17 March 2025
The 100% Green Grown practice pilot is showing good results. Now that the full assessment has been made, we see that the seven fruiting vegetable farms already managed to use significantly less chemical crop protection agents in the first year.
In fact, thanks to a clever mix of existing methods, 70% less active ingredient per hectare was used in the first pilot year. With these insights, growers are fully engaged in the second growing season. The focus is now on the next step: making this green cultivation strategy economically viable as well.
The practical pilot is an initiative of the Federation of Salads Organisations (FVO) and revolves around cooperation and knowledge sharing. Various salad growers, specialists in organic crop protection, seed breeding and cultivation technology and management are working together towards one goal: to be able to grow peppers, tomatoes, aubergines and cucumbers completely without chemicals and profitably within three years.
After the first growing season of the three-year practical pilot, it is clear that salads cultivation with less chemistry is possible. "We see that there is a lot of 'low-hanging fruit' that can be picked up immediately by growers," says Ronald Grootscholten, programme director from Florpartners for 100% Green Grown. "These results have been achieved with existing and easily applicable methods. For this, growers showed their full commitment and cultivated with a different mindset. Intensive scouting and smart deployment of organic solutions are already making a lot of difference. This shows that sustainability does not necessarily have to be complex or revolutionary."
The participating growers achieved good results with intensive scouting, preventive biological crop protection and targeting of pests. Besides a 70% reduction in active ingredient per hectare, 67% fewer different chemicals were used.
Important note
Ton van Dalen, director of Oxin Growers and portfolio holder within FVO, makes an important comment on the reported figures: "It is important to use this comparison indicatively. No season is the same and conditions, such as weather, can vary greatly. The results are promising, but should be interpreted in that context."
Challenges for 2025
In addition, the move to all-green cultivation also brings other challenges. "The cost of all-green cultivation is currently still too high," Van Dalen stresses. "That's why our focus in 2025 is on making this cultivation method profitable."
In the ongoing second season, we are delving into integrating different solution approaches. Three pilot growers have also invested in insect netting and four growers will work with organic substrate. These promising innovations are already being widely and rapidly applied on fruiting vegetable farms. In addition, we will continue working with the adjustments in the fertilisation schedule that were tested in the first season. Our goal is clear: by the end of 2026, we grow salads cultivation without synthetic substances and with a healthy earnings model.
About 100% Green Grown
Within the 100% Green Grown project, grower cooperatives (FVO) and suppliers are working towards a sustainable and resilient cultivation system in 2027. The project comprises seven field pilots, supported by specialists from Hoogendoorn Growth Management, LetsGrow.com, Van Iperen, Van der Knaap Groep, Koppert and Rijk Zwaan. The project is led by Florpartners.
The participating greenhouse vegetable companies are: Frestia (sweet pointed pepper), Agro Care (tomato exposed), Bryte (tomato unexposed), Van Duijn De Jong (aubergine), Fitterstee Growers (cucumber unexposed), Drenthe Growers (cucumber exposed), Reijm & zn. (bell pepper). Besides the seven pilots, two practical trials of bell peppers are also running at Botany.