Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Center (Delphy ISFC) uses Octiva’s autonomous UV-C robot at their premises in Horst to use it as alternative crop protection in daily practice.
Use of UV-C in horticulture
The use of UV-C to combat mildew and reduce spider mites has been proven for some time now. It is only since robots have been introduced in the market, such as Octiva’s Lumion, that this can also be applied in practice. The right dose and time for treatment is crucial and it is only through robotization that this has become really possible. This offers huge opportunities for growers, who find less residue on their crops than with traditional plant protection products, and can control diseases in the plants much more effectively. The amount of residue on the crop can be reduced by more than half by applying UV-C instead of chemical products, because about half of the total number of treatments against all diseases and pests in a crop can be omitted.
Innovating in soft fruit together
The horticultural sector faces many challenges. Just think of a shortage of workers, the rising wage costs, energy problem and the increasingly strict guidelines on plant protection products and nutrients. On top of that, consumers are increasingly concerned about chemical residues. To find an answer to these challenges, innovation and independent research are extremely important. Delphy ISFC performs pioneering work in this field by testing innovations in practice on a daily basis. “We very quickly noticed the effect of UV-C on the crop, even with varieties that are sensitive to mildew and with a very high degree of infection. We saw that Lumion significantly reduced and controlled the infection, great to see how quickly Lumion had an impact,” says Adrie Biemans, Farm Manager at Delphy ISFC.
The fact that Delphy ISFC uses Octiva’s autonomous UV-C robot Lumion at their location in Horst shows its relevance in the market. “The effectiveness of UV-C against mildew has been proven for some time, now it is time to apply the use of alternative plant protection products in daily practice. Lumion is being integrated into our IPM strategy, so this spring of the Elsanta continued cultivation we worked almost exclusively with UV-C and green resources. Octiva’s knowledge and experience with the correct application of UV-C in the crop makes them an ideal innovation partner,” says Bart Jongenelen, Manager at Delphy ISFC.
Business of the future
Sharing the knowledge gained during research is extremely important to give innovative growers the opportunity to set up their business operations for the future. “Robotization is a big step for many growers, but an absolute added value. Robots can work more precisely and add value to a market in which manual labor is mainly used for the time being. A true revolution that has become accessible to many growers due to these types of low-threshold applications,” says Tom Coen, CEO of Octiva.
