Breugem Horticulture

Tomato

This is the second season Breugem Horticulture, a Dutch tomato grower, has been working with the PATS-C system. In 2024, Sebastiaan Breugem decided to implement this solution to automatically monitor the most important moth pests in his crop across the entire company. The goal? To have a crop protection strategy based on solid facts.

One of the pests the team has to deal with is the Tomato looper moth. This pest poses a double threat: in addition to causing damage to the leaves, the caterpillars can directly attack tomatoes, leaving them unsellable. With the decreasing availability of pesticides, the risk of pest outbreaks, and thus economic damage, is increasing.

This underscores the importance of acting preventively and strategically. For this reason, Breugem Horticulture is increasingly relying on biological crop protection solutions.

For the biologicals to be effective, precise timing of their application is crucial. For instance, bacterial preparations are highly effective against caterpillars, but only if the caterpillars ingest the product at an early stage in this part of their life cycle. 

PATS-C proves its value

Fortunately, the pest pressure in 2024 turned out to be manageable. Sebastiaan’s observations in the crop were confirmed by the data from the PATS-C dashboard. This helped him to get convinced of the reliability of the system. In 2025, Breugem Horticulture plans to take an even more proactive approach, supported by the insights provided by PATS-C.

Information and alerts from the system will serve as the foundation for additional crop inspections, after which the crop protection strategy will be tailored to their needs. In the near future, the company also looks forward to taking advantage of PATS-C's automated predictions, enabling them to respond to pest developments even earlier.

Photo: Damage caused by Tomato looper caterpillar 

A future oriented family business

Based in Bleiswijk, South-Holland, Breugem Horticulture is an innovative family business cultivating tomatoes on six hectares. The company stands out by actively investing in new technologies and sustainable initiatives. Soon, a collective geothermal energy project will be completed to heat the greenhouses, and they are exploring the possibility of capturing CO2 to use in their cultivation.

This also includes the implementation of digital scouting. Alongside using PATS-C

to monitor larger pests like moths, the company began using a scouting app in 2024 to detect other pests such as whiteflies.

This allows the responsible employee to use their working hours more effectively: less time is spent collecting data, and more time is dedicated to analyzing and optimizing crop protection.

This approach enables Breugem to make timely and better-informed decisions. Additionally, the automated processes simplify labor planning, ensuring workers are deployed where they are most needed.

Sebastiaan Breugem