This family has been growing tomatoes for almost seventy years now and still does so with a lot of passion. Like his father, Roy also likes a challenge. Together with three growers from the Venlo growers association Sunfresh, he decided to exploit Europe's first commercial greenhouse papaya in 2019.
What started with a test setup at Wageningen University is now a greenhouse in Wellerlooi with twelve thousand melon trees on four acres. Since the fall of 2020, papayas have actually been harvested there. "In summer, the trees give about thirty thousand papayas a week. In winter about half," Roy says. "Our biggest challenge is, on the one hand, growing in tubs with substrate, because with the tomatoes we are used to growing on rock wool. On the other hand, the discovery of the most ideal situation for this tree, both in terms of climate, soil structure, soil composition, nutrients and moisture."
"We are the first in Europe to grow papaya trees on a commercial basis. Nobody has experience in this yet," says Roy. "Every day we learn something new. That gives energy. One week you make big steps, the next week developments are at a standstill. Challenges we encounter in this innovative cultivation include:
"Every day I am faced with riddles, simply because there is not yet much knowledge about cultivation here in the Netherlands. But, since the start in 2019, we have made quite some progress. And we don't do that alone. We work together with experts in this field including tree expert Willy Detiger and technician Marcel Steegh from SoilMania who have placed innovative sensors in each tub.
With these sensors, we gather many new insights thanks to useful soil technology," Roy says. "Together with Marcel and Willy, I analyze the soil based on the sensor data and the data obtained from the soil samples examined in SoilMania's Laboratory. We discuss what we find, we figure out what the cause of developments might be and we take follow-up steps to further optimize the crop."
"We are now 1.5 years underway with papaya cultivation in this greenhouse. In February 2020, the first sensors were installed in the vats. From day 1, the sensors have provided good insight into the current status of the factors that are important to us.
