Lema Tomaten: ‘Scout remotely, gain better insight, save time, and receive digital advice with the Natutec Scout app’
‘Having the Natutec Scout app means that we spend less time on plant protection. More importantly, we have better insight into the level of infestation and can see at a glance whether or not the natural enemies are keeping things under control. There is intensive remote contact with the Koppert consultant using the Natutec Scout app as a tool. It allows us to take the measures we need to take quickly, based on the advice provided the consultant. You can act more promptly.’
A threshold as an alarm
The Natutec Scout app uses an infestation threshold. The grower determines what the threshold value should be – in conjunction with his consultant if need be. The threshold value helps to prevent unnecessary work. Although, with just two whitefly per square metre or a few thrips in your plant, there is little to be concerned about – and little sense in the software reporting these kinds of measurement. The threshold value works as an alarm bell – as soon as the level of infestation exceeds the threshold, it’s a signal to the grower that he needs to take action.
This is how Barry Enthoven of Lema Tomaten in Naaldwijk, the Netherlands sees it, manager of the 5.5 hectare company owned by Ruud Leerdam and Rob van Marrewijk. Barry has been using the Natutec Scout app since October 2019 and is very happy with how it works. ‘Scouting with the app is much faster thanks to the scanner’s digital image recognition and the link to the Koppert dashboard. You can very quickly generate analyses in the form of clear graphs so you can quickly gain thorough insight into the level of infestation.’
Respond quickly and accurately on IPM
A major advantage of the Koppert app is the ability of the consultant to check up on things remotely – for Lema Tomaten, that’s the job of Koppert employee Floris van der Helm. ‘If I need to, I can give advice remotely straight away,’ explains Floris, ‘or I can start thinking of strategy changes that can be made. In this era of viruses affecting both people and crops, that’s extremely important. There is no, or only limited opportunity for live contact, although the IPM situation still needs proper management. With the app, the grower and his consultant can collect much more data about current conditions, which makes it possible to respond more quickly and accurately. He can also enter chemical spray applications into the app.’