Is it because of climate change? Because of the substrates? Or because of something else? Pepper growers still do not the exact cause of the root problems in their crop. Things were still going fine for Wilfred van den Berg at Best Peppers. But signals from the sector prompted him to act. Now he grows entirely on Dutch Plantin’s coco products. ”We’ve got our confidence back and we’re prepared to grow a full crop again.”
Never experienced before
Luckily Best Peppers was not suffering any problems with the plants or the crop yet. But the signals from the sector sounded the alarm for owner Wilfred van den Berg. “Root problems were increasing rapidly at many other nurseries, with whole crops being lost. I hadn’t seen anything like that in 30 years.”
From rockwool to coco substrate
Wilfred besloot het anders aan te pakken. Hij deed eerst een proef met een organisch substraat en koos vervolgens voor een overstap naar 100% kokossubstraat van Dutch Plantin – voor de volledige 11 hectare van zijn kwekerij. “We zien nu sterkere planten, een hoger vruchtgewicht én een betere productie.”
Growing differently
Best Peppers previously used rockwool, like many fellow growers in the Netherlands. “That always worked well. The whole supply chain is designed for that, from troughs to drainage. Coco substrate was not common here. So I also had to change some of the infrastructure. But it was worth it,” says Wilfred. “Coco substrate is uniform and easy to use. It comes compressed, you put it on the trough and you can get to work straight away. What is also convenient is that with Dutch Plantin, you decide where the drainage holes go, so roots don’t grow into the trough.”
Learning within the growers’ group
Wilfred is part of a growers’ group with Wim Roosen from Dutch Plantin. They regularly meet up with other growers who also work with coco substrate. Wim: “Why? In order to share experiences. This is very valuable, because coco substrate offers new opportunities but also requires a different approach from growing on something like rockwool. Coco is more controllable. You can allow a mat to get slightly drier but still be able wet it well again. With rockwool, you often lose some of the volume when it gets dry.” Wilfred: “That’s right. We don’t have to drain preventively now.”
Look to the future
A challenge that comes with coco substrates? “Disposing of the used mats,” says Wim. “We are now thinking about that together as a group. Coco substrate is good organic material, so we are looking for a sustainable solution. There are also plans for further innovation already, such as a nursery pot made of 100% coco substrate.”
Fabulous plants
For Best Peppers, the new approach is highly promising in any case. “The plants look fabulous,” says Wilfred. “We’ve got our confidence back. We are prepared to grow a full crop again and aim for quality. And that’s why we do it.”
We are happy to advise you!
Want to know what coco substrates can do for your pepper crop? Contact Wim Roosen, sales and marketing consultant at Dutch Plantin. Or come and see us at one of the international trade fairs that we will be attending over the coming months.
