
Talking with Ron Jeronimus of
the Flower Council of Holland, I
discovered we both work with the
same marketing company.”
When asked about Val’Hor’s major
achievements during the last ten
years, Moinet outlines that it is always difficult to clearly measure the
results of promotion. “But what we
can see is that despite the economic
crisis the sector didn’t collapse .
French consumers developed a trend
towards staycations and cocooning,
Left to right: Robert Farcy (secretary Val'hor) , Philippe Moinet (chairman Val'hor),
Bruno Le Maire (minister of agriculture), Dominique Douard (chairman of Valhor’s
landscaping commission) and Maxime François (chairman of Valhor’s horticultural
distribution commission).
spending more time in their homes
and gardens which they embellished
with flowers and plants.”
The news for the moment is that
the Val’Hor board has been received on Monday February 15 by
Bruno Le Maire, the man who was
appointed France’s new Minister of
Agriculture in the summer of 2009.
“During the visit our initiative in
the field of environmental certification has been greeted with enthusiasm. Also, the minister showed
huge interest in the Cité Verte, the
Green City philosophy, making
French and European leaders aware
of the real and essential values of
plants and trees in urban spaces.
It’s all about communication. This
year at the Innovert Prize Award
Ceremony of the Salon du Végétal
two winemakers were invited as
guest speakers. They talked passionately about their ‘grand cru’,
their ‘terroir’, the influences of sun
and wind. Such beautiful passionate stories can also be told about
ornamental crops. One good example would be the Phalaenopsis with
their luxury and sensual appeal.
The ornamental industry is more
sexy than most people think.” |||
09
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08/09/10
20-09-10
13:35:17
10:33
20-09-10 10:35
Southern Europe
MaurizioLapponi,
chairmanof
Italy’snational
association
ofexporting
nurserystock
growersANVE
haspresented
10studentswith
theirdiplomas
ofExpertson
Internationalisation
ofItalianNursery
StockProducers
onFriday10
Septemberduring
agraduation
ceremonyatthe
he graduation ceremony
Flormarttrade
was the culmination of over
exhibitioninPadua,
four months of intensive
Italy. training including a two-month
internship abroad. The four men
and six women who received their
diplomas come from varied educational backgrounds. For all of them
byRonvanderPloeg
Group photo at Flormart.
Diploma day at Flormart
T
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this diploma adds to their existing
degrees in forestry, agricultural
technology, financial mathematics,
marketing, horticulture and food
technology
Wonderful experience
“It has been a wonderful experience
to see how quickly the students were
in understanding our companies
and the related type of business.
Many of our nursery stock production companies are family-run
businesses which have been forced
to change. They’ll have to engage
the next generation and find new
organizational structures ”, said
Lapponi.
Today’s reality is that these new
nursery stock industry experts will
face increasing and fierce competition and financially strapped consumers, tight credit, and a imbalance between supply and demand
due to the economic downturn.
“As internationalization of our sector progresses, our new colleagues
will be increasingly dealing with international markets which requires
foreign language and organisational
skills”, outlined Lapponi
Feeling of coming home
The event was even more special
since it was hosted by Flormart, one
of the leading international trade
exhibitions in Europe, with a clear
focus on flowers and plants and ideal meeting place for the newly graduated industry experts. Most have
felt like they were coming home
at Flormart and its international
setting: the list of foreign companies
where the students gained hands-on
experience through working at a
nursery abroad is impressive. Preparing themselves for a career in the
nursery stock business, the students
went to work in Spain, Tunisia,
Albania, Sweden, Poland, Hungary,
France, Azerbadjan, Turkey, Croatia
and Greece.
The fact that all students received
their diplomas and that 70% have
already found a job, proves the
high standard of education and
professionalism of the training
organization, the Italian Institute
for Foreign Trade (ICE). The ICE
is the Italian government agency
entrusted with the promotion of
trade, business opportunities and
industrial co-operation between
Italian and foreign companies. It
supports the internationalisation of
Italian firms and their consolidation
in foreign markets.
Great collaboration
In this context Lapponi mentioned
the great collaboration with Luigi
Ferrelli and Fabiana Nonni of ICE,
Paolo Coin, managing director of
PadovaFiere and Gianna Masetti of
ANVE.
The delegation went to pavilion
8 of the PadovaFiere exhibition
centre on Friday September 10th,
where Mr Lapponi, handed out
the diplomas. Our most sincere
congratulations to the following
graduating industry experts: Maria
Vincenza Chiriacò, Liborio Ivan
D’Alessandra, Barbara Dalla Bona,
Vanessa Fabbri, Paolo Graziosi,
Martina Lotti, Luca O’Toole,
Maria Sabatino, Edoardo Sciutti
and Serena Viviani. |||
youngplants of palms & ornamentals
11
Southern Europe
Madrid is a sizeable
market for cut
flowers. How
sizeable, nobody
seems to know
exactly. A rough
estimation could be,
however, that with 6
million inhabitants
in its metropolitan
area and a - low for
European standards flower consumption
of €22/person/
year, that adds up
to a total market
of €132 million a
year. If some day
this economic
crisis ends, that
consumption
could be increased
substantially.
Madrid lacks a
central flower market
M
adrid lacks a central
market for flower trading,
like the ones existing in
Valencia, Barcelona or Murcia. The
distribution is done by some small
and middle sized thirty importers – distributors, 19 of which are
members of the flower trader´s
association of Madrid Amafloma
(www.amafloma.com ). That means
that competition at the distribution stage is fierce. Almost all those
distributors import a large fraction
or the whole of the merchandise
they trade.
Main foreign sources
by
Dr Miguel Merino-Pacheco
The main foreign sources of cut
flowers are Ecuador, supplying
roses, Colombia, also with roses
and some carnations, and The
Netherlands with Chrysanthemum
and an array of other flowers. The
local suppliers are in winter those
located in the so called Mediterranean bow, from Alicante heading
Southwest through Murcia down
to Cádiz. In summer, where temperature raises in the South to the
point of impeding flower growing
in non-refirgerated greenhouses,
production moves Northwest, to
Galicia on the Atlantic coast and
some special spots like the province
Cáceres, located west of Madrid
and Navarra, to the North. From
Murcia and Cádiz come mostly carnations, whilst Galicia, Extremadura and Navarra supply Lillium and
gladiolus comes from Cáceres. In
the last weeks, the sudden strength
of the dollar has pushed up import
prices from outside the euro zone,
giving local growers a badly needed
elbow room.
Small florist stores
The main flower outlets in Madrid
are small, high cost florist stores.
12
The main flower outlets in Madrid
are the small florist stores. Flower
sales in garden centers are negligible
and the same must be said about
supermarkets. Other systems, like
electronic sales or vending machines capture only the occasional
customer.
The economic crisis, however, is
leaving its footprint in the flower
distribution system of Madrid.
Some potential changes could be
considered as positive for the trade,
or at least following the general
trends present Europe-wide, some
other structural moves are making
the traders restless.
The weakness of the consumer´s
pockets are driving final prices
downwards. Cheaper products are
the ones which sales keep steady,
others plummet. Among them are
ready-made bouquets bunching a
mixture of different “non-traditional” – neither roses nor carnations
– flowers. Not surprisingly, because
such a product sells for some €12
to €15 in expensive retailers, while
a first rate bunch of roses goes
for double, or more. Ready-made
bunches are increasing their sales.
So tells us Mr. Luis Pastor, general manager of Sanseflor (www.
sanseflor.es), one of the half a dozen
largest distributors of cut flowers in
Madrid. It owns a fleet of middlesized refrigerated vehicles that
convey local and imported flowers
to florists and some to supermarkets. Mr. Pastor´s company has
pioneered the business line of ready
bunches in Madrid and provides
some 2.000 units monthly to its
customers. It does not seem much
to dominate even a market niche
in a six million people city. The
tendency to locate massive sales
in more efficient outlets like the
supermarkets, seen in the United
Kingdom, for instance, has barely
started in Spain.
The crisis is also eroding the
margins of established distributors.
Import prices show an upward
tendency on the wings of a stronger
US-dollar, whilst consumers are
getting stingier. Retail markups are
large, (100 %, complains Mr. Pastor). Surely a need, given the small
capacity of the traditional outlets.
But it does not help to maintain
sales volume under the present
circumstances.
Direct sales
On the other hand, hard pressed
growers are also sending their
produce directly to the retail
outlets, shortcutting traditional
distribution. These grower´s direct
sales would have been hard to
sustain in good times. The costs
Only a small corner of a large, expensive magazine store is dedicated to plants and flowers.
The French low
price franchise
“Monceau Fleurs”
is trying to make a
foothold in Spain.
Up to now it has
only three outlets
in Madrid.
of developing a market channel,
both in cash and in time invested,
are too high for small, unorganized growers. But with 20% of the
workforce on the dole in Spain, it is
surely easy to find somebody eager
to drive a truck to the city and
peddle the flowers to the florists for
a modest retribution. The practice
is starting to hurt distribution companies, saddled with much higher
fi x costs under the shape of cooled
warehouses, vehicles, etc.
The commercial structures
sustaining flower trade in Madrid
were already faulty before the
crisis. Atomistic retailing and
fragmented middle field resulted
in high transaction costs and lack
of transparency. The absence of
a flower market, like the ones in
Barcelona, Valencia or Murcia
makes price information difficult
to obtain.
Some years ago there were talks
between the trader´s association
Amafloma and Madrid´s city hall
to build a flower wholesale market
on the premises of Mercamadrid,
the central market for perishables outside the city. Those talks
have been retaken recently, but it
will take its time before the place
becomes a reality.
An enormous potential demand
for ornamentals and cut flowers is
available. Someday the crisis will
recede and people will be again
eager to spend a little extra money
to introduce a touch of color in
their lives. The crisis could trigger
structural changes, both at the
retailer level and in the distribution chain. Larger trading units
should improve efficiency, surviving
lower prices and occasional but
bothering competitors. And at the
retailer level, mass produce could be
channeled through supermarkets or
institutional demand – weddings,
funerals-, away from expensive
small florist shops, that can best
serve the up-market demand of expensive bunches and special wishes
of the customers. |||
13
Southern Europe
“Sicily, green, sweet
and salt” this was
the theme of the
51st Congress of
the European Young
Horticulturists
(CEJH) organized
by the CEJH Italian
member GFA,
Giovani Florovivaisti
Associati, in Marsala
(Sicily-Italy) from
July 18th to 24th.
Group photo in Marsala.
CEJH helps to promote
understanding within
T
by Arturo Croci
he congress was organised
thanks to the support of
Marsala Municipality
and the collaboration of Michele
Canale (Honorary member of the
Italian Young Growers), Arturo
Croci (Honorary benemeritus of
Marsala), Marsala Flower Growers Association, ESA, Agricultural
Development Agency of Marsala
and Damiani Agricultural School
that hosted the participants. The
number of participants varied
day by day and ranged from
40 to 100. They included hosts
from different regions of Italy
and Argentina, and the delegates
of Austria, Denmark, Estonia,
Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and
Norway.
Special thanks to our sponsors:
Compagnia del Lago, Floraculture International, Gruppo Torsanlorenzo, Norcom,
Organizzazione Orlandelli, Flortecnica, PadovaFiere, Vitaflor, Vivai Nord.
14
Special hosts
In addition, numerous special
hosts participated, including: Anna
Letizia Monti (Aiapp, Italian landscapers association vice-president),
Lino Bloise (president of Plant
and Flowers of Italy Association),
various other local association and
administration members. Also
attending was Prof. Doct. Francisco
Bruno Gnisci from Argentina, who
was co-winner of the 1985 Nobel
Prize for Peace as co-chairman of
the International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War movement and the 1984 Unesco Peace
Award.
During the official opening, the
The youngest participant was
Simone Consonni.
participants were welcomed by the
vice-mayor Mr. Michele Milazzo
of Marsala, by the management of
the Istituto Damiani and by Mr.
Paolo Battistini and Giulio Saccoccio of the Ministery of Agriculture.
Arturo Croci brought the greetings
of AIPH and Union Fleurs and the
GFA President Mr. Rudy Casati.
Also, Mr Croci read a message
from Mr. Jaap Kras, publisher of
FloraCulture International.
Company tours and
touristic trips
The European young growers had
the unique opportunity to spend a
week visiting some of the region’s
leading companies of the 400
hectares of horticultural mediterra-
cross-cultural
Europe
nean production such as: Zichittella
Nursery, Martinico Ornamental
Plants and Resort, Trapani Piante,
Coop. Il Contadino (auction
flowers market), Ferracane Vivai,
Angileri Greenhouses, Tumbarello
Bros., and Filippo Gentile.
The quality of Marsala Mediterranean production is excellent thanks
to the very high light conditions in
winter, good water and good management. 70% of the production is
carried out mainly in North Italy,
Holland, Germany, Greece, France
and Denmark. Furthermore, there
is effective collaboration between
the Marsala producers with Tunisia
where some specialised productions
began.
The congress participants also had
the opportunity to experience some
of the local history and culture with
the visit of the historical, cultural and touristic locations. One
evening, the young European growers prepared flower bouquets in the
main Marsala square, providing
first hand contact with the public.
General meeting
The Genoa Fair President, Mr.
Paolo Lombardi and The Euroflora
2010 Secretary General Mr. Ivano
Tocchi, chose the CEJH Congress
to present the Euroflora 2011 edition and a member of CEJH board
will be invited to the Euroflora Jury.
During the CEJH General meeting, held on Wednesday July 21st
at Istituto Damiani, Mr. Klaus
Schnaidt announced his retirement as chairman of the CEJH
chairman and Maria Palusalu of
Estonia was elected together with
Josiane Walentiny of Luxembourg
(the 2011 congress will be held in
Luxembourg from July 17th to
23th ) and the Italian Iwancha Lutt
(all women).
The activity programme discussed,
included the re-introduction of the
study days in different countries,
the promotional activities, the necessity of more communication and
also the possible opening of CEJH
to non European countries.
The young growers planted the
CEJH congress tree, an example
of the Mediterranean Ceratonia
siliqua (Carrubo), in the Damiani
Agricultural School Garden.
This congress was very successful
successful because it provided the
opportunity for many people of
different countries and cultures to
communicate and to socialise with
each other. This helps to promote
cross-cultural understanding within
Europe.
The youngest participant was
Simone Consonni, 17 years old. He
worked hard all week within the
Italian team, and he has already
agreed to take part in the next congress. Pietro Bonomi also attended
the gala evening and the other participants wished him a very happy
fourteenth birthday. |||
15
Delightful disbudded chrysanthemums, by Deliflor
Autumn is in the air. The traditional season for
disbudded chrysanthemums. As the world’s leading
chrysanthemum breeder, Deliflor offers a wide range
of successful disbudded chrysanthemums for
cut flower production.
Take for instance varieties like Fuego, the many
colours of Anastasia or Zembla Lime.
For a complete overview of our disbudded, spray and
santini chrysanthemums, please visit our website.
Fuego
www.deliflor.com [email protected]
Deliflor_178x124.indd 1
23-08-10 12:24
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n
nd
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Jiffy_178x124.indd 1
21-09-10 14:10
Southern Europe
Flormart sees
business blooming
Southern Europe
The 61st edition of
Flormart, held in
Padua, Italy drew to
a close on Saturday
September 12th.
According to the
official figures, the
attendance was up
by 10% from last
year and organizing
body PadovaFiere
was thrilled with the
quality of attendees,
the quantity of
key retailers and
international visitors
to the show with
an overall positive
customer feedback. In the PadovaFiere
exhibition centre
visitors saw fresh
cut flowers, indoor
and garden plants,
nursery stock
and horticultural
products from
more than 1,000
companies. Once
again Flormart
proved to be the
leading professional
trade exhibition in
southern Europe
with a clear focus
on Mediterranean
plants.
S
eptember is a perfect month
to organize a horticultural
trade show. After having sat
back and enjoyed the summer heat,
the industry, as usual, full of new
energy and anticipation to see what
will be entering the market during
the new selling season with All
Saint’s Day and Christmas as the
upcoming peak sales and holiday
shopping season. The industry
received a positive boost in Padua
as over 30,000 industry professionals from Italy and around the world
were welcomed by sun-kissed,
vibrant trees, shrubs, indoor plants,
flowers and garden plants made in
Italy.
Italian masterpieces
From the Alps to Sicily, Flormart
had it all covered at this year’s show
which offered a window to the
masterpieces of Italian nursery production with the famous acidophil
plants from the northern Piedmont
region. In hall 6 The Compagnia
del Lago nurseries showcased its
latest novelty: beautifully clipped
Azalea standards, pyramids and
balls.
Flor-Coop originates from the
same region and celebrates its 35th
anniversary, this year. Flor-Coop
regroups twenty one companies,
covering a production area of 60
ha.of which 25 ha with greenhouse
structures. Located on the scenic
shores of the Lago Maggiore, the
On the occasion of the 2010 Flormart
show Maura Della Vedova presented
Flor-Coop’s new Azalea standards.
18
Hamiplant anticipated the Christmas sales with the glittering Echeveria ‘Miranda’.
Flor-Coop members each benefit
from a mild micro climate which
ensures premium quality products
all year round. On the occasion
of the 2010 Flormart show Maura
Della Vedova presented Flor-Coop’s
new corporate style in Bordeaux
red colour which replaces the
familiar Flor-Coop image with the
deep blue waters of Lago Maggiore and the undulating shores as
spectacular backdrop. On October
3, Flor-Coop invited its clients to
a spectacular birthday party in
Nebbiuno. The guests were treated
to a sumptuous dinner buffet and
a night full of music and entertainment.
The Lombardy region distinguishes
itself as a leading provider of trees,
shrubs and large fruit trees. Aldo
Lanari presented its new “Acero
Biellese” brand, registered by the
province of Biella, traditionally
home to a large number of Acer
growers. The label comes together
with new quality specifications for
the Biellese-grown Acer japonicum,
Acer palmatum and Acer palmatum dissectum. The new qual-
Claudio Vazzola , production
manager of Gruppo Padana.
ity standards, based on the CEE
316/68 quality regulation have the
potential to ensure that Biellese
Acers are consistent and meet the
highest quality standards.
Liguria
Located more to the south west, the
Liguria region houses the country’s
largest flower auction and wholesale
market Ucflor San Remo where, for
the first time in history, a woman
by the name of Cristina Banaudo,
was appointed as the new chairperson. Previously working as vice
chair of the Federazione Nazionale
Florovivaistica di Confagricoltura,
the national floricultural association of Confagricoltura, Banaudo
succeeds Riccardo Giordano who
has been elected into the Provincial
Board of Imperia. Having grown
up in a family of flower growers,
Cristina understand firsthand the
importance of flower quality and
freshness, which will allow Ucflor
to further strengthen its position in
the world flower market. Cristina
Banaudo brings with her a wealth
of experience in the flower industry
and is thrilled about her new job.
“A task which I will obviously take
very seriously and will carry out
with much dedication and professionalism. These are economically
tough times but together with the
other elected member of the board
of advisers, we will try to realize the
plans which have been previously
established.”
When speaking about Liguria it’s
unavoidable to immediately think
of flowers but Liguria also accounts
for an important production of
marguerite standards (Argyranthemum frutescens), aromatic plants
and cacti.
A superb presentation of the latter
could be seen in AG San Remo’s
stand at Flormart. AG San Remo is
a family business in the true sense
of the word with father Stefano and
mother Margeritha founding the
company back in 1973 and switching from carnations to cacti in the
1980s.
Today the firm covers an area of
almost three hectares and produces
a wide array of cacti (almost five
thousands). According to the
company owner Anna Asseretto
the target is to satisfy customers'
requirements (garden centres,
nurseries and wholesalers) and as a
result, the 2010 edition of Flormart
has been a sound success resulting
in an increase of full trolley orders.
However, Anna is less satisfied with
the ongoing battle between trade
fair organizers. She points out that
this year’s Flormart coincided with
the Macef packaging trade show
in Milan and that at least 12 of
her clients were sorry to say they
couldn’t come over to Padua since
they preferred to attend Macef.
“That’s why attendance was lower
than previous years.”
Horticultural heartlands
Nestled in the north east of Italy
the Veneto region has some important horticultural provinces such as
Padua, Treviso and Rovigo. Rovigo
is the homeland of Fioritalia.
According to Mr Paolo Bellettato, who has been the managing
director of this cooperative for the
last four years, there are two main
reasons to participate in Flormart:
catching up with existing clients
and finding possible new buyers
outside Italy. “We’ve been participating ever since our company was
founded 27 years ago, so we have a
bit of experience. Anyway, things
have changed. Potential orders
are hardly discussed anymore and
Flormart has evolved more into
a showcase with sadly a limited
attendance of foreign buyers. In
Italian you would say, “E sempre
la stessa minestra”, which literally
translates as, “it’s always the same
soup which is served. At Fioritalia
and also at other companies we
reckon that spending three days at a
trade show is actually less profit-
able than staying at your company.
But not participating in Flormart
isn’t an alternative either, since
everybody from the Italian flower
industry is there.”
Fioritalia’s 25 member growers
produce flowering plants, foliage
plants and garden plants on an
estimated 55 ha. and realise 85% of
their joint sales in the home market.
The remaining 15% of the business
is done in Austria, Germany and
the Netherlands. The pride of the
company is the new distribution
centre and cash and carry store in
Villamarzana, next to the highway
A13 Bologna Padua offering better
storage and display facilities.
The new Fioritalia building, which
was completed in the spring of this
year, consists of one storey and covers an area of 3,300m2. The most
attractive feature of the building is
its extensive use of wood. Therefore,
the new structure will also act as a
model for sustainable building and
carbon neutrality.
Expansion is also on the agenda
of Gruppo Padana, a leading
producer of young plants with
its headquarters in Paese in the
Treviso province. Hothouse builder
Rabensteiner recently completed a
2 ha greenhouse facility, bringing
the company’s total greenhouse area
to 17 ha, good for an annual output
of 250 million young plants. In addition, Gruppo Padana just recently
has purchased the 12 ha Resteya
company which has a long tradition
as plug producer and is situated 35
km of the Paese head office. The
acquisition of Resteya brings the
total surface of Gruppo Padana
at 29ha. Optimism reigned at
Gruppo Padana’ stand at this year’s
Flormart. Production manager
Claudio Vazzola explains that the
stand was jam-packed as usual and
that Flormart is still an important
meeting place to consolidate existing business relationships. “Meanwhile, we are seeying a clear decline
in the number of new contacts, but
overall we can look back on a successful show.”
Tuscan topiary steals the Flormart show.
Tuscan topiary
and Citrus
Travelling down from Tuscany to
the Padua show was Vivai Breschi
Franco nurseries which deserves a
special mention for its spectacular
topiaries in a wide array of artistic,
sometimes funny shapes and sizes.
Talking about funny shapes, what
about a Ligustrum jonandrum
clipped in a jumbo Spumante
bottle! Vivai Breschi Franco says it
is an absolute bestseller to bars and
restaurants as attention grabbers
for passers by. At Flormart the seats
and sofa featuring a combination
of wooden frames and clipped
Ligustrum jonandrum particularly
caught the attention of many showgoers. This is the first time that the
nursery from Pistoia has participated in Flormart and so far the
number of new contact has been
rewarding. The company owners
particularly like the international
character of the exhibition since
50% of the topiary business is
conducted with countries such as
the Netherlands, Germany, France
and Austria.
Tuscany hosts also a series of
renowned Citrus companies.
Presenting a novelty at Flormart
was Società Nannini Vasco from
Castellare di Pescia, showcasing a
strange kind of Citrus.
Noted for the first time in the 16th
century in the gardens of a palazzo
in Florence, the Citrus aurantium
‘Bizzaria’ is a spontaneous hybrid
which was later propagated via
grafting. This Citrus is a cross between lemon and orange and bears
both yellow and orange colours and
weird shaped fruits and sometimes
curled foliage.
Chamaerops humilis ‘Cerifera’, the
bluest species amoung the palms.
The bluest species
among the palms
Citrus and other typical Mediterranean produce such as aromatic
plants, Bougainvillea and palms
19
Southern Europe
An avalanche of awards at Flormart
could be found in the stand of
R.O.M.E. Plants, a consortium
of Lazio-based nurseries with the
main goal to promote the typical
Mediterranean product grown in
this region surrounding the capital
of Rome.
Also sent in by a Lazio-based company was the Chamaerops humilis
‘’ Cerifera’, the blue Mediterranean
fan palm. This bluest species among
the palms is produced by Zoe Piante/Societa Agricola Semplice from
Latina (a division of the Torsanlorenzo Group) . The novelty palm
originates from Morocco’s Atlas
mountains and is therefore tolerant
to most extreme conditions.
No less than 60
Sicilian companies
To conclude, Sicily has made a
name for itself as a very important producer of plants, trees and
shrubs. The Sicilian delegation at
Flormart represented no less than
60 companies. The island has a
wonderful climate all year round.
The Sicilian production of ornamental Citrus in different sizes and
shapes is renowned. Today, Sicily’s
ornamental Citrus production has
evolved into a mature industry exporting across the whole of Europe.
Sicily is also synonymous with
palms. Vivai Urzi nurseries from
Catania treated the show goers with
a jumbo palm novelty. The Arecastrum romazoffianum or more
commonly named the Queen Palm
Tree, is a interesting 6 to 10 m tall
tree significant for outdoor landscaping companies in South Europe
or those North European companies which specialize in indoor
landscaping of shopping centres
etc.. This tree is a native of South
America and is commonly dubbed
as Syagrus romanzoffianum. This
kind of palm is widely known to
be tolerant to any environmental
conditions and can grow faster in a
moist earth condition. |||
20
Left to right Claudio Littardi (Green Industry Professional
of the Year), Valtl Raffeiner (Italy’s Grower of the Year)
and Lino Bloise (Green Industry Professional of the Year).
Traditionally, Flormart provides typical
Italian hospitality and when possible each
and every order is toasted with a glass of
sparkling wine. No better place to make a
toast than the award ceremony which comprises three main awards: the coveted Fabio
Rizzi Award for Italy’s Grower of the Year, the
Oroflor Award for the most innovative products for the professional flower industry and
last but not least the Flormagazine Award,
which recognises the most innovative and
interesting objects for hobby gardeners
The Fabio Rizzi ‘Grower of the Year Award is a
tribute to a young grower who strived for more
unity and cooperation in Italy’s ornamental
sector and who suddenly died after he was
struck by lighting during a rugby match. Celebrating its 30th edition the Fabio Rizzo Award
this year not only recognised the Grower of
the Year, but also two Industry Professionals
of the Year. Valtl Raffeiner, an orchid grower
in the Trentino Alto Adige region won the 2010
Italy Grower of the Year Award. According to
the jury (Guido Franco Clamer, Aldo Colombo,
Renato Ferretti, Franca Gambini, Margherita
Molfino, Ester Nunziata, Paolo Coin and Itala
Gardan), Raffeiner, who founded his company
back in 1970, is not only a successful entrepreneur, a driving force behind the promotion
of the Italian flower industry but also a flower
aficionado in the true sense of the word
The 56 year-old Raffeiner started in bedding
plants in the 1970s and switched to orchids
in 1999. Today the company comprises three
divisions: Floricoltura Valtl Raffeiner (orchids),
Floricoltura Sudkultur (Lantana, Hibiscus,
Solanum, Bougainvillea) and Floricoltura
FlorAlp (Solanum, Dipladenia, Passiflora) .
The Raffeiner Group currently covers an area
of 284,000m2 and is particularly famed for its
wide array of orchids such as Phalaenopsis,
Cambria, Oncidium, Cattleya, Miltonia, Paphiopedilum and Vanda.
The two Green Industry Professionals of the Year
Awards were awarded to Claudio Littardi for
his dedication and ongoing commitment to Italy’s
ornamental palm industry. The 57 year-old Littardi
is chairman of the Palm Research Centre and
was one of the first researchers to raise alarm
about the red palm weevil, the deadliest enemy
of palm trees.
Also honoured with a Green Industry Professional of the Year Award was ornamental poppy
grower Lino Bloise . Mr Bloise is chairman of
the promotional organisation Piante&Fiori d’Italia
and works tirelessly to promote the Italian flower
industry at both national and international level.
The Phormisol
Aquaflux groundcover
of Belgium-based agrotextiles manufacturer
Bonar took the Oroflor
Award in the category
horticultural supplies.
by William Armellini
Sentier’s Verbena ‘Shangri La’ took the Oroflor Award.
A special Oroflor mention
was reserved for Fairytale
Flowers from Denmark for its
Crown Princess Campanula.
Miami
Human Nature
The other day I discovered that a floral company that I had once competed against had closed its doors. My first reaction was good they deserved
it! Then I wondered why I would welcome their demise. They had not
harmed me in anyway and were only trying to sell flowers the same as I.
This rather obscure feeling has followed me everyday since I recognized
that thought and my reaction. I get a chance almost daily to revisit these
feeling as I watch the TV or read news online.
For example when I heard about the closing of some very large Wall Street
firms my reaction was the same. Good, those greedy brokers were making
too much money anyway. But when a friends company closed recently
I could not help but feel bad and yet even then I thought well now he
knows how it feels to be like the rest of us.
I do struggle with these feeling and wonder why I have these reactions to
the failure of others. Regardless of my personal status I think people want
everyone else to walk a mile in their shoes. I recognize that this is a selfish
feeling on my part and wonder if I am the only one that reacts this way.
Italian rose breeder NIRP took
the Flormagazine Award fot its
NIRParfum concept.
This year the Phormisol
Aquaflux groundcover of
Belgium-based agrotextiles
manufacturer Bonar took the
Oroflor Award in the category
horticultural supplies. Phormisol Aquaflux has been
thoroughly tested by a Dutch Azalea grower and is said to
ensure a well-balanced distribution of irrigation water in
container bed cultures. In the flowers and plants section
the Oroflor Award went to Sentier Nurseries from Mosnigo
di Moriago for its own bred Verbena ‘Shangri La’. This Verbena is marketed in a consumer appealing packaging. A
special Oroflor mention was reserved for Fairytale Flowers
from Denmark for its Crown Princess Campanula.
Finally the Italian rose breeder NIRP and the French rose
breeder Meilland took the Flormagazine Award respectively for the Nirparfum concept, a collection of highly
scented tea hybrids and the Meilland Nature concept,
featuring a collection of disease resistant rose varieties
and therefore suitable for biological production.
On the contrary the other day I heard about a super rich Russian man
that was fortunately smart or lucky enough to sell some stock (lots of it)
of a company that he was invested in. This company was French based
and apparently he did something that offended the French and thus
decided it was best to sell his interest. He sold it about two weeks before
the market crashed and made a cool 20 Billion!!
But I felt happy for him and not jealous of his success in anyway. Perhaps
I can relate to the hero that made a wise move but at the same time can
feel little pity for those that fail.
I write these words and expose a self-described weakness in my character
that I want to understand better. I don’t know if many others react this
way towards the successes or failures of other or if I am alone in these
feeling.
It is just human nature to judge everyone from ones own perspective? Is it
fair to see the world from your point of view? Is the goal to measure each
situation with a scale that indicates is this good or bad for me?
After much thought I have come to the conclusion that it is all a matter of
perspective for me. When the situation hits close to home and I am more
aware of the circumstances that surround the event, I am more compassionate about the outcome.
If nothing else I hope that my philosophical tangent here at FCI made
you ponder and examine your own feelings. If you feel that I have missed
the mark than I will be back next month with something totally different.
Remember to check your feelings at the door….Miami is Hot!
William Armellini
www.flowersandcents.com
Meilland received the
Flormagazine Award for the
Meilland Nature concept.
William Armellini. Seeking employment.
[email protected]
21
TAKII SEED
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Open days during the Hortifair
12 - 15 October
At: TAKII EUROPE B.V.
Hoofdweg 19
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T : +31 (0)297 345700
F : +31 (0)297 345658
E : [email protected]
www.takii.eu
TAKII SEED
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ChinaIntern_85x124.indd 1
25-08-10 09:24
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Fon: 0049 (0) 441-2092-0
To do the best. Since 1919!
World News
DutchPlantin_85x15.indd 1
05-08-10 09
The Netherlands
Florensis Cut
Flowers and Van
Klink join forces
The Netherlands
Benfriedappoints
FredvanVeldhoven
asmanagingdirector
Benfried International, a premium supplier of horticultural products
to growers and retailers around the world and part of the Benfried
Group, announced today that Fred van Veldhoven will join the company as managing director, effective October 1, 2010.
PreviouslyworkingasexportmanagerforHorticoop,Fredbringswithhima
wealthofexperienceinabroadrangeofbusinessdevelopmentandmarketingcapacities.HewillbemonitoringBenfried'slong-termambitionstogrow
aheadofitsinternationalmarkets.
WithinBenfriedInternationalBVhighlyskilledpeopleandprofessionalsare
activetoprovidethebesttailormadeserviceandadvicetocustomersin
anypartoftheworld.|||
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Florensis Cut Flowers and H.A. van Klink & Zn have
announced that they are engaged in discussions with a
view to combining their activities.
Bothcompanieshavedecidedtomergetheiractivities.This
withaviewtofurtherintensifyingtheirmarketpresenceand
raisingthelevelofservicetotheircustomers.Theultimate
aimistocontinuefurthertogetherper1-1-2011atthe
currentlocationofFlorensisinRijsenhout.Combiningthe
activitiesofthesetwofamilybusinessesandequalpartners
willenablethebestpossibleapplicationofeachpartner’s
knowledgeandskills,thusopeningthewaytofurtheroptimization.Qualityimprovementandincreaseofreliabilityof
supplyhavebeencardinalpointsinthisentireprocess.
ThebreedingandselectionactivitiesofVanKlink,incorporatedinENVIRO,arepartofthemergerandaretobe
combinedwiththebreedingactivitiesofFlorensis,where
theywillbefurtherintensified.“Combiningtheactivities
isintendedtoprovidecultivatorswithanimprovedservice
andmoreinnovativeproductsandsolutions”asGeorgevan
Klinkputsit.HermanHamernotesthat“thecreationofa
strongpartnershipbetweenthetwocompaniesprovides
theopportunitytoexpandfurtheroursolidbaseofproducts
andservicestocultivators”.FlorensisCutFlowersisaproducer/distributorofseedsandyoungplantsfromcutflowers
fromseed,basedinRijsenhout,theNetherlands.H.A.van
Klink&Znisaproducer/distributorofseedsandyoung
plantsfromcutflowersfromseed,basedinBuitenkaag,
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Stalplast_178x60.indd 11
Stalplast_178x60.indd
16-02-2009 14:15:55
12:26:42
23-02-2010
World News
The Netherlands
Horti Fair unveils nominees for the 2010 Innovation Award
Ten new products are candidates to win
the 2010 Horti Fair Innovation Award,
for which they have been nominated
by the international jury of experts that
assessed all new products and services
registered on time for the upcoming Horti
Fair. The Horti Fair is being held in Amsterdam from 12 to 15 October inclusive
this year and the exhibitor who has won
the coveted Innovation Award will be announced on the first day of the event.
The Innovation Award is the most important
component of the Horti Fair's innovation
programme. The prize is won every year by the
most promising new product being introduced
at the Horti Fair. The international jury of
experts assessed all registrations at the end of
August and nominated ten front runners from
among the approximately one hundred new
products and services that can also be seen on
the website at www.hortifair.com. Participants
continue to register new products until the
last day before the event opens, incidentally,
and there are also exhibitors who deliberately
decide not to disclose their news until after
the fair has started. “This increases the buzz
and publicity around the Horti Fair,” concludes
managing director Wim van der Loo. “The
nominations present a consistent picture of the
innovative nature of international greenhouse
horticulture, just like the trade show is a reflection of this dynamic sector”.
The international jury of experts consists
of G. Kok (chairman and centre manager of
FloraHolland Naaldwijk), J. van Buren (pot
plants market group manager at DLV Plant BV),
H. Dressler (Gb Das Magazin für Zierpflanzenbau, Germany), C. van de Kaay (vegetable
grower), L. Kaluzny-Pinon (Le Lien Horticole,
France), F. Kempkes (technology researcher
at Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture),
E. Moor (pot plant grower), G. van Oosterhout (LTO Groeiservice), S. Vale (Commercial
Greenhouse Grower Magazine, Great Britain), and ir. J. Water (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature
and Food Quality). Product specialists, such
as X. Berents on behalf of FloraHolland and G.
van Logtestijn on behalf of the VKC permanent
judging committee, join the jury for the flower
and plant groups. The members of the jury
assess the ten nominations on the last day
24
before the opening of the Horti Fair and decide
on the winner, who is presented with a media
cheque to the value of € 5,000..
All new products registered with the Horti Fair
can be identified during the exhibition by the
special New Logo shown with the products,
beside the stand numbers of the exhibitors
in question and on the special New Products
route. They can also be viewed and assessed
right now on the new website at www.hortifair.com
In alphabetic order by exhibitor's name, with
the jury's preliminary assessment:
Anthura B.V. (stand no. 01.0330) - Anthurium
Andreanum Fire XL®
This gigantic, gleaming, fire engine red flower
has a strong 90-cm long quality stem.
Jury: “Strikingly large flower that also catches
the eye by its colour and has added value to
offer.”
Bercomex B.V. (stand no. 01.0424) - Grading
and bunching machine (GBM)
This machine forms unprocessed, unsorted
flowers into a ready-to-use final product.
Suitable for various types of flowers with fully
automatic singling and vertical suspension of
flowers, keeping the use of manpower to an
absolute minimum.
Jury: “Its suitability for various types of flowers
makes this an innovation that there is a need
for in the sector.”
Berg Product B.V. (stand no. 01.0331) BergBand
Patented system in which the special belt fabric lies directly on the floor. Standard conveyor
belt components like bearings, rollers and supporting structures are superfluous as a result.
Jury: “May be an innovation of such apparent
simplicity that colleagues in the sector will
wonder why it was not thought of before.”
CleanGrow Ltd. (stand no. 04.0226) - MultiIon Meter
CleanGrow has developed the first meter in
the world that growers can use to measure
multiple ions directly.
Jury: “This may be the world premiere of a
product whose assumed effects have to be
demonstrated in more detail.”
Crea-Tech International (stand no. 01.0118) Robotic Storage and Order Processing System
Delivery system for the robotic processing of
cut anthuriums.
Jury: “Well thought-out and definitely interesting if it can also be used for other crops.”
HortiMaX B.V. (stand no. 01.0517) - HortiMaX
CropView
A solution for round-the-clock monitoring of
crop development and making any necessary
adjustments, due to the integration of techniques (climate computer and high resolution
zoom photographic technology).
Jury: “Interesting means of observing growth
from every angle and a good example of the
integration of different technological developments.”
Jenbacher BV (stand no. 01.0206) - J624
2-stage turbocharged
This new two-stage turbo charger supplies
significantly higher output and increased
efficiency than the single-stage turbo charger
designs and is particularly well-suited for
operation in combined heat and power (CHP)
applications.
Jury: “The savings envisaged can achieve substantial improvements in energy efficiency.”
Klimrek Producten, Havecon, Horticoop,
De Vette, Clean Light and Koppert (stand
no. 04.0128) - Vertical Crop Protection
Consortium of companies brought together
by Syntens introduces a technique that makes
it possible to apply crop protection with more
precision and at the right place.
Jury: “Interesting result of partnership between a number of enterprises.”
Koppert Biological Systems (stand no.
04.0314) - for the complete range of new
products: Aphipar-M, Capsanem, Citripar,
Distribug, Macro-Mite, Natufly, Rollerfix.
Jury: “Progressive development, admittedly,
of innovations previously initiated, but another
significant step forward nevertheless, in view
of the large number and social and economic
need.”
Frans van Zaal Totaal Techniek (stand
no. 01.0118) - Van Zaal Container Submerge
System
This new method enables realization of a
precise supply of water and/or fertilization for
optimum root and plant growth.
Jury: “The integration of a submersion method
in a mobile internal transport system meets a
need.” |||
South Africa
South Africa takes
important steps to
professionalise
Protea industry
South Africa
The Cape provinces
of South Africa are
unique. They have
a specific flora,
Flora Capensis, with
plants exclusive
to this region. The
South Africans call
it ‘Fijnbos’ which
includes Protea,
Leucospermum,
Leucadendron, Erica,
Berzelia, Brunia and
all kinds of unique
greens.
by Jaap N. Kras
I
started my column in the 2003
January issue of FloraCulture
International after visiting
Dennis Visser - a young grower of
Fijnbos in Bredasdorp. Last month,
I had the honour of visiting the
Boeredag in Piketberg where I had
the chance to meet Dennis again.
For the record, Dennis is doing very
well. He has been expanding his
nursery every year and has bought
his brothers Rudi and Leon out of
the business and plans to continue
alone.
Much progress
Although the industry is still in its
infancy with an annual total turnover of around € 15 million, progress
is being made. Fifteen years ago,
most Fijnbos were gathered in
the wild, cleaned and exported to
Europe. Today the growers categorise the wild species into varieties
that are stable and homogeneous.
Even some companies are into
professional breeding programs.
It is amazing to see the progress
the Fijnbos industry has made in a
relatively short period. Due to the
lack of government investment in
agricultural faculties, these companies have to work independently.
The assortment is broadening and
many new varieties and new crops
of Fijnbos have been launched on
the market.
Industry bodies
SAPPEX is the umbrella organisation for PEXA, DEXA and PPSA.
The growers are members of a national organization, PPSA and the
dried flower producers are gathered
in DEXA (Dried flowers EXport
Association). Internationally, the
growers are organised in the IPA,
the International Protea Association
presided by Mrs. Audrey Gerber
([email protected]).
I had the honour to be a guest of
SAPPEX, the South African Protea
Producers and Exporters Organisation (www.sappex.org.za) and was
guided around by Willem Verhoogt
and Niek Oudendijk of Bergflora,
a producer and trader of Proteas. I
had a wonderful tour around the
West Cape and visited several farms
every day. We travelled during the
spring and enjoyed immensely the
beautiful weather and the hospitality of the Africaans.
Professional industry
Protea grower Marieke Ince.
26
Today, Fijnbos growing is a side
product for many farmers of
potatoes, Citrus and other arable
crops. The watermelons, granadillas
and lupine grow in the valley whilst
somewhat higher up the famed
rooibos tea is produced. Even
higher up in the mountains, we
find the Fijnbos growing.
The total surface of professional
Fijnbos growing in South Africa
is an estimated 900 ha. Approximately 30 farmers grow over 25 ha
and and 20 farmers a little less.
I think I had the honour to meet
them all on the Boeredag.
Once the domain of pioneers,
South Africa’s Fijnbos growing
has reached a more mature stage
evolving into a professional industry. Much more is known, more
varieties are grown and slowly the
industry is going global, with new
growers in Australia, Zimbabwe,
Most Protea farms are large scaled so Willem Verhoogt
is happy to use a quad for personal transport.
California, Hawaii and Southern Europe making it possible to
produce Fijnbos year around: South
Africa from August to December,
Zimbabwe from May to July and
Portugal from January to May.
Some of the most important
diseases are not yet fully under
control and some crops suffer from
Phytophthera, Fusarium, nematodes and larfs of insects.
Birds such as humming birds
damage the flowers, insects eat
leaves and roots while leopards and
monkeys walk around. However,
the growers have gradually been
learning how to handle these
problems.
After planting the cuttings it takes
three years to come into production. Although it is not so easy to
buy young plants Bergflora (www.
bergflora.co.za), sells more and
more cuttings of all kind of new
varieties worldwide.
Profitability
The rentability depends on a
number of factors. The estimated
return on investment lies between
5 to 15%. According to Willem
Verhoogt the turnover is around €
15.000 per ha. provided the entire
hectare is in production. Not a bad
profitability for a crop grown in
the open field and requiring little
attention compared to other, more
mainstream commercial cut flowers. This explains why the farms are
relatively huge: to establish a farm
you need space.
The success rate per hectare is not
always stable, die off, disease and
outdoor climate problems can easily
reduce living plants by 30% in year
four. Virgin soil ensures the highest
success rate so you need lots of land.
Most of the Proteas go to Europe
initially by air (today 80%) but
more and more container transport by boat has been taking place
(20%). The problem with sea
freight, Niek (CEO Oudendijk
Group) explains, is not the conditioning or the duration of the voyage, but the desperate organisation
in the harbors in South Africa. We
never know whether our containers
will arrive on time in Europe or if
they have remained stuck in the
harbour due to other priorities in
shipments. Despite the problems
sea freight is much cheaper: € 1,10
per kilo compared to the € 2.00 per
kilo of air freight. Sea transport has
definitely the future, Niek foresees.
Also because the climate can be
controlled fully in the container
with stable temperatures.
Temperature settings differ, influenced by the product loaded. Some
products are prone to cold damage.
Ongoing research is carried out in
order to determine optimum
temperature settings per product
group.
>>>
Proteas are mostly transported by plane but
sea transport becomes increasingly important.
A fi eld with Leucadendron.
27
South Africa
Overseas markets
The markets in the Middle East,
USA, Russia and Japan show more
and more interest.
Willem Verhoogt explains that the
first agreements with supermarkets
have been reached regarding the
delivery of Protea bouquets. “All
consumer segments can be covered.
We have Protea products for the basic demand, the mass demand and
the specialty demand. A further
professionalising of our industry
is necessary. Some growers will
expand into huge farms, farmers
knowledge on farming and breeding and propagating will increase
and economy of scale advantages
will be optimized.
Protea has potential and will more
and more find his own place in
our wide array of floricultural
products." |||
In the packaging area
10 innovations in
pest management from Koppert
• Macro-Mite (Macrocheles robustulus)
• Capsanem (Steinernema carpocapsae)
• Citripar (Anagyrus pseudococci)
• Natufly (Lucilia caesar)
• Distribug
• Products in the research stage
Soil-borne predatory mite which
combats soil-borne pests such as
thrips pupae.
This parasitic wasp preys on the
third and fourth larval stages of
both the citrus and vine mealybugs.
Dispersal machine which automatically,
accurately, and efficiently distributes
soil-dwelling predatory mites over pot
plants.
Natural progression
with Koppert
• Aphipar-M
(Aphidius matricariae)
This beneficial is effective against aphids.
• Spical-Plus (Amblyseius californicus)
Slow-release bags with predatory mites
offering long-term protection against
spider mites and tarsonemid mites.
Nematodes which combat the
major pest Capnodis tenebrionis
in stone and seed fruit.
These flies are used for difficult
or small-scale pollination of
seed crops.
At the Horti Fair, you can find out
about three interesting future
beneficials.
• Combating Tuta absoluta
A complete system for combating
this harmful leaf mining moth to
the maximum extent.
• Rollerfix
Makes it easier to hang the sticky
ribbon (Rollertraps) in the crop.
Nominated for Innovation Award 2010
Horti Fair: stand number: 04.0314
WWW.KOPPERT.COM |
Koppert_178x124.indd 1
[email protected]
20-09-10 10:58
World News
Germany
Germanyreportssluggishflowersalesin2009
Conditions in the German ornamental plant market were difficult in 2009. According to AMI gmbh, almost €8.57 billion (retail
prices) was spent on cut flowers, potted plants and shrubs in
2009. This is 4.4 % less compared to 2008.
Oneofthebiggestsegmentsoftheornamentalplantmarketiscut
flowers,onwhich€3.01billionwasspentin2009,accountingformore
than35%ofthetotalspentonornamentalplants.In2009spending
oncutflowerswasdown5.2%comparedwith2008:asharperfall
thaninthemarketasawhole.Percapitaspendingoncutflowerswas
between€36and€37in2009.
Themaincauseofthedropinspendingwaslowerpricesacrossmost
ofthecutflowerrange.Unfavorableexchangeratesandapessimistic
moodamongconsumersinkeytargetmarketsledtoanoversupplyon
theGermanmarketin2009.Theadditionalquantitieswereabsorbed
butonlybysomesignificantpriceslashingbyvendors.Thetopsellers
wereonceagainroses,whichaccountedformorethanonethirdofthe
cutflowerspend.Intermsofprivatespendingonbouquets,florists
havetraditionallybeenthebiggestsaleschannel.In2009theproportionofprivatespendingonbouquetsfromfloristswasaround74%,
almostthreepercentagepointsdownonthepreviousyear.Floristsat
thehigherendofthepricespectrumwereparticularlyhardhitbythe
shrinkingcutflowermarketcomparedwith2008.Theirmarketshare
fellfrom56%in2008toaround54%in2009.
Thediscounters'priceleadershipmadeitsmarkinrecession-hit
2009.Theirmarketsharerosesharplyascustomers’pricesensitivityincreased.Discounterswereabletoincreasetheirmarketshare
attheexpenseoffloristsbothintermsofspendingandquantitiesof
bouquetssold.
Theyrecordeddouble-digitincreasesinspendingonbouquetsconsistingmainlyofonetypeofflowerwhilepricesremainedstable,achievingamarketshareof20%.Asingle-varietyormonobouquetcostan
averageof€2.01fromdiscountersin2009.|||
Source: Gärtnerbörse June 2010
Spain
Iberflora Innovation being staged
for fourth year running
The Iberflora trade show, which takes place at Feria Valencia from
20th to 22nd October, will once again be staging the Iberflora
Innovación event this year, making the fair as a whole the focal
point for innovation in the flower and plant, garden DIY and
technology sectors.
ThisfourtheditionofIberfloraInnovaciónwillbegivingrecognitiontoand
promotingthosecompaniesthat,overthelastyear,havelaunchedontothe
marketinnovativeproductsandservicesthatfallwithinthescopeofthisfair.
IneachofthelastthreeyearsahealthynumberofexhibitorsatIbeflorahave
alsoshowedinthespacededicatedtotheindustry’slatestinnovations,
whichhasbeenextremelywellreceivedbyvisitors.
Theexhibit,whichwillbeinaprominentpositionwithinthefair,willconsist
ofadisplayoftheproductsattheshowthatfeaturethemostoutstandinginnovations.Theproductsselectedwillalsobefeaturedinaspecialcatalogue
thatwillbehandedtoeveryoneattendingthefair.
ComplementingthisinitiativewillbetheIberfloraInnovaciónAwardsceremony.TheAwardswillconsistofafirstprizeandrunner-upprizethatwill
recognizethemostoutstandingproductsorservicesinoneofthecategoriesthatcompriseIbefloraInnovaciónFlowersandPlants,GardenDIYand
Technology.
TheJuryfortheAwardsischairedbyVicentePerisAlcayde,whilstmembers
includeCarlosFerrer,FélixPeronayLucasGonzálezandJoséF.BallesterOlmosyAnguís.|||
29
29
TEKU2_0_GB_0310:TEKU2_0_GB_0609
09.04.2010
11:11 Uhr
Seite 1
High Quality Printing
Use your TEKU∏ plant pots and containers as marketing tools –
with TEKU∏ High Quality Printing or Labelling.
Our artwork department will be glad to assist you.
Pöppelmann GmbH & Co. KG · Kunststoffwerk-Werkzeugbau
Bakumer Straße 73 · 49393 Lohne · Germany
Phone +49 4442 982-1600 · Fax +49 4442 982-1607
[email protected] · www.poeppelmann.com
Poeppelmann_178x124.indd 1
Witness of fresh!
09-04-2010 13:49:17
Powered by TempSen
ITAG-SingleUse Temperature Label
Built-in USB connector
Size of a credit card, flat and light weight
Free software available, no extra hardware
required at destination besides a computer
Tear to start, plug and play
Cost-effective
Cos
Data Report
Data Curve
ELog PDF Temperature Logger
Automatically generating of PDF format
data report
Equipped with NTC sensor and USB
connector
software, extra hardware required at
No soft
destination besides a computer
Easy-to-read LCD display enable immediate
decision making
Multi-use
With more than 20 years of expertise
and experience, Dutch plantin is leader in
development and production of coco
products.
Innovators in coco-production
There are more than 10 production sites in Asia,
Africa and the Netherlands which makes Dutch
Plantin the largest producer, worldwide.
The entire process is controlled; from the sourcing
and processing of the raw materials up to the sales
of the final substrate to the customers.
The range of products is still extending; besides
washed and buffered Coco-pith, Coco-chips and
Coco-fibre, the demand for professional Grow-bags
is growing fast. The Dutch management team
recognizes the need to keep on innovating.
This is why Dutch Plantin is a reliable partner and
supplier of coco products, now and in the future.
Call our sales teams
Office the Netherlands:
Phone: +31 492 32 42 91
Please contact Siere Handel B.V. for ordering
Siere Handel B.V.
Horticulture Industry Agency of TempSen in Belgium/Germany/Netherland/UK
T: +31 (0) 36 546 4478 F: +31 (0) 36 546 4479 E: [email protected] www.sierehandel.nl
Office India:
Phone: +91 4222 312 822
[email protected]
www.dutchplantin.com
Substrates
CubeCap proudly presents
their new long awaited
4” (10cm) DripCap®
T
ThenewDripCap®
hasalistof
attributesand
featuresthat
comewithit,
someofthemost
notableincludean
innovativehose
holderanddripper
technology.
he DripCap® has incorporated into it, a permanently
attached hose holding and
dripping device which snugly accommodates a host of propagation
hose sizes ranging from 4mm to
7.6mm, outside diameter.
The DripCap®:
• Allows for an even distribution of
water & nutrients to saturate the
block & root zone, this technique
increases root mass & plant yields.
• Minimizes and/or eliminates
Algae, Fungus gnats, Shore flies &
their root eating, crop damaging,
larva.
• Eliminates the labor, expense &
need for the pesticides, Larvacides,
bacticides, & fungicides that
would have been required to
combat these problems.
• Eliminates lower leaf rot by acting
as a spacer disallowing direct
contact between the lower leaves
of the plant & the moist growing
medium.
• Acts like a vapor barrier slowing
the evaporation rate of moisture so
you water your plants less saving
on water & nutrients.
Due for release in September/
October 2010 are two new ad
ditional DripCaps®:
• 6” (15cm) - Square DripCap®
• 10” (25cm) - Round DripCap®
CubeCap® Canada is working on
host of other DripCaps® in various
shapes & sizes in order to cover
the most popularly used containers
and grow mediums, including soil
based.
31
International Events
October 2010
6 to 9. Ecuador
FlorEcuador Agriflor 2010, Quito.
T (31) 20 662 2482;
F (31) 20 675 2326;
[email protected];
www.hpp.nl
6 to 7. Canada
Canadian Greenhouse
Conference, International Centre,
Toronto, Ontario.
T (1) 905 945 9057;
F (1) 905 945 8643;
info@canadiangreenhouse
conference.com;
www.candiangreenhouse
conference.com
6 to 7. Sweden
Elmia Garden 2010, Jönköping.
T (46) 36 15 22 57
F( 46) 36 16 46 92
www.elmia.se
Elmia Garden is now the most
important trade fair in Northern
Europe. At Elmia Garden you have
the opportunity to be inspired by
gardening trends, seminars and
competitions such as Flower Grand
Prix and Elmia Garden Award.
12 to 15. The Netherlands
International Horti Fair,
Amsterdam RAI.
T (31) 297 344033;
F (31) 297 326850;
[email protected];
www.hortifair.nl
15 to 18. United States
PMA Fresh Summit, Orange
County Convention Center,
Orlando, Florida. Produce
Marketing Association, 1500
Casho Mill Rd, Newark, DE USA
19714-6036.
T (1) 302 738 7100;
F (1) 302 731 2409;
www.pma.com
20 to 22. Spain
Iberflora, Valencia.
T (34) 902 747 330
F (34) 902 747 345
[email protected]
www.feriavalencia.com/iberflora
28 to 30. Japan
Ifex, the International Flower Expo,
Makuhari Messe, Tokyo.
T (81) 3-3349-8511
F( 81) 3-3345-7929
[email protected]
www.ifex.jp
32
31 October to 2 November,
United Arab Emirates
Garden+Landscaping, Dubai
International Convention and
Exhibition Centre
T (971) 4 3502417
F (971) 4 3380 041
mehtap.kenar@uae.
messefrankfurt.com
www.gardeningexpo.com
November 2010
International Floriculture Trade
Fair (IFTF)
www.iftf.nl
FloraHolland Trade Fair,
Aalsmeer
www.floraholland.nl
2010 Independent Plant Breeders
Conference, where professional
plant breeders, marketing
and distribution companies,
independent plant breeders, plant
aficionados, and plant collectors
come together for educational and
business opportunities Venue:
Longwood Gardens, Kenneth
Square.
T (1) 814 353 1832
www.gardengenetics.com
www.longwoodgardens.org
WF&FSA Floral Distribution
Conference at Doral Hotel
in Miami
T (1) 410 573 0400
www.wffsa.org
4 to 7. Mexico
Habitat Verde, international
flower trade show in the Morelos
World Trade Centre.
T (52) 55 9116 3756
F (52) 55 9116 3755
[email protected]
www.feriahabitatverde.com
6 to 25 April 2011, Taiwan
Taipei International Flora
Exposition
www.2010taipeiexpo.tw
December 2010
1 to 3. China
International Plants Expo Asia,
Foshan
www.ipm-china.com
[email protected]
2 to 5. Turkey
Growtech Eurasia, Antalya
NTSR Fair and Exhibtion
Services LTD. CO
Ekinciler Cad. Ertürk Sok. M.
Özçelik Plaza No:5 Kat:3 Kavacık
34810 İstanbul
T (90) 216 425 63 00
F (90) 216 425 63 02
www.ntsr.com.tr
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.growtecheurasia.com
15 to 19. India
KISAN, India’s largest agri trade
show in Pune.
Forum Pvt. Ltd., 1170/17b,
Shivajinagar, Pune 411005, India
T (91) 20 30252000
T (91) 20 25537434
[email protected]
www.kisan.in
January 2011
7 to 9. India
6th International Flora Expo,
New Delhi
Media Today, T-30, 1st Floor,
Khirki Extn. , Malviya Nagar,
New Delhi – 110017, India
T (91) 11 26682045 / 26681671.
T (91) 11 26681671 / 26680153
[email protected]
www.floraexpo.com
Tropical Plant Industry Exhibiton
(TPIE) at the Greater Fort
Lauderdale/Broward County
Convention Centre.
T (1) 407 295 7994
F (1) 407 295 1619
[email protected]
www.tpie.org
2010 Mid-America Horticultural
Trade Show at Chicago’s Navy
Pier.
T (1) 847 526 2010
F (1) 847 526-3993
[email protected]
www.midam.org
February 2011
3 to 6. Italy
Florexpo. The first edition of this
Mediterranean nursery gardening
show will present the very best
in plants, horticultural products,
equipment and machinery in the
Nuova Fiera di Roma exhibition
centre within a stones throw of
Fiumicino airport.
www.florexpo.it
15 to 17. France
Salon du Végétal, Angers
T (33) 241 7914 17
F 933) 241 4529 05
[email protected]
www.salonduvegetal.com
25 to 27. Poland
2011 Gardenia Garden Fair in the
Poznan Congress Centre.
Miedzynarowdowe targi
Poznanskie,
Ul. Glogowska 14, 60-734
Poznan Poland
For futher information: Jakub
Sypniewska tel.: +48 61 869 22 16
and Joanna.sypniewska: joanna.
[email protected]
March 2011
1 to 2. Belgium
Florall Spring Fair, Flanders Expo,
Ghent.
T (32) 9 241 5091
F (32) 9241 5095
[email protected]
www.florall.be
5 to 14. Taiwan
TIOS, Taiwan International
Orchid Show at the Taiwan
Orchid Plantation in Tainan
www.tios.com.tw
www.toga.org.tw
10 to 13. Portugal
Expojardim, Centro de
Exposiçoes Batalha.
T (351) 244 769 480
F (351) 244 767 489
[email protected]
www.exposalao.pt
25 to 28. Germany
IPM Essen, Essen
T (49) 201 7244 0
F (49) 201 7244 248
www.ipm-messe.de
23 to 25. Ethiopia
Hortiflora Ethiopia at the Addis
Exhibition Centre in Addis Ababa
[email protected]
www.hpp.nl
25 to 28. USA
The Special Event Show featuring
the WF&FSA as key speaker.,
Phoenix, AZ
T (1) 215 489 9556
F (1) 913 514 6420
[email protected]
www.thespecialeventshow.com
24 to May 20. The Netherlands
Keukenhof Holland, Lisse
T (31) 252 465 555
F (31) 252 465 565
[email protected]
www.keukenhof.nl
26 to 1 April, United States
2011 California Spring Trials
www.springtrials.com
Meteor_178x124.indd 1
20-09-10 11:04
Since 1972 the Original
QuickPot®
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Top Quality Speciality Fertilisers
Ask for
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Welcome to
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IFTF 2010
Growing experience
‘Solufeed’ is a trademark of Solufeed Ltd.
Solufeed_85x124.indd 1
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Highground Orchards Offices, Highground Lane,
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Tel: +(44) 01243 554090 Fax: +(44) 01243 554568
E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.solufeed.com
HerkuPlast Kubern GmbH
Germany
T : +49 (0)85 73/9603-0
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T : +31 (0)76 5017402
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08-04-2010 14:26:20
Herkuplast_85x124.indd 1
16-04-2010 10:54:41
World News
PLANT INVIGORATOR
www.sbpi.co.uk
Aucxis opens
new premises
by Jaap N. Kras
On Friday September 10th Aucxis opened its new
premises at Stekene, Belgium right across the street
from the old facility. Nearly 200 invitees, clients and
suppliers and of course, the staff of 50 employees were
personally welcomed by the CEO Geert Vonck. Standing by a screen were the names of the guests lit up as
the new visitor entered the hall.
The old building appeared to be too small and needed so
much renovation that a new plant had to be built.
In a number of interesting speeches, the mayor of Stekene
informed us about Aucxis, then named Schelfhout Computer Systems, which was the first non-agricultural company
in his community thirty-one years ago.
Today more than half of the companies in Stekene, close to
the port of Antwerp, are not agriculturally related. Stekene
supports company activities such as Aucxis in the community, creating high value labour and bringing prosperity to the
local economy.
The mayor of Stekene, Mr Stany De Rechter happily accepted the invitation to speak on this occasion and cooperated
well with Mr Vonck and his staff to have the new building
realised.
Mr Arjen Kamphuis presented a very interesting future
vision of true e-commerce and communication technology,
which is not only rapidly changing the world today but also
in the near future.
His important question was recognising our current position
in the changing process. The introduction of the tractor changed the agricultural
world for the first time in 3,000 years and today nearly all
important processes are mechanised and modern.
Are we at the dawn of a further rapidly changing world or
are we stabilising and maturing on the inventions from the
recent past?
Arjen expects further rapid changes and advises that we are
aware of them.
The official opening was carried out by Mr. Filip Fontaine,
President of the board of Aucxis and in his daily work CEO
of the vegetable and fruit auction Brava in Asse between
Brussels and Dendermonde.
“Brava goes 100 years back as sales cooperative of vegetable growers. Still the clock plays an important role in our
sales systems”, Mr. Fontaine explained.
Mr Fontaine pointed out the important value of a software house such as Aucxis. Aucxis has its roots in clocks
systems for auctions, but has been transformed, by Geert
Vonck and his staff, into a modern sales software house
with remote buying systems and all kinds of other transaction related systems, available for every sales organisation.
Still the ties with auctions remain strong.
Recently, new systems have been built for FloraHolland,
34
Aucxis’ new premises include a 2,000m2 two storey building in Stekene, Belgium.
Mr Stany De Rechter, mayor of
Stekene.
Left to right, Geert Vonck, CEO Aucxis and Erik Leeuwaarden, financial director of FloraHolland stands by
a screen were his name lits up as he entered the new
building.
Plantion, Herongen, fish auctions in the Netherlands, France
and Iceland and the vegetable auctions in Belgium.
Mr Vonck also mentioned that an increasing number of
companies, outside of the horticulture sector, are demanding integrated front and back office systems
The evening drew to a close with a pleasant, informal reception with food and drinks.
The event was wonderfully organised and hopefully it will
be the prelude to further, fruitful growth for the company. |||
The guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner buffet.
Touch
byLeaoraPolicar
Bulgaria: trek time
and dobar den
It's been a few years since we have had a chance to get away for a holiday
and this year we decided to spend our holiday in Bulgaria. We were look
ing for a place to where we had never been, where you don't have to sit
on the plane for many hours, and is diversified, and Bulgaria was just the
right place. It is less then a two hours flight from here, the country has
both very high mountains which we could trek and very good hotels. And
we felt we were getting our money's worth.
We arrived in Sofia, the capital city, which is situated in the western part
of the country. It is a city with modern buildings, shops and complexes,
situated along side old communist type buildings which are still used as
living quarters by the inhabitants.
We hurried down south to the Rila and Pirin mountain ranges. We
made the city of Bansko our home for the week where we rented, for a
very good price, an apartment, so we had a living room, kitchenette and
bedroom. In addition, the complex included a health spa with swimming
pools, gym with all the workout equipment, kiddies' room and massage
parlour. The facilities were great, with WIFI in the rooms, television, and
a great view. But of course that’s not what we came for.
The first day we did a small trek of five hours in the mountain just to
get that old body of ours in shape. It was so refreshing...and hard work.
Breathing that high mountain air climbing on well marked trials, enjoy
ing outstanding views, arriving after a long climb to a small hidden lake
way up at 2,500 meters above sea level was so refreshing and breathtaking
we immediately fell in love with the place.
What was so amazing to us was the number of Bulgarians we met through
out the week trekking and enjoying their country. In the evening we were
back at our apartment enjoying a well deserved warm shower, a good din
ner at one of the mexhana's (local restaurant) eating fresh vegetable salads
and yogurts, which is the local aperitif. This became our ritual for the week;
although I admit I did sneak in a good massage...don’t I deserve it?
We also visited some of the more touristic places in southern Bulgaria
such as the famous Rila monastery in the Rila Mountains, or the famous
wine making region of Melnik, and further south the amazing Yagodina
Gorge and Stalegtite & Stalagmites cave, situated in Odopes region which
is very close to the Greek border. Not forgetting those unusual stone and
earth sediment "curtain" formations 3040m deep. Many are crowned by
"hats" –large stones 80cm1m they call pyramids near the village of Stob.
Driving along those winding roads passing through the pastoral villages
and seeing the way the mountain people live, was an anthropological dis
covery which I have a feeling will all be gone very soon, so we drove very
slowly to take it all in. Besides, the drivers there a bit crazy; driving very
fast and not really adhering to traffic regulations. So pack you bags and
go visit Bulgaria and don't forget to practice your dobar den good day
Leaora Policar, together with
her husband Eyal, runs a flowerfarm
in the Arava Desert in Southern Israel.
[email protected]
VWS_54x254.indd 1
20-09-10 13:51
owerCents_54x124.indd 1
22-01-2009 15:35:52
M
A
R
K
E
T
NEWS
SERVICE
NEW
(MNS)
Hamilton_54x124.indd 1
23-08-10 15:09
Brandkamp_54x124.indd 1
20-09-10 10:24
Up-to-date
price and
market
information
MNS ON THE WEB!
WEEKLY: Fresh cut flowers
93 varities in selected European markets
30 varieties in selected
North American markets
65 varieties in selected Asian markets
FORTNIGHTLY:
Tropical ande Oriental Plants
45 varities in selected European markets
PRICE TRENDS:
Available on request for the
past 3-5 years on specific products
Web subscribers can access
ITC/MAS product maps (72)
For subscription and further information contact:
MARKET NEWS SERVICE
ITC, Palais des Nations,
1211 Geneva 10 Switserland
Tel: +41-22-730 0531 Fax +41-22-730 0906
E-mail: [email protected]
www.intracen.org/mns
Ama_54x124.indd 1
20-09-10 10:22
Prices
Germany
AngelaMerkel
visitsEmsflower
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen have
visited Emsflower, a leading plug and bedding
plant producer on Thursday August 26th. Merkel’s visit to Emsland, a district in Lower Saxony,
Germany focused on renewable energy, energy
supply and energy efficiency.
First,Merkelmetwiththeboardofdirectorsandthe
managementteamofRWE,aleadingpowerproducer
inLingen.HereMerkelsaidthatGermanutilities
shouldmakemoreofacontributiontowardencouragingthedevelopmentofrenewableenergyinaddition
topayingaplannednuclearfueltax.
Oflesspoliticalimpactwasthechancellor’snext
visittoEmsflowernurseries.Merkel,56,wasshown
aroundbyTomKuipers(left)andhisfatherBennie(2ndfromright),ownerofthecompanywhich
currentlycovers53haofgreenhouseoperationsin
bothGermanyandtheNetherlandsandemploys220
personnel.
Merkelwasclearlyimpressedbythelayoutofthe
companywhichincludeashowgardenandtouristattractionandEmsflower’sideasaboutsustainableand
ecofriendlyproduction.Specialattentionwasgiveto
thenewBioPowerproject,includingawoodburning
powerstation,Germany’sfirstlargescalebiomass
powerstationataplantnurserytousewoodasitsrenewablefuelsource.Thewoodfortheboileriswaste
woodfromlandscapemaintenanceoperationsand
knownasNAWARO(NAchWAchsendeROhstoffe).
Theplantisgenerating8000MWof'green'electricity–theequivalentneededtopoweraround2,000
householdsintheregion |||
FloraHolland 2010
Category
Cut Flowers
Product
Alstroemeria
Anthurium
Chrysant.
Chrysant. Spray
Chrysant. Santini
Cymbidium
Cymbidium Mini
Carnation
Carnation Spray
Eustoma russellianum
Freesia Double
Freesia
Gerbera Large
Gerbera Mini
Gladiolus
Helianthus
Hippeastrum
Hypericum
Iris
Lilium Asiatic
Lilium Longiflorum
Lilium Oriental Hybr.
Limonium
Rose Large
Rose Small
Rose Spray
Cut green and Decorat.
Solidago
Tulip
Total
Indoor Plants
Berry/Fruit plants
Flowering Plants
Bulb/Tuberous
Bromelia
Cactus/Succulent
Green Plants
Orchids
Palms
Ferns
4,035,032
300,089,450
91,397,421
21,831,019
29,717,876
111,882,974
84,203,095
11,835,260
8,156,690
688,262,401
-2.0
4.6
21.7
-.3.4
7.8
-1.5
8.9
-3.7
10.1
5.8
1.805
1.142
0.895
1.883
1.114
1.362
3.699
3.159
0.961
1.536
1.721
1.109
0.990
1.746
1.108
1.412
3.451
2.919
1.049
1.503
Tree/Shrub/Climbing
Conifers
Annual/Biennial
Perennial
56,023,396
8,305,095
208.055,081
61,803,470
334,764,433
11.8
-3.2
3.4
7.0
5.3
1.946
1.351
0.621
0.959
0.925
1.870
1.191
0.611
0.952
0.887
Total
Garden Plants
Total
Weeks 1 to 36 (January 4 to September 12, 2010)
Quantity % 10:09 Price 2010 Price 2009
149,460,602
-3.4
0.159
0.138
53,349,180
-0.6
0.403
0.363
110,171,432
-1.2
0.359
0.287
726,701,679
2.4
0.209
0.182
141,157,883
-2.4
0.168
0.148
9,097,273
-5.8
2.766
2.396
3,410,505
-12.8
1.233
1.147
87,332,275
12.4
0.153
0.148
31,036,184
-21.3
0.118
0.100
90,314,127
14.7
0.317
0.300
58,361,441
-1.2
0.171
0.156
184,593,659
6.0
0.153
0.135
138,665,442
-1.3
0.194
0.152
5062,142,324
0.9
0.124
0.094
47,177,004
-6.4
0.160
0.129
40,038,145
-7.2
0.290
0.251
12,732,609
-13.2
0.701
0.608
95,588,924
-8.6
0.162
0.139
57,064,951
5.3
0.121
0.120
25,507,635
-10.8
0.318
0.275
28,342,383
-21.8
0.436
0.327
98,208,751
-8.3
0.653
0.522
41,752,153
-0.3
0.215
0.178
1,847,599,056
6.3
0.250
0.229
513,413,441
-3.0
0.102
0.100
56,535,186
38.2
0.324
0.335
316,392,549
-4.8
0.139
0.128
42,558,871
-11.6
0.146
0.115
1,555,073,648
13.5
0.132
0.129
8,235,817,756
2,7
0.205
0.185
37
Post Harvest
Pulsing with a
combination of
gibberellin and
sucrose is a simple
and practical post
harvest treatment
for improving the
opening and vase
life and thus the
marketability of Iris
flowers
Gibberellin/sucrose
pulsing improves the
performance of Iris
P
Andrew Macnish,
Cai-Zhong Jiang, Sireena
Chieng and Michael Reid*
ulsing, whereby cut flower
stems are placed into concentrated chemical solutions for a
short period, is an effective method
for improving the postharvest
quality of many species. It allows
growers to infuse stems with specialized compounds that dramatically improve flower opening and
vase life for consumers. Sucrose is
a common ingredient in pulse solutions as it provides energy for flower
metabolism. Overnight pulsing in
a 20% sucrose solution is widely
used to enhance Gladiolus flower
opening and longevity.
Removal of sheath leaves reveals the floral
shoot (left) and a second flower bud (right).
38
Short display life
As part of their research program,
scientists at the University of California are working towards improving the post harvest performance of
short-lived cut flowers. Dutch Iris
flowers have a short display life and
often fail to open completely after
dry transport or storage. Incomplete flower opening is associated
with reduced growth of the floral
shoot that forces the bud out of the
sheath leaves. Previous research
has shown that treatment with the
plant hormone gibberellin (GA3 or
GA4+7) can stimulate elongation
Iris flower opening after dry storage was significantly improved by
pre-treatment with GA3 + sucrose (left) compared to water (right).
of this shoot and thereby improve
flower opening. The researchers of
the University of California recently
determined if pulsing with GA3
and/or sucrose would improve iris
flower opening and longevity after
dry storage.
Gibberellin improves
flower opening
Iris ‘Discovery’ was harvested at
commercial maturity and placed
into buckets containing water (control) or 350 ppm GA3 for 24 hours
at 0°C. Stems were then wrapped
in polyethylene plastic film and
held in cardboard boxes at 0°C for
14 days to simulate dry transport
and/or storage. Pulsing with GA3
stimulated a 1.6 cm increase in the
length of floral shoots that helped
push buds free of the sheath leaves
allowing flowers to open completely
after storage. However, GA3 treatment did not extend the display life
of flowers.
Sucrose improves flower
longevity
Pulsing with a 20% sucrose solution for 24 hours at 0°C prior to
dry storage for 14 days provided a
modest 0.6-day (15%) extension
in the subsequent vase life of iris
flowers. The tepals of flowers that
were treated with sucrose were also
a darker purple color than those
on control stems placed in water.
However, unlike GA3, sucrose
treatment did not significantly
extend the floral shoot or improve
associated flower opening.
Gibberellin plus sucrose
improves flower performance
Pulsing flowers with 350 ppm GA3
and 20% sucrose for 24 hours at
0°C prior to dry storage for 14 days
increased the length of floral shoots
by 2.5 cm (40%) that, in turn, led
to complete flower opening. It
also increased vase life by 0.6 days
(15%). Substituting the GA4+7
isomer for GA3 was also effective.
In contrast, control stems pulsed in
water failed to fully open after dry
storage owing to reduced growth of
the floral shoot. That the combined
treatment increased flower opening and display life highlights its
potential to greatly improve the
postharvest quality of dry-stored
iris flowers.
Stimulating a second
open flower
The Californian scientists observed
that all ‘Discovery’ Iris stems
harvested at commercial maturity possessed a second flower bud
within the sheath leaves. Typically, less than 10% of the second
buds opened on control stems and
those pulsed with GA3 or sucrose.
However, treating stems with a
combination of GA3 and sucrose
ensured a second flower opened on
90% of stems and this may add a
novel feature to flower displays.
Conclusion
Pulsing with a combination of
GA3 and sucrose is a simple and
practical postharvest treatment
for improving the opening and
longevity of iris flowers. This treatment provides the industry with an
opportunity to transport iris flowers
dry to more distant markets and/or
dry store stems for special holidays
such as Mother’s Day. |||
* Andrew Macnish, Sireena Chieng
and Michael Reid are from the
University of California, Davis.
Cai-Zhong Jiang works with the
USDA-ARS in Davis, California.
We thank the Californian growers who supplied flowers for this
project. This research was partially supported by the American
Floral Endowment and the USDA
Floriculture Initiative.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in
this article are those of the authors
only. Before using any chemical, always refer to the label, and be sure the
intended use is approved in your local
area. The authors and the publisher
make no warranties and assume no
responsibility for the accuracy and
suitability of the information herein
for application to any particular
purpose.
Effects of postharvest pulse treatments
on iris flower longevity and floral shoot
growth after dry storage. The different
letters indicate significant differences.
Pulsing with GA3 + sucrose stimulated
opening of two fl owers on most stems.
39
World News
USA
Jim Wesley Wilson dies at 86
James (Jim) Wesley Wilson passed away August 1 at
his home in Columbia, MO at the age of 86. Jim was a
nationally renowned horticulturist and gardener.
He was author or co-author of fifteen books on
gardening and was co-host on PBS’s “The Victory
Garden” and on Home and Garden Television’s
“Great Gardeners Series.”
Jim was borne in Vicksburg, MS and graduated from South
Side High School in Memphis, TN. In World War II Jim was a
fighter pilot until 1944. In 1948 Jim received his Bachelor of
Science Degree in Agriculture. In 1995 Jim was inducted into
the Garden Writers Hall of
Fame and was a strong support for the Garden Writers “Plant
a Row” program which produces over 1 million pounds of
vegetables for the hungry. Jim is survived by 2 sons, 6 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and long time companion Jane L. Mandel.
In memory of a great gardener and horticulturalist. |||
New from the breeders of Telstar.
“HOMMES BLUE”
A dark blue Dutch Iris with fantastic qualities:
• Great for forcing in warm and cold climates.
• Grows and forces like Telstar.
• Large dark blue flowers with tall stems.
• Very good vase life.
For more info, please contact:
Bulbmark Inc. , USA, tel: +1-910-762-5609 or
[email protected] for North and South America.
Hommes Iris BV, NL, tel: +31-72-5331717 or
[email protected] for all other countries.
to the editor
FloraCulture International publishes selected letters to the editor that are
300 words or less and pertain to previous FCI articles. Letters intended
for publication must include your name, address (including city and
state), and daytime phone number for verification purposes only. Not
all letters can be published; letters may be edited for clarity and content.
Letters to the editor represent the opinions of the individual writer and
do not reflect the opinion of the publisher and the editorial board. The
publisher and the editor assume no responsibility for the content of such
correspondence. Send submissions to [email protected]
Abkhazia is looking for FDI
in floriculture sector
Abkhazia, a young republic* situated at the Black Sea coastline is looking for
Foreign Direct Investment in the flower industry. Floriculture is a business that
existed in Abkhazia few decades ago and was a thriving activity. Since the
Republic obtained its independence* , the market experienced an important
change from crises to stability and sustainable growth, from state bureaucracy
system to market economy and offering today absolutely new and highly lucrative solutions under the legislative acts and laws on foreign investments.
There is a wide range of investment
opportunities in Abkhazia in the floriculture industry. Abkhazia possesses
a number of comparative advantages
that makes it a favorable destination
within the East-European region for
floriculture. The agro-ecological factors
of the country give the chances of
all-year-round production capability.
The situation at the extreme proximity
to the growing market of Russia-CIS,
secures the steady demand and
allows to producers to supply fresh
cut flowers by the road transport at
the minimum cost and time. The lease
of lands is at the very competitive
price and the utility charges are very
low. It makes the solution of flower
production in Abkhazia highly costeffective and profitable. Moreover,
investment incentives and guarantee
of the profit repatriation is making this
business very promising. Sub-tropical
and mountain climatic conditions are
suitable for short stem roses, chrysanthemum, gerberas and many of others
cutting and potted plants. So, the key
factors guaranteeing success of the
floriculture in Abkhazia and bringing
competitive strengths in the sector are:
•Suitable climatic and natural Resources
•Location of the market
•Low cost lands for lease
•Accessible labor force
•Increasing demand from market
•No competition in the flower business
•Direct export potential to Russia and CIS
•Logistic – transport (roads, seaport,
airport, railway)
•Investment incentives (Law on FDI
and tax relives)
All supplementary details on lands, country and how to visit are available on our
website. We are assisting foreign investor with setting-up of the flower plants
and providing the necessary support to
make their start-up successful from fist
steps. The project “Invest Abkhazia”
was launched in the aim to support this
destination and raise the attention of the
private and corporate investors globally.
We act beyond the political issues and
creating new ground for business opportunities which are based on respect,
transparency and sustainability. We are
leveraging global expertise and local
approach providing best site consultants
and international sophisticated marketing techniques to build most competitive
investment solutions today.
Written by “Invest Abkhazia”
www.investabkhazia.com
* Note from the editor: Abkhazia
declared independence from Georgia
in 1999, but Tbilisi continues to regard
it as a breakaway region
Certifiable in California
byJohnIngwersen
Denmark
CC’schairman
SørenBøgede
Andersenretires
After twenty years as chairman of the Container
Centralen, Søren Bøgede Andersen has decided
to retire. The departing chairman can look back
on several years of growth and continuous
development of ‘his’organization.
SørenBøgedeAndersenwasthechairmanofthe
ContainerCentralen(CC)boardofdirectorsfora10yearperiodfrom1980-1990,andhewasoneofthe
keydriverswhenfoundingthecompany.Intheyear
2000,S.BøgedeAndersenreturnedtotheCCboard
andhispositionaschairmanuntilearlySeptember
thisyear.
“Myplanwasoriginallytoretirefromtheboard
whenCChadanewmanagingdirectorin2009,butI
wantedtosupportthenewmanagingdirectorinthe
firstyears”,saysS.BøgedeAndersen.“Iamhappy
withtheresultsandthedevelopmentsinCCaswell
asthehighperformanceofthestaff”,S.Bøgede
Andersencontinues.“CCisaverywell-established
organisation,andIwishallthebestforthecompany
andtheemployeesandthankeverybodywitharelationtoCCforthemanyyearsofgoodcooperation.”
Attheageof63,S.BøgedeAndersenisnotdone
withthehorticulturalindustry.Inhiscompany,
HorticulturalManagementConsulting,hewillkeep
contributingtotheefficiencyoftheindustryandstill
has9boardresponsibilitiestolookafter.
S.BøgedeAndersennowhandsoverthereinstothe
deputychairmanoftheboard,HermandeBoon,who
isalsothechairmanoftheDutchflowers&plants
wholesalers’association,VGB.
“WewanttothankSørenBøgedeAndersenforhis
greateffortsforCCovermanyyears.Notonlyhashe
beenoneofthepioneers,butalsooneofthepersons
settingnewambitiousgoalsforthecompany”,says
thenewchairman,HermandeBoon.
OneofthelatestCCprojectsthatS.BøgedeAndersenwasinvolvedinwastheupcomingintroduction
ofRFID(electroniclabelling)inthehorticulturalindustryasthechairmanoftheRFIDSteeringCommittee.
“Iamproudtohavebeenpartofthisimportant
project,whichwillbeagiantleapintothe21st
centuryfortheentireindustry,”saysS.BøgedeAndersen.“Surelythiswillbeavaluablecontributionto
theefficiencyandcostsavingsinfuturehorticultural
logistics.”|||
Better late
than never
Better late than never, goes the old saying, and this column is living
evidence of that. I was invited to contribute a guest column almost a year
ago (during HortiFair 2009 to be precise). I’m not sure that a column
for the HortiFair 2010 issue is what Mr. Kras had in mind when the
invitation was made, but that’s the way it turned out.
My name is John Ingwersen, owner of Jungle Jack’s, Inc. in San Diego
County, California. We’re a specialty grower of palms, Plumerias, cycad,
and bamboo, with a customer base ranging from Canada to the midwest
and south to Texas and Louisiana.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed FloraCulture International since I was first
introduced to it in 2008, and especially the guest columns, which lend
a very real and meaningful perspective on the current psychology of
horticulture and floriculture internationally. However, as I pointed out
to Jaap, what was lacking was any kind of input from the western United
States, which actually is fairly interesting, given that California is such a
large scale producer of horticultural products. No sooner was that bold
statement out of my mouth than said invitation was received. That’s the
story behind this column, and I’m sticking to it….
What I’m hoping to provide over time is a view into the nature of the
horticultural business in California. Clearly, it will be somewhat myopic,
as horticulture and floriculture in California are incredibly varied, and
I can’t claim to know all or see much beyond my own little niche, but at
the least it’s more than you’ve likely seen or heard up till now. And plus,
I’m tired of my Florida cousins getting all the press. (Hey, I like Florida,
really really…nice beaches, and they share all their pests with us…)
Growing in California is both a blessing and a curse, and I’m often led to
question both my basic intelligence and sanity for deciding to be a grower
here. Blessings? Many, including a fantastic growing climate (in southern
California), a huge and diverse population (and therefore potential
market) of nearly fifty million people within one days truck journey, and
a rich agricultural heritage. Curses? Many, including high costs across
the board, and fifty million people who have managed to elect a state
government that is rapidly driving our state’s economy into the ground,
and who also use a lot of water. And more and more, a population that
does not appreciate the positive aspects of agriculture.
So, assuming I’m allowed to write another column someday, there is
much to be shared. Until then, it’s been a pleasure.
John Ingwersen graduated with a degree in marketing
from Georgetown University in 1990, and founded
Jungle Jack’s, Inc. in 1995.
[email protected]
41
SPECIALIST POT PLANT & CUT FLOWER VARIETIES
OPEN DAYS
November 3rd – 5th, 2010
Mijnsherenweg 15 • 1424 CA De Kwakel, Holland • T +31 (0)297 38 20 38 • F +31 (0)297 38 20 20 • [email protected] • www.hilverdakooij.nl
HilverdaKooij_178x124.indd 1
647xxx_ad_flora_culture.indd 1
20-09-10 10:37
14-09-10 15:33
Aucxis_178x124.indd 1
20-09-10 10:31
Shading
ReduFuse to revolutionise
greenhouse industry
T
Bypresentingthe
ongoingresearch
anddevelopment
ofReduFuseatthe
upcomingHortiFair,
Mardenkroproves
onceagaintobe
atrueinnovator
inthefieldof
he first test carried out at
highperformance
research centre Botany is
greenhouse
very promising: ReduFuse
coatings. allows the light to penetrate deeper
into the crop, therefore increasing
the process of photosynthesis which
leads to improved product quality
and increased production levels.
ReduFuse’s direct light transmission
under a straight angle is nearly 100%
whereas the transmission loss for
hemispherical light during overcast
weather is relatively high compared
to the alternative diffuse glass. However, contrary to a greenhouse roof
with diffuse glass, ReduFuse can
be easily removed in autumn and
represents significant lower initial
costs. Next year will be used to carry
out additional tests at nurseries on
international level to obtain more
information about the coating’s
performance in different crops.
byRonvanderPloeg
The discovery of ReduFuse was
made by accident.
“In the past Mardenkro had already
developed its ReduTrans shading
product, featuring high light transmission levels during rainy weather,
Production of sole Premium Class Products.
In the ReduFuse greenhouse department initially the production drops back,
followed by a very quick recovery.
The moment of recovery coincides with the end of the heat spell in July, the
moment on which a layer of new ReduFuse was applied to the greenhouse.
Finally, the Redufuse greenhouse reported a 4.5% increase in harvested fresh
weight.
but having the disadvantage of
being difficult to remove. So, we
were looking for a similar product
that could also be easily removed
from the greenhouse roof cover.
Surprisingly enough, one of the
formulas ensured nearly 100% light
transmission under a straight angle
presenting the double advantage of
making the light diffuse” explains
Marcel Schoondergang, manager
R&D at Mardenkro.
Testing
Schoondergang admits that in
cloudy weather ReduFuse allows
less hemispherical light to enter
the greenhouse than a roof cover
of diffuse glass. “Thanks to newly
developed production techniques
for diffuse glass, the amount of light
reflected back can be limited.
When using ReduFuse, the loss of
light lies around 10% which would
be unacceptable for diffuse glass
during dark autumns and winters.
However, ReduFuse can be easily
removed in autumn.”
Schoondergang adds that growers
have recently showed a wave of enthusiasm for diffuse glass, yet at the
same time the diffuse light topic has
left the industry with more questions than answers. “Diffuse light
is difficult to measure. Light enters
the greenhouse from each and every
corner and goes in all directions. At
Mardenkro a UV/V spectrometer
with an integrated sphere of 150
mm is used to measure the optical
properties of ReduFuse. However,
for angle dependant measurements,
Mardenkro works together with
other specialized institutes. With
a self-made black box containing
a more simple spectrometer the
properties of ReduFuse can also be
demonstrated at trade exhibitions.”
Botany
ReduFuse has been tested in a
working environment, at a number
of Dutch vegetable and flower nurseries. Dutch research centre Botany
carried out an important test with
ReduFuse involving 900m2 greenhouse production of cucumbers
and running from week 23 to 33.
Planted on June 17th , the first
cucumbers were harvested on July
6th with the last harvest on August
11th. The first 450m2 test area of
the greenhouse was uncoated, the
second 450m2 greenhouse was
treated with ReduFuse. The first
results exceeded all expectations.
In the ReduFuse greenhouse up
to 4.3% more fresh weight and
up to 7.1% more premium quality
products were harvested. “Interesting to see was that after dropping
back half way the test, the production showed a significant increase
in the second part of the test”, says
Schoondergang who adds that the
potential of ReduFuse extends to
nearly all vegetable growers and rose
growers as long as shading against
excess radiation is not necessary. For
crops requiring an important heat
reduction such as Phalaenopsis and
Anthurium, ReduFuse may be less
effective.
Breakthrough
With the launch of ReduFuse
Mardenkro is on the brink of a
breakthrough. “ReduFuse really
does make a difference. Despite the
hype created around diffuse glass,
we have to admit that this type
of greenhouse glass also has been
frustrating for the middle and small
sized companies. This group doesn’t
have the possibility to test out the
diffuse glass. Replacing float glass
for diffuse glass isn’t an alternative for them either”, concludes
Schoondergang. The main problem
is the price. As for ReduFuse the
price is expected to lie between the
two other Mardenkro bestsellers;
ReduSol and ReduHeat. ReduFuse
will be for sale in 2012! |||
43
100% Sold
2010
Happy gardening
byAnthonyTesselaar
Denmark
Rose
named after
Princess
Marie of
Denmark
Thousands of people flocked to the Bogense
Rose Festival on August 7th to see princess
Marie of Denmark giving her name to a brand
tea hybrid rose with double, salmon/pink flowers. Princess Marie is married to Prince Joachim
who is fourth in line to the Danish throne. She
was given the rose as a wedding present by
the renowned Danish rose breeding company
Poulsen Roser.
MortenAndersen,themayorofNorthFunen,welcomedtheprincessatBogensetownhall.Afterthe
formalpresentation–thepouringofchampagneand
baptizing-themayorandtheprincesswentbyopen
carriagethroughthecityofBogensetofinallyattend
areceptionatthetownhall.
Ontheoccasiontalentedfloristsdecoratedthe
town’sstreetsandtheharbourarea.PrincessMarie
tooktheopportunitytotakeaguidedtouratGrønløkkePlanteskole,whichisthelargestNordicrose
grower.OwnerFinnJensenshowedtheprincessthe
rosefields.|||
Knock-offs
Take a look at these. Side by side – two photos taken recently of the same
plant. No, not the same plant from two slightly different angles, but two
individual specimens of virtually the same variety, on sale, but with a
different label on each. (Shock, horror!)
The one on the left (at least I think it’s the one on the left – is one of ours,
filed away in the PBR office as Begonia ‘Bonfire’. The other – I’m pretty
sure it’s the one on the right, they look so alike – is being sold as Begonia
‘Million Kisses’.
There’s a point to all this based on the fact that only one of these plants
is a top performer. Our industry needs to encourage and reward plant
breeders if we want to have quality product to sell. PBR respects and
protects breeders’ intellectual property and keeps the system functioning;
to share out the rewards that a good, solid plant introduction offers to all
those involved along the food chain.
However, if some people are out there muddying the water, deliberately
stirring up confusion to sell knockoffs, I believe two things will
happen. The number of breeders will decrease, and the number of happy
customers, who trust our industry to offer good products will as well.
Wherever you are in the business, surely like me you can see that in the
long term this isn’t sustainable. PBR must be respected, and enforced
when it’s not.
Anthony Tesselaar hails from Anthony Tesselaar
International, an international project management
company dealing in plants, horticultural research &
development and strategic water management.
www.tesselaar.com / [email protected].
45

FloraCulture
internationalizes
your
future...
CornBak_178x124.indd 1
Aqua-Hort ®
copper fertilization and electromagnetic
treatment of nutrition water
PREVENTS :
Pythium
Phytopthora
Clavibacteria
Xanthomonas
Agrobacteria
Ralstonia
Erwinia
Algea
BENEFITS :
stronger roots
better plants
less fungicides
Improves environment
lower costs
HORTI FAIR
STANDNR. 04.0408
Aqua-Hort ®
Engdalsvej 26
Brabrand, Danmark
+45 (70) 226611
[email protected]
For agents
worldwide see :
www.aqua-hort.dk
AquaHort_54x124.indd 1
20-09-10 11:13
20-09-10 11:18
www.floracultureinternational.com
Dutch Comfort
byJaapN.Kras
USA
MPS-GAP help D.S.
Cole Growers further improve their
business
Recently D.S. Cole Growers has taken the next
step forward on their path to achieving sustainability certification according to MPS-Florimark
Production, the chainwide certificate of MPS
combining environmental, social and quality
aspects. One of the appealing aspects of the
MPS process is that a grower can take small
steps and earn one certificate at a time without
being overwhelmed by the entire program.
Afterbeingthe1stcertifiedparticipantforMPSABCintheUnitedStatesD.S.ColeGrowershas
nowoptedforcertificationaccordingtoMPS-GAP
(GoodAgriculturalPractices).
DougColefromD.S.ColeGrowersexplainswhy
theyhavechosenthiscertificateafterachievingthe
MPS-ABCcertificationin2009:“Certifyingwith
MPS-GAPallowsourcompanytoshowthatwe
havegonetothenextsteptowardssustainability.
Toaccomplishthiswefoundthatmanyoftheactionsrequestedwerealreadyinplaceatourfacility
asitisinmostNorthAmericancompanies.The
piecesthatweweremissingweremostlyitems
thatweshouldbedoinganyway,butputoffunless
forcedtodoso.Forexample,wehadnoemergencyevacuationplaninplaceandwereallyshould
haveoneregardlessofMPS-GAP.
Anotheractionthatwasgoodforuswasbeing
surethatseveralofourstaffhaveCPRtraining.
MPS-GAPcertificationhasfocusedourattentionon
detailswhicharegoodforourassociatesandgood
forourbusiness,andwillrequirethatweroutinely
updateourattentiontothesedetails.
Unlikemainstreamagriculture,ourindustryhas
slippedundertheradarofscrutinybythepress.
Beingpreparedtoshowthatweareactivelysupportingsustainableactivitiescanhelpgrowers
avoidbadpublicityissuesinthefuture.TheMPS
program(MPS-ABCforenvironmentandMPS-GAP
forGoodAgriculturalPractices)createsapositive
stepinprovidingahealthyenvironmentforour
employeesaswellaspromotionforourproductin
themarketplace”.
MPS-FlorimarkProductionconsistsof4certificates,
namely:MPS-ABC(environment),MPS-GAP(retail
requirements),MPSSociallyQualified(social)and
MPS-Quality.ThisuniquecombinationmakesMPSFlorimarktheTOPcertificateforsustainability!
TherearealsoMPS-Florimarkcertificatesfortraders,auctionsandinthefutureflorists.|||
Serendipity
Sometimes you read a word that captures your attention. The meaning
is a mystery, yet there is something about the word which is beautiful or
intriguing. In this case, Google comes in very handy
One good example would be the word “serendipity”. Serendipity was in
troduced by Horace Walpole in the 18th century from a Persian fairy tale
– The Three Princes of Serendip. Serendip was the old name for Sri Lanka
Serendipity means: “The intellectual faculty to draw conclusions from
accidents (induction)” – or, in other words, “to find something important
whilst looking for something else”.
A few years ago, a book was published called The Black Swan by Nassim
Nicholas Taleb. Simply quoted, ‘a Black Swan is an event that comes from
outside the realm of regular expectations, has an extreme impact yet after
it happened, seemed to have been predictable and explainable although it
laid outside our expectations before it occurred.’
Black Swans bring enormous, inconceivable changes and are caused and
exacerbated by the fact that they are unexpected. Black Swans occur in
your personal life, for example, finding your partner, and also in society
with events such as 9/11. The author suggests ‘the central idea of the book
concerns our blindness with respect to randomness, particularly the large
derivations. Black Swan logic makes what you do not know far more
relevant than what you know.
What can be the black swans of the ornamental industry? At business
schools we learn that success of a company depends at least 50% on the
environment we work in. This means that antennas are essential for effec
tive observation of the business environment and to draw conclusions on
your business policy. Perhaps we should carefully formulate what we want
and what we are looking for. In other words a concrete vision.
But instead of trying to base a strategy to realise this vision we should
open our eyes and ears to the in and outside world. This gives a chance
for serendipity and the ability to be aware of black swans at an early stage.
What we do know is that the floral industry is a worldwide yet small
industry. The number of players is relatively small. What we also know is
that flowers and plants fulfil so many different needs of consumers that it
is almost impossible to convert these needs into sales policies. Although
the number of players is relatively small, the industry is very fragmented.
We see the shake out processes leading to less parties: less growers higher
turnover per grower, less wholesalers higher turnover per wholesaler:
integration in the horizontal and vertical supply chain. Production and
consumption are getting closer and closer.
Everybody is aware of the “pig cycle” principle, yet it still happens regu
larly in our industry, for example lilies, Chrysanthemums, Phalaenopsis
and Hortensia.
Does serendipitous and Black Swan thinking mean that the important
breaks from accepted truths do not come from those who learned the
principles at a business school and act accordingly to examples of the
past but from those who are deliberately looking for opportunities and
setting new goals those who have their mind open for opportunities and
chances and are opportunistic? Where do we have to look for where can
we think of? Can we assume that Black Swans will totally and unexpect
edly change our industry?
Jaap N. Kras
[email protected]
47
Plant Trays
HerkuPlast-Kubern
GmbH, a leading
manufacturer
of QuickPot and
HerkuPak trays
has announced its
presence at the
new International
Floriculture Trade
Fair (IFTF), which
will be held from
November 3th to 5th in Vijfhuizen, within
a stones throw of
the flower auction in
Aalsmeer. According
to Alfred Boot from
Herkuplast, working
from the company’s
export office in the
Netherlands, the
Herkuplast stand
at the IFFT will give
a comprehensive
overview of the
extensive range of
propagation trays
with a brand new
series of paper pot
trays as absolute
show stoppers.
HerkuPlast announces
its presence at IFFT
E
stablished in 1972, HerkuPlast has grown to become
one of the world’s leading
manufacturers of propagation and
seeding trays. With their headquarters in Ering – Germany and an export office in Holland the company
combines the best of both worlds:
German state-of-the-art technology
and Dutch growing expertise right
in the heart of the green industry.
World wide
distribution network
Herkuplast produces up to ten
new trays per year which are sold
to commercial plant growers who
can rely on a world wide distribution network. The Herkuplast trays
are available in a disposable, light
quality also known under the brand
name HerkuPak and durable, long
life quality known as QuickPot™..
The latest novelties which will be
showcased during the upcoming
International Floriculture Trade
Fair include a brand new series of
paper pot trays. HerkuPlast have
designed a range of trays especially
for substrate pots/paper pots. The
special format of the bottom and
cell walls allow perfect drainage
and ventilation of the media. The
trays are designed for paper pots of
15 to 75 mm. All paper pot trays
come in QuickPot™, long life quality and HerkuPak™, light quality.
Attention grabbers
48
Also new is the HP D-L 480 a
Danish size seeding tray featuring a
size of 300 x 540 mm and a 25 mm
depth. This tray is an improvement
of the existing line of 480 trays
and allows better handling on fully
automatic seeders and transplanters.
In the retooled 360 cell tray with
precision measurements for cells
and holes, the company has found
another attention grabber for the
IFTF show. This 360 cell tray was
developed in cooperation with
leading growers in the UK and the
Netherlands and is said to perform
better then all other available plug
trays in the market with easier
destacking, plant removal and
transplanting. Plant growers who
are interested in the latest Herkuplast breakthroughs can always ask
for free samples.
Key success factors
Today’s plant growing industry is
a highly automated business and
Herkuplast has been one of the
first manufacturers to anticipate
the ongoing need for strong easy
to use trays HerkuPlast has always
focused on making trays that have
all features necessary for automatic
handling, seeding, filling and more.
Also its programme of disposable
trays: HerkuPak™, answers the
growing need for affordable throwaway trays that run smoothly on all
kinds of machines from all over the
world. Whether it is for filling, seeding, transplanting, retransplanting,
destacking or selection.
Good destacking lugs are key success factors in a world market where
Herkuplast can be regarded as a
pioneer in the development of these
lugs in the early 1970's. Many of
the Herkuplast QuickPot™ trays are
still being used all over the world,
in some cases for more than fifteen
years. The trays still run easy on
destacking- and filling machines.
Large base holes allow the use
of push-out plates or automatic
push-out. All QuickPot™ and
HerkuPak™ base holes are centred.
This means the machines can
always easily find the base hole.
Custom moulding
Since sales, development, moulding
and manufacturing are all under
the HerkuPlast roof the company
is known for it’s successful custom
made products. For relatively small
quantities a tray can be developed
according to the customer’s needs.
From design to finished product
within 6 weeks.
IFFT show
The choice for the IFTF show is a
well-considered. Alfred Boot comments, “We participate in all major
horticultural trade shows in the
world. In recent years, Herkuplast
has been struggling with the Horti
Fair. For many years Horti Fair was
one of the world’s leading shows,
which could easily compete with
the IPM. In the meantime, the
company has attached a greater
importance to the IPM which has
gained a strong international reputation while Horti Fair has become
significantly less attractive for both
exhibitors and visitors. Herkuplast
thinks that the new IFTF show
deserves a chance and therefore has
booked a stand (A40).
A good initiative also is the combination of Horti Fair and FloraHolland Trade Fair. Nevertheless we
still set our hopes on a single horticultural platform. And it makes
no difference to us whether this is
Horti Fair, IFTF or IPM.” |||
PLANT INVIGORATOR
www.sbpi.co.uk
Classifieds
Catalogue + Shop: www.jelitto.com
HELP WANTED
Florasearch, Inc. In our third decade of
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,
Email: [email protected],
Website: www.florasearch.com
PERENNIAL SEEDS
Zaadproduktie · Zaadwinning
Zaadtechnische veredeling
Jelitto Staudensamen GmbH
P. O. Box 1264
29685 Schwarmstedt, Duitsland
Tel. 00 49/50 71/98 29-0
Fax 00 49/50 71/98 29-27
www.jelitto.com
Jelitto_55x60.indd 1
23-09-10 09:12
:::+(0*(1(7,&6&20
Advertising Index
HemGen_54x60.indd 1
24-03-2010 11:26:16
binati_114x92 1
COMPANY
PAGE
WEBSITE
Ama Plastics .....................................................................36 ................................. www.amaplas.com
Aqua-Hort ..........................................................................46 ...................................www.aqua-hort.dk
Aucxis Trading Solutions ..............................................42 ........................www.aucxistrading.com
Brandkamp GmbH...........................................................36 ............................... www.brandkamp.de
China International Plants Expo ..................................22 .................... www.flowerworld.com.cn
Container Centralen........................................................10 ........... www.container-centralen.com
Corn Bak.............................................................................46 .................................www.bromelia.com
CubeCap.............................................................................50 .................................... www.cubecap.ca
Deliflor.................................................................................16 ..........................................www.deliflor.nl
Dutch Plantin B.V. ............................................................30 ..........................www.dutchplantin.com
Ellegaard A/S ....................................................................10 .........................................www.ellepot.dk
Floragard Vertriebs GmbH ............................................22 ....................................www.floragard.de
Florasearch Inc. ...............................................................49 ........................... www.florasearch.com
Floricultura B.V. ..................................................................7 .............................www.floricultura.com
Flowers and Cents...........................................................36 ...................www.flowersandcents.org
Greenex A/S ........................................................................3 ..................................www.greenex.com
Habitat Verde Mexico ....................................................44 .................www.feriahabitatverde.com
Hamilton Design Ltd........................................................36 .................www.hamilton-design.co.uk
Hem Genetics ...................................................................49 .........................www.hemgenetics.com
Herkuplast International ................................................33 ............................. www.herkuplast.com
HilverdaKooij B.V. ............................................................42 .............................. www.hilverdakooij.nl
16-09-2008 12:31:57
COMPANY
PAGE
WEBSITE
Hortiflorexpo .....................................................................46 .........................www.hortiflorexpo.com
Jelitto Staudensamen GmbH .......................................49 ....................................... www.jelitto.com
Jiffy Products International B.V...................................52 .....................................www.jiffypot.com
Koppert ...............................................................................28 ........................................www.koppert.nl
Lex+ .......................................................................................2 ................................................. www.lex.nl
Mardenkro.........................................................................51 .............................www.mardenkro.com
Market News Service ....................................................36 ..........................www.intracen.org/mns
Meteor Systems B.V. ......................................................33 .................................www.irrigation.com
Policar Arava Farms .......................................................36 .....................................www.smmol.com
Pöppelmann GmbH & Co. KG.......................................30 .......................www.poeppelmann.com
Roses Forever ApS............................................................7 ........................www.roses-forever.com
Sierehandel BV ................................................................30 ................................www.sierehandel.nl
Sogo Team Co., Ltd............................................................7 .................. www.sogo-orchids.com.tw
Solufeed Limited ..............................................................33 .................................www.solufeed.com
Stal & Plast A/S ................................................................23 ................................. www.staal-plast.dk
Stan Brouard Group..........................................................7 ........................................www.sbpi.co.uk
Takii & Co., Ltd...................................................................22 .........................................www.takii.co.jp
Tropical Seeds B.V...........................................................11 ........................www.tropicalseeds.com
Urbinati S.r.l. ......................................................................49 ...................................www.urbinati.com
VWS Export-Import of Flowerbulbs B.V. ...................35 ...................... www.vws-flowerbulbs.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.floracultureinternational.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. (Vondelstraat 162, 1054 GW Amsterdam, The Netherlands). 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.
49
Contact CUBECAP® Canada or go to:
WWW.CUBECAP.CA
for information.
PHONE: 450 781 1532
FAX: 450 688 5261
INFO @CUBECAP.CA
1533 CURÉ-LABELLE, LAVAL,
QUEBEC, CANADA H7V 2W4
4"(10cm
)
SQUAR & 6"(15cm)
E DRIPC
APS®
NOW A
VAILAB
LE
DISTRIBUTING WORLDWIDE:
USA
Farmtek
www.growerssupply.com
Phone: 1 800 245 9881
Fax: 1 800 457 8887
NGW
www.n-g-w.com
Toll free: 888 649 4769
Local Phone: 360 883 8846
Fax: 360 883 5395
Hydrofarm
www.hydrofarm.com
Phone: (707) 765 9990
Fax: (707) 765 6191
CANADA
Greenstar Plant products inc.
www.getgreenstar.us
Toll Free: 888 747 4769
Toll Free Fax: 888 933 3385
UK
Growell
www.growell.co.uk
Order Hotline: 0845 345 5178
Order Fax: 01926 621766
Nutriculture
www.nutriculture.com
Phone: +44 (0) 1695 554 080
Fax: +44 (0) 1695 554 081
UK, EUROPE & AUSTRALIA
Hydrogarden
www.hydrogarden.com
Direct Order Line Phone:
024 7660 8083 / 024 7660 8084
from outside the UK:
+44 24 7660 8083 / 8084
JAPAN
Tree People
www.growshop.jp
Phone & Fax: 011 520 7717
Algae turns it green -
CUBECAP®
Keeps it clean
EVEN MORE LIGHT FROM THE SUN?
OUR
VISIT
AT
STAND
IR:
RTI FA
O
H
E
TH
D NO.
, STAN
HALL 1
08.
01.02
REDUFUSE WILL BE THE SMARTEST SOLUTION FOR DIFFUSED LIGHT
ReduSystems is a range of innovative greenhouse coatings to optimise solar radiation. It includes triedand-tested products such as ReduSol, ReduHeat and ReduClean. A new development from Mardenkro
is ReduFuse. This is a removable liquid coating that converts direct solar radiation into diffused light.
In the year to come, we will be extensively testing the various compositions and possibilities of ReduFuse
in practical situations. So that soon we will be able to guarantee
that more light will penetrate deeper into your crop. At low cost!
Follow the development of ReduFuse at www.redusystems.com/lab
Mardenkro goes further Mardenkro assists greenhouse growers in over 50 countries all over the world in
controlling sunlight and solar heat. ReduSystems products such as ReduSol and ReduHeat allow growers to
optimally control the climatic conditions in their greenhouses. Each Mardenkro product is of the highest quality and environmentally friendly. More information on our products can be found on www.mardenkro.com
Jiffy’s Sustainable
Programs
Jiffy® is the leading worldwide supplier of
environmentally sustainable plant propagation
and container products. Made of peat, wood pulp,
coir and now plant starch, Jiffy® products reduce
the use of plastic flowerpots in the environment by
millions of units each day.
NEW Jiffy
®
CarbonLite Pot
Using a breakthrough in biobased
technology, new Jiffy® CarbonLite
products are clean, green and
affordable! Made primarily from
plant starches, Jiffy® CarbonLite
pots provide over 19 kgs of carbon
benefit per 1,000 pots, the same as
removing almost 1.5 cars off the road
per day! Reduce reliance on foreign oil while improving
your company’s carbon footprint and green image. An
economical and earth friendly solution, Jiffy® CarbonLite
products are suitable for 4-color printing and will fit most
automated production systems.
Tread litely – it’s our only world –
Jiffy® CarbonLite pots, trays, and flats
allow you to be green and replace plastic!
®
Come visit Jiffy at Horti Fair booth number 02.0104
®