June 2022
SPECIAL
4
Text: Broer de Boer
The step from sustainable to organic cultivation can still be challenging for the nursery stock industry
TOWARDS 25 PER CENT ORGANICALLY GROWN IN 2030 The cultivation of nursery stock is becoming increasingly more sustainable. Leaders in the industry have been working on this for twenty years. Organic cultivation is a politically correct activity that also increases the cost of production. That is why an increase in real organic products is still something for the future. Actually, the knowledge and experience
green manure crop. On top of that, the
(BIOM nursery stock cultivation) started
to a fertile soil with a rich and varied soil
“If regular cultivation, with the use of chemical products, will ever cease to exist?”
to an attractive living environment and
chemical products, ever cease to exist?
from practical network BIOM-boomteelt organic cultivation. Entrepreneurs,
consultants and researchers had been involved in this project, which took
place in 2002 - 2005. In 2021, the Second Chamber of the Parliament adopted a
motion that stated that 25 per cent of all planting material has to be organically grown in 2030. The question is: what’s
the situation of the organic nursery stock industry 20 years after the start of this
project? The nursery stock cultivation is
standing out due to its large diversity. It
has more than 20,000 types and cultivars in several plant groups: standard trees,
forest and hedge shrubs, perennials, fruit trees and ornamental shrubs, which are grown in pot, in container and on open soil.
Supervision
‘Organic’ is a legally protected term: a
product is only organic if it is produced and certified pursuant the Dutch and
European law. In the Netherlands, SKAL
Biocontrole supervises the organic chain. If you want to market a tree as ‘organic’, you have to be SKAL certified. Statistics
show that 1 per cent of all growers grow
organically. Large businesses sometimes grow part of their plants SKAL certified. For types that can be grown without
taking additional measures, this is not a
problem. However, it can be cumbersome to make a strict division between the different processes for sustainable
and organic growth. In many cases, a
separate legal entity is founded for the SKAL part.
Barrier
Organic arboriculture has been based
on the principles of organic agriculture. It strives towards closed cycles and
a natural balance. By refraining from
the use of artificial manure, chemical synthetic weed control, and gen
technology, tree nurseries are taking care of the environment. Organic nurseries growing nursery stock pay a lot of
attention to the fertility of the soil by using organic fertilisers, such as compost and
application of crop rotation contributes
life. Organic cultivation also contributes
biodiversity. However, nurserymen often experience the hoops you have to jump through if you want to become SKAL
certified, as a barrier. They often work
mainly organic and follow the guidelines, but without the certification. According to them, it is hard to get the certificate, and it might even have a significant
financial impact. Buyers also experience limits when it comes to purchasing
organic materials. This mainly concerns the obligation of the European tender,
and the limited supply of some products, which means that the purchaser cannot just select on SKAL material.
Faassen Plants
Ted Huijbers, account manager at
Faassen Plants in Tegelen, is expressly
working on certification of the company, with approximately 50 hectares of
avenue trees, 30 hectares of forest
shrubs, and approximately 1.5 hectares of container cultivation. He says: “We
would love to produce under the SKAL certificate, to be able to sell official
organically grown planting material.
We started growing as sustainable as
possible some fifteen years ago, pursuant the Milieukeur requirements. To become
Will regular cultivation, with the use of
Huijbers answers that question as follows: “I think it is impossible to stop doing this, unless the government will remove all
chemical products from the admission list of the ‘College voor de toelating
van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en
biociden’ (Ctgb, college for the admission of crop protection products and
biocides). Organically grown is also more
expensive, and there is always a demand for regular planting materials. Huijbers says that in the past 15 years, Faassen
Provided that they are used well, they
always in a better position to withstand a
insects. Insiders know these products
monitor the crops. “A healthy plant is
bug or fungal infection than we think. And infections mostly come in waves. If for
example Fagus would really suffer from the presence of lice, watering could be
an option. We know from experience that they don’t like this! The use of ladybugs
in open organic cultivation is considered to be hard. Moreover, we see that weed
in our sustainable cultivation is the major point of attention. That especially causes problems with planting woodlands.
Despite mechanisation, a small plough
with a hoe are used to maintain our beds, very traditional.”
SKAL certified, you have to adhere to the years. For us, those rules are too much
that organic growers can use to combat
of a barrier still. There’s too much work pressure at the nursery, which means
that we hardly have time to work on this.
We wonder why it is not possible to award the certificate afterwards, after you’ve been doing it for five years. However,
we are officially PlanetProof and MPS A+ certified. My experience is that 50 per
cent of the municipalities and the forest
groups now work with PlanetProof or SKAL certified planting materials.” From that point of view, one could argue that the
turning point from regular to sustainable has been reached. In any case, Faassen
Plants is able to manage the demand for his PlanetProof products.’
Tegelen. PHOTO NWST
Plants has mainly learned to continuously
Use of means
rules of this certificate for at least five
Accountmanager at Faassen Plants in
What is the status of organic means
are very effective in controlling fungi and and every industrial permit holder has
an assortment of these ‘green products’. Some examples are Polyversum, new
organic fungicide on the basis of Pythium oligandrum, and Vintec, a product
against branch mortality on the basis
of Trichoderma atrovirens. Furthermore,
Taegro and Amylo-X have been allowed onto the market in the past two years.
These are organic fungicides based on the bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefa-
ciens, just like the already earlier allowed product Serenade. Velifer is a new
organic insecticide on the basis of fungus Beauveria bassiana and is effective
against - amongst others - trips and the white fly.
insects, fungi, and undesirable herbs?
Horticulture industry is leading
Coöperatie CEMP. Van ‘t Westeinde says:
product that the industry needs to learn
We ask Peter van ’t Westeinde of
“When it comes to green means, there is an entire series of low risk products
available, based on micro organisms
such as bacteria and fungi specimens.
Van ‘t Westeinde: “Velifer is a low risk
how to work with. Such a new product
is also valuable to be able to alternate the weed control with other products.
For weed control in organic cultivation,
On behalf of trade fair GrootGroenPlus: Didier Hermans, member of the board. “Chemical means, provided that they are used the right way, do not need to have a negative impact on our living environment. 100% organic may never be achievable. However, most nurserymen have a lot of attention for their soil, and are close to what would be possible from an organic standpoint.”
