Bloom Valley
- Beatrix Büte
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Roses
Bloom Valley, part of the Xflora Group, uses PATS-C moth monitoring to improve caterpillar control in Salgaa, Nakuru.
For rose exporters, quality is what reaches the market. Real confidence begins in the greenhouse, with strong prevention and clear proof that controls work. Simply saying pest monitoring is implemented is no longer enough. Customers, inspectors, and team members want evidence that risks are managed clearly and openly.
This expectation is especially important for Kenyan exporters, where False Codling Moth (FCM) remains one of the most commercially sensitive pests. As a regulated quarantine pest for the European Union, increased scrutiny on flower shipments has made early detection, accurate verification, and timely response essential. Any interception poses a direct risk to market access and customer trust. In that context, certainty becomes critical. Knowing you are in the clear is, in effect, an export license
This reality is particularly evident in Salgaa, Nakuru, an established floriculture region where pest pressure remains consistently high. Bloom Valley, part of the Xflora Group, operates in this environment with a strong focus on quality-driven rose production. The wider group spans over 120 hectares of greenhouse cultivation across four farms in the Nakuru Njoro region, producing a diverse range of rose varieties at altitudes between 1900 and 2450 meters. Bloom Valley, established in 2015 and located near Africa Blooms in Salgaa, produces roses hydroponically on over 20 hectares at approximately 1950 meters above sea level, combining modern production techniques with a continuous drive for improvement.
From monitoring to verifiable control
Bloom Valley’s management team has long invested in structured Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Yet in a high-pressure environment, a familiar challenge remained. Traditional scouting and routine checks, while valuable, can still leave decision makers asking, “Are we seeing the full picture every day in every greenhouse?”
To address this gap, Bloom Valley introduced technology that makes pest pressure measurable, transparent, and continuously reviewable. This is not only to support agronomic decisions, but also to strengthen accountability and assurance.
The solution: automated moth monitoring.
Bloom Valley installed PATS-C units in selected greenhouses to enable continuous monitoring of flying insects, with a primary focus on moth activity. The system automatically detects and tracks key species such as Helicoverpa, Spodoptera, Duponchelia, and False Codling Moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta), providing clear daily activity reports on the present pest population and trend insights through an intuitive dashboard.
By translating flight activity into actionable patterns, the team gains a clearer understanding of when moth populations are most active and when larvae are likely to emerge. This allows interventions to be timed with far greater precision. As a result, control measures can be applied at the most effective moment, improving impact while reducing unnecessary applications.
What this means for the business
For Bloom Valley’s leadership, the value of real-time monitoring lies not in collecting more data but in enabling better and more confident decisions and communicating those decisions with credibility.
Consistent visibility into nightly moth activity and population trends reduces reliance on isolated observations and strengthens the ability to verify that control measures are working as intended. Early insight into changing pest pressure allows for faster, more targeted responses, improving overall crop protection.
Just as important, the ability to compare activity trends before and after interventions provides clear feedback on effectiveness and supports continuous improvement. At the same time, maintaining a reliable monitoring record strengthens compliance readiness and reinforces confidence among internal teams, customers, and stakeholders.
By linking monitoring directly to action, Bloom Valley has moved toward a more structured and data-driven approach. Timing is improved, decisions are validated, and pest management is guided by measurable insight rather than assumptions.
“At Bloom Valley, we are embracing technology and innovation to strengthen how we manage pests in our rose greenhouses. By installing PATS-C, we can continuously monitor moth activity inside the greenhouse and receive real-time counts that show what is happening day by day. This visibility helps us respond faster, and it also allows us to see how our interventions influence pest pressure over time, building stronger confidence for our team, our stakeholders, and our customers.”
Looking ahead
For Bloom Valley and the Xflora Group, real-time monitoring is not a replacement for agronomy. But it strengthens it by adding measurable insight. As market expectations continue to rise, the focus remains clear. Protect quality at every stage, reduce uncertainty in decision making, and provide stakeholders with confidence that pest risks are being managed with precision, consistency, and transparency.
Technology-enabled monitoring forms part of Bloom Valley’s ongoing commitment to responsible, high-quality rose production. By demonstrating how agronomic expertise and verifiable data work together, Bloom Valley aims to set a standard in crop protection and operational excellence. For customers and stakeholders seeking clearer insight into pest management and quality, the farm welcomes engagement through Xflora Group’s established commercial channels.
