Everything is about flexibility in a modern seed potato business CU LTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY ‘Very important in current management is flexibility’, Smits continues. The capacity for grading has been increased with this Van Hees installation. easier to use and dispense than Talent and it also works on most of the varieties we store here. Also, seed treated with ethylene can be planted straight after treatment. If a lot has been removed from the storeroom and has to be moved back in again, for example because we haven’t been able to plant or deliver, ethylene won’t pose any problems. That’s much more difficult with Talent. The only variety we still treat with Talent is Agria because it reacts best on that type of sprout regulator. We still store this variety with a colleague who also uses Talent for his own produce’, Smits explains his choices. Boxfilr saves forklift truck and driver Another example of flexibility, literally and figuratively, is found in the indoor and well-lit loading/unloading and grading section in front of the storehouse. It’s a brand-new No1 Boxfilr with bunker filler, two lifts and a big bag filler manufactured by Van Hees Machinery (VHM). This installation is very useful for both the grading and storage operations of seed potatoes. Because of the automatic interim stacking of boxes, all the necessary transport can be carried out by one forklift truck and one driver. ‘In the old situation, we needed two forklift trucks and so two drivers. The capacity for grading has even been increased with this Van Hees installation. We now process fifteen to seventeen boxes of seed per hour.’ What’s more, Smits is extremely happy with the accurate box filling and the low drop of the seed into the boxes so that they won’t get damaged. This really works very well, especially for the oversizes that are sold as consumption potatoes, is the experience of the seed potato grower. And the VHM fills every box very lightly, with equal tuber distribution and without any pile formation. If Smits were to use the installation only for filling grading surface for the main sizes is 3.20 x 1.35 metres. The grading surface for the other two sizes is 1.60 x 1.35 metres and is also a good size. He now grades the seed potato lots in the sizes 35 to 50, 50 to 55 and 55 to 60 millimetres. All in all, the changes provide much more accurate grading, which is profitable for both the seed potato grower and the buyer, believes Smits. The Bintje may not ‘Each variety requires its own cultivation and storage methods which means we’re racking our brains again every season’ boxes, such as for storage, you could achieve a filling capacity of 120 boxes an hour. ‘That’s not what we reach here, though’, he laughs. More grading capacity through their own adaptations What helps the speed and ease of the grading process are the adaptations Smits made to the grading plant. He already grades the 0 to 35 mm undersizes and the over 60 mm oversizes (consumption) separately before they reach the inspection room. ‘This saves a great deal of inspection capacity and provides information about the seed sizes. Smits then only has to divide up the 35 to 60 mm seed potatoes over the existing grading capacity. The currently available yet be forgotten, with the new adjustments the seed potato grower from Luttelgeest can handle the new varieties without any problem, and the ultimate object is higher financial results. ● Leo Hanse Potato World 2016 • number 2 43 Pagina 42
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