Based in Offenham, on the outskirts of the Vale of Evesham, family-run tomato growers R&L Holt have been producing tomatoes since 1980. Head Grower Roly Holt is passionate about his craft, mainly growing the Piccolo variety of tomatoes, in addition to newer varieties such as sweet mini plums and vine tomatoes.
Known for being an innovator and early adopter, Roly loves to innovate, and as a company, R&L Holt has developed a special cultivation system and a unique patented irrigation system seeking to optimize the climate and growing conditions for the plants.
A recent new addition to their process has been the installation of their 2nd nanobubbles system from O2 Solutions, ensuring that the irrigation water that is supplied to the crops has a supersaturated dissolved oxygen content. O2 Solutions has simplified the way of producing nanobubbles and adding oxygen to water in a maintenance-free system.
Having installed their first nanobubbles unit in 2023 Roly has closely monitored the resulting differences in the crops with the elevated dissolved oxygen levels, and has found an improvement in the rooting strength and health of the crops in the treated areas. " We installed the first system at our Sandylands site in July of last year, and we noticed a stronger end to the cropping year with these plants."
Having experienced firsthand the hassle-free use of the system, in addition to the production benefits, Roly was left with an easy decision to expand the use of the technology. "The system was trouble-free, and with the benefits that we saw, along with the close contact with Hortispeed we were keen to expand the trial into another block for the new 2024 season."
The systems are designed to not only be simple to use and maintain but also to install. The Triton nanobubbles system arrives with all that is needed for a quick installation and only requires the addition of some lengths of 50mm pipe to fit into the growers existing storage tanks.
Roly is now looking to explore ways to further optimize the water quality, as the early results of the 2024 season have also been positive: "The block that we placed the second system in has always been an area that has given us the most challenges to keep a good balance between vegetative and generative growth, but we have found that this year we have a more controlled crop than we've had before."
For more information:
O2 Solutions
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