NL
Agrozone, in cooperation with trial station Vertify at Zwaagdijk, has been investigating the possibilities of reducing ventilation in tulip storage since August 2024. The harmful ethylene which normally requires intensive ventilation. Two birds with one stone: less power consumption through limited ventilation and a better product!
Infection of tulip bulbs
Infection of tulip bulbs by the aggressive fungus Fusarium, also known as "acid," is a major threat to the tulip industry and can even lead to farm bankruptcy. Due to increased farm size and mechanization, the problem has increased substantially over the past 10 years and has become unmanageable on a number of farms in recent years.
New cultivars and old cultivars that were quite insensitive to acid are now also being severely affected. Fusarium-infested bulbs produce ethylene gas. Ethylene can cause a variety of harmful symptoms in unaffected tulip bulbs such as reduced growth, core rot, cane plants, gums and flower desiccation.
Ventilation of cell air
The damage threshold is 100 ppb for ethylene throughout storage. To stay below this damage threshold a lot of cell air ventilation is needed, namely 100m3 ventilation perm3 bulbs. With high Fusarium percentages in a batch, even this amount of ventilation is insufficient. Ozone (O3) is known to be able to break down ethylene (C2H2). Ventilation costs a lot of energy, since the storage cells must be kept at the right temperature (heating/cooling), but at the same time a substantial ventilation of the conditioned air must take place.
Research started
The dose of ozone required to eliminate the ethylene production of Fusarium is being investigated, thus requiring only minimal ventilation of the cell.
The test started in August this year. In the ozone storage cell (with 8m3 bulbs, 4 different cultivars) the ethylene is oxidized away by ozone. Both the ozone and the ethylene concentration are read on-line. The ozone dosage is automatically adjusted accordingly. Regular ventilation takes place in a reference cell. From harvest until the end of August, the storage temperature is 25°C, then 20°C until the end of October and then 17°C until plants. This is a regular temperature treatment in tulip bulb storage.
After storage, the bulbs from the ozone cell and the reference cell are planted up, after which assessment of phytotoxicity and yield determination, among others, takes place.
The first results of preservation are very promising. Indeed, by dosing ozone, only minimal ventilation is needed.
Agrozone, in cooperation with trial station Vertify at Zwaagdijk, has been investigating the possibilities of reducing ventilation in tulip storage since August 2024. The harmful ethylene which normally requires intensive ventilation. Two birds with one stone: less power consumption through limited ventilation and a better product!
Infection of tulip bulbs
Infection of tulip bulbs by the aggressive fungus Fusarium, also known as "acid," is a major threat to the tulip industry and can even lead to farm bankruptcy. Due to increased farm size and mechanization, the problem has increased substantially over the past 10 years and has become unmanageable on a number of farms in recent years.
New cultivars and old cultivars that were quite insensitive to acid are now also being severely affected. Fusarium-infested bulbs produce ethylene gas. Ethylene can cause a variety of harmful symptoms in unaffected tulip bulbs such as reduced growth, core rot, cane plants, gums and flower desiccation.
Ventilation of cell air
The damage threshold is 100 ppb for ethylene throughout storage. To stay below this damage threshold a lot of cell air ventilation is needed, namely 100m3 ventilation perm3 bulbs. With high Fusarium percentages in a batch, even this amount of ventilation is insufficient. Ozone (O3) is known to be able to break down ethylene (C2H2). Ventilation costs a lot of energy, since the storage cells must be kept at the right temperature (heating/cooling), but at the same time a substantial ventilation of the conditioned air must take place.
Research started
The dose of ozone required to eliminate the ethylene production of Fusarium is being investigated, thus requiring only minimal ventilation of the cell.
The test started in August this year. In the ozone storage cell (with 8m3 bulbs, 4 different cultivars) the ethylene is oxidized away by ozone. Both the ozone and the ethylene concentration are read on-line. The ozone dosage is automatically adjusted accordingly. Regular ventilation takes place in a reference cell. From harvest until the end of August, the storage temperature is 25°C, then 20°C until the end of October and then 17°C until plants. This is a regular temperature treatment in tulip bulb storage.
After storage, the bulbs from the ozone cell and the reference cell are planted up, after which assessment of phytotoxicity and yield determination, among others, takes place.
The first results of preservation are very promising. Indeed, by dosing ozone, only minimal ventilation is needed.
What to do before 2023 & 2027?
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