Great results with AQUA4D® water improvement system at Klaver Flowers

 

‘Saving 10 percent water isn’t magic after all’

 

Author: Geert Peeters

The spring water at Clover Flowers’ farm in Ethiopia is abundant, but contains high levels of sodium and bicarbonate. To get the EC down, the grower therefore uses osmosis technology, which is effective, but also has a price tag.

When Hortus Supplies International (HSI BV) proposed to start a practical trial with an AQUA4D® water improvement system in cooperation with Aqua4D-Lescrauwaet BV, owner Gert-Jan Klaver reacted somewhat skeptical at first, but also curious. “If it doesn’t help then it doesn’t hurt. We had seen good results elsewhere in roses and vegetables, so I was keen to try it.”

10% water savings

Immediate results after starting an initial trial in part of the crop were substantial water savings. This, it later turned out, could vary greatly according to the changing weather conditions, but ended up at about 10% on average. That also meant a 10% savings in fertilizer use, and since the farm has grown considerably in recent years – now growing mainly gypsum and limonium on some 50 acres – that is a nice bonus.

In addition, soil moisture, which is important for good root system formation, is clearly more even. “We grow the flowers on beds,” Gert-Jan explains over a cup of coffee in the brand new office at the company in Heerhugowaard, “and a good distribution of water is very important in this respect. Previously, the water sank down in a cone shape, the horizontal distribution left much to be desired. Moreover, with a lot of side radiation, we often saw the sides of the beds drying out. We also see now that, especially with the gypsum, the roots are less sensitive to salt.”

Resonate

With Aqua4D technology, the molecular structure of the pouring water improves through a resonance technique developed in Switzerland based on electromagnetic signals. The water structure refines, the fluidity or surface tension improves, the effect of bicarbonate is reduced, the water absorbs nutrients better and, together with the nutrients, is easily absorbed by plants.

It is therefore not surprising – or indeed, it is to be expected – that the plant above ground also benefits. “We would like to achieve above-average quality, the stems are preferably all 80 cm and weigh at least 30-35 grams. To achieve that, everything has to be right, and since we started with AQUA4D® we are indeed seeing slightly longer and somewhat heavier stems. In addition, the soil structure is looser and we see a little less sunburn on the leaves.”

So Ethiopia, so Heerhugowaard

More or less synchronous with the field tests in Ethiopia, an AQUA4D® rental trial was also started in the greenhouses in Heerhugowaard. This is indeed a completely different crop (lilies, in crates, under glass) and under completely different climatic weather conditions, but when it comes to issues such as savings and quality improvement, there is an ear for optimization here as well.

The initial findings turned out to be almost identical: a 10% saving on water, a more even moisture distribution, better run-off on the crop and especially in winter the crop dries considerably faster. Moreover, Gert-Jan and cultivation manager Jesse Bergsma note that the pipes have become cleaner: there is less deposit in the pipes and filters also need to be replaced less often.

Plug & play

After a thorough preliminary process, the Aqua4D system is ‘plug & play’, it is installed in the main pipeline and then you don’t have to worry about it for years. On the farm, after an initial unit used to irrigate 3 ha, three units have now been installed to supply the entire farm, approximately 14 ha of production, with irrigation water. “This number is not primarily correlated to the amount of water flowing through the Aqua4D treatment tube, but more of the entire water column itself because even with stagnant water it has its effect,” explains Raymond Lescrauwaet of the now 12-year-old importing company Aqua4D-Lescrauwaet from Hilversum.

“The art of the technology is to find the precise resonant frequencies of the water, while counteracting any outside interference as much as possible. That is why we do all kinds of environmental measurements in advance at various points in the greenhouse and especially where water or power lines run or, as is the case here, there is a high-voltage mast nearby. If you have all that insight, then basically all the water that is in that particular (greenhouse) circuit is treated to the maximum.”

Looking ahead to the future and being able to accurately pinpoint the differences between AQUA4D® treated and untreated (reference) boxes often also says something about the expertise and commitment of the grower in question, Raymond adds. “That’s absolutely right at Klaver Flowers, in addition to a progressive and accessible management team, with motivated cultivation managers like (former) Rob, Danny and Jesse.”

 

Looking ahead

The men are quite pleased with the findings: Klaver Flowers with the investment/savings and the heavier quality of the flowers and Aqua4D-Lescrauwaet with a magnificence of a reference in both Heerhugowaard and in faraway Ethiopia, with thanks to Jack van Winden of export-partner HSI BV.

“It’s not magic,” concludes Gert-Jan, “we measure consistently and observe clear improvements. We hope to further expand our farm in Ethiopia in the near future and with today’s knowledge that will certainly include an AQUA4D® system.”

 

For more information:

Clover Flowers

Gert-Jan Klaver

info@klaverflowers.com

Tel: 072-5710433

 

Aqua4D-Lescrauwaet BV

Raymond Lescrauwaet

info@aqua4d-lescrauwaet.nl

Tel: 035-8872683