“We want to use everything we use in terms of resources as balance and efficiently as possible.” Michel Pen, who works for the Agro Giethoorn company in Giethoorn, Overijssel, has the floor. That is why Zorvec fits well with the business strategy.
Agro Giethoorn cultivates approximately 450 hectares of land. The company grows potatoes for French fries and crisps on about 275 hectares. The cultivation of the potatoes takes place in both the extensive Giethoornse polder and near hedgerows in Friesland and Drenthe. The risk of late blight therefore differs greatly per plot. It is in particular the phytophthora strains EU-36 and EU-37 that they encounter. Advisor Gert Brommer and his colleagues from Agrifirm take samples and monitor which phytophthora strains are present in the cultivation areas.
Healthy starting material
Pen: “We grow various varieties, including Fontane. We are working on crop rotation. We are in contact with about 40 livestock farmers for the land exchange. We are also critical of the health of the starting material and carefully combat potential potato storage. “
Deploy efficiently
His strategy to give Phytophthora no chance during the growing season differs per plot. Pen: “We start spraying earlier in a wooded plot than in the polder, where the infection pressure is generally less high. But more importantly, we use the resources as efficiently as possible. To this end, this season we use the Phytophthora Module on Akkerweb as a decision support system . For effectiveness and to save costs. “
On balance cheaper
In addition to the well-known remedies against Phytophthora, he has also been using Zorvec since 2019 . Although Zorvec is a nice and strong new product, Michel had to get used to the long spraying interval of 10 days in the beginning. “Where we used to be able to schedule a fixed spraying day every week, we got out of step with Zorvec. Anyway, with some puzzling we have a schedule that we can handle very well.” Ultimately, Agro Giethoorn is very satisfied with the result. “We work here with paid labor. We save 1 or 2 spraying rounds compared to regular products. As a result, the product is cheaper on balance compared to our previous standard.”
Infection pressure
How he uses Zorvec this year depends on the infection pressure. “At high pressure we opt for a block of three sprays. This is most effective according to research. If the pressure is lower, then perhaps two blocks of two sprays. “
In addition to the arable farming branch, Agro Giethoorn has a poultry branch, a biogas installation and a drying facility for, among other things, pet food products. More information on www.agrogiethoorn.nl .
- Phytophthora.net
- ‘Zorvec is on balance cheaper for us per day of protection’
