RESFOOD Info Session on horticulture showcased new technologies to overcome the future challenges in fruit and vegetable production
The RESFOOD partners presented the new technologies offered by the project in response to the rising challenges in the fruit and vegetable growing sector such as the tightening regulations on emissions, water scarcity due to climate change, increasing prices of fresh water and safety concerns related with fresh cut products. RESFOOD project coordinator Willy van Tongeren from TNO welcomed the participants, explaining the wider objective of the project to close the water cycle in the whole food production and processing sector by means of the innovative technologies combining water treatment, disinfection and detection technologies. Following this introduction, Dutch partners TNO and Demokwekerij as well as Spanish partner Adesva presented the results of the pilot tests in horticulture. These pilot tests have already proved that it is possible to reduce over 40% of the water consumption maintaining the same fruit quality and yield in soilless crops. This means a cheaper production process for farmers and reduction in the total fertilizers and biological control agents used. The first part of the programme was concluded with the presentations by Logisticon Water Treatment regarding an alternative technology that transforms salt water into fresh water with 40% lower energy consumption and by Microbiome on rapid and early detection systems that allow detection of bacteria in water and food even at the growing stages. After the presentations, the participants visited the pilot demonstration units at Demokwekerij, where they saw the water and nutrients management in practice and had their questions answered regarding various aspects of food quality and safety, as well as the innovative technology and equipment. The programme was concluded with a visit to Rimato, a large-scale tomato nursery at a nearby location, where the whole process of tomato production, harvesting and packaging was demonstrated to the participants. Info session presentations: http://www.resfood.eu/web/resfood-info-session-programme-and-presentations/(opens in new window) Photos: http://www.resfood.eu/web/info-session-on-horticulture-photo-gallery/(opens in new window) RESFOOD plans future info sessions on biomass recovery at VITO in Belgium, on water management and disinfection in food processing at CNTA in Spain and on horticulture at Adesva in Spain by the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015.
Countries
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, United Kingdom