It is important to disinfect empty greenhouses properly and very carefully during the crop rotation. At Tomato Masters, they use the foam gun to apply Menno Florades foaming. Standing on the spray truck, they foam each row back and forth themselves, so they can be sure they hit everything right for a clean disease-free start to the new crop.
Tom Vlaemynck, tomato grower in Deinze: "We grow at Tomato Masters in 2025 on 9 hectares of peppers and on 12.5 hectares of tomatoes. We were tipped off by Kurt Lauwers of Royal Brinkman last year about Menno Florades because you can foam it. Last year, we worked with Menno Florades for the first time on 7 hectares. The advantage is that you can foam it. It also doesn't give a vapor effect like chlorine and you don't have to spray it - wet - after with water. We can plant again quite soon after. Now we pack all 21 hectares with it."
Kurt Lauwers, Tom Vlaemynck and Jasper Verhoeven
Effective disinfectant
Jasper Verhoeven, hygiene specialist at Royal Brinkman: "Menno Florades is a disinfectant that is very effective on bacteria, and fungal spores but certainly also on plant viruses. So in tomato cultivation, it is an important tool in the fight against ToBRFV, in pepper cultivation against Fusarium. It is a contact agent based on benzoic acid that you apply diluted with water. A foam application can further improve the result of disinfection with Menno Florades. Research has also shown that. The advantage of foam is that the agent gets into more cracks, corner,s and seams in the greenhouse."
Foam provides a longer contact time, the surface stays covered longer and better. Jasper: "Also, you see what you hit, and therefore what you missed. You can apply Menno Florades foaming with a few tools. You don't need to add any additional agents. With an applicator, foam gun, or a foam kit for the spray robot, you can make nice foam. The better the foam, the better the effectiveness of the disinfection treatment." At a pH below 4, the solution is effective. A grower can easily measure this himself with pH indicator paper or a pH meter.
Foam gun
At Tomato Masters, they use the foam gun to apply Menno Florades foaming. Tom: "We connect the foam gun to the high-pressure hose of the spray truck with a hose reel. At 25 bar pressure, we make the best foam. We add the right dose of Menno Florades with the Dosatron, the IBC is on the concrete pad. We carry out the disinfection treatment very precisely. We always do it ourselves, so we can be sure we hit the cultivation gutters, the greenhouse facade, and the substrate trays properly."
"The machine drives at a fixed speed, we drive there and back in the same path, so we disinfect all sides well. The advantage of disinfecting with foam is that we can clearly see that we have hit everything. After the thorough disinfection, we can start the new crop clean again."
For more information:
Royal Brinkman
[email protected]
www.royalbrinkman.nl