LKP Plants
- Beatrix Büte
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Ornamentals
LKP Plants in Moerkapelle is, with 8 hectares, one of the largest and most modern Bromelia nurseries in the Netherlands. The company is fully committed to automation and digitization, and has invested heavily in automatic cultivation systems in recent years.
In addition, the company is undergoing major renovations
to make their greenhouses more sustainable. This sustainability is also reflected in their long-standing fully biological cultivation. Only natural enemies are used against various pest insects, including tricky moths and caterpillars that can cause a lot of damage.
At the end of 2021, LKP started using the PATS-C system in one of their greenhouses. With this system, Marco Koolhaas, co-owner, and Bas Krens, cultivation specialist, have automated and digitized the monitoring of moth pests.
Automated pest monitoring
So in terms of pest monitoring, LKP is fully committed to automation. Bas and Marco are highly satisfied with the PATS-C system and have demonstrated that the transition to a fully biological approach with natural enemies is paying off.
This is a strategy that they will continue to follow as the range of available means becomes more limited. PATS-C is also a great addition to regular crop checks.
The successful biological approach that LKP has been using for years is also reflected in the data generated by the digital pest monitoring.
Although there was considerable pressure measured throughout 2022, the population was successfully minimized during the past winter period. As a result, the starting situation in March this year (2023) shows to be very positive. The pressure is even 6 times (!) lower than the pressure from the moths in the month of March last year. Therefore, a much slower and gentler pest development is expected this season.
After the upcoming renovation of one of the greenhouses, LKP will expand the automatic pest monitoring to the other greenhouses this summer. In addition, the company is interested in PATS' solutions that automate pest control as support for the biological approach.
Marco Koolhaas - Co-owner
LKP Plants Bromelia specialist
