Meet the consultants

Remy Maat

Welcome to our ‘Meet the Consultants’ series. As we highlighted in our previous series, at Plant Empowerment, our greatest asset is our dedicated team. Now, it’s time to shine a light on our beloved consultants from our partners and members. Every day, they work on the front lines, educating growers and putting the Plant Empowerment principles into practice worldwide.

Have you ever met our consultant Substrate and Irrigation consultant Remy at one of our events or online webinars? He is our always-humorous and passionate Plant Empowerment consultant on our team. Remy consistently inspires growers and horticultural professionals. He’s been part of the Plant Empowerment foundation since the beginning. Now, it’s time to hear about the memorable experiences in his time with Plant Empowerment and the achievements accomplished so far.

Published: October 16, 2024 Share?

Spreading the Plant Empowerment philosophy 🌱

Seeing evermore growers think in a different way about cropping – taking more factors into account to make better-substantiated decisions for the plants – has been one of the most significant achievements of the Plant Empowerment Foundation during his time with the organisation, explains consultant Remy Maat.

As the famous saying goes: “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” Certainly, when each of the components of a protected cropping system are in tune with one another, they all work together to produce beautiful fruits and flowers – just as the instruments of an orchestra harmonise to create a sweet-sounding symphony.

“It’s not just about one part of the glasshouse, it’s about everything,” reiterates Maat, who is a top consultant and manager for substrate specialist Saint-Gobain Cultilene.

“And if one of the elements is underperforming, we have to improve it – be that by increasing the amount of CO₂, for example, or adjusting the irrigation settings.”

Maat, whose career in the horticulture sector has spanned some 25 years so far, is part of a pioneering group of Plant Empowerment consultants made up of experts from each of the Plant Empowerment Implementation Partners. These world-leading companies include Saint-Gobain Cultilene, Hoogendoorn, Ludvig Svensson, LetsGrow.com, and Koppert.

He explains that Plant Empowerment’s holistic approach was born the moment its founding members recognised that the best way to produce crops in a glasshouse is not about maximising the output of the plants. Rather, it’s about optimising their natural behaviour.

“If you start to understand that this is how you can gain with cropping, then you can begin make big steps,” he asserts.

Insights in a complex system

“We may, for instance, decide to lower the water content when we know we have more assimilates available for the roots at that moment. But we know that when the plant’s fruit load builds, assimilate availability comes down.”

“When there’s an issue with the crop, growers must learn to take a step back and look at the bigger “orchestra” rather than examining just one of its “instruments,” adds Maat.

“If you have a concern about the substrate, for example, you have to consider the root conditions of the crop and, crucially, how these are working in combination with all of the other climatic factors in the glasshouse. So, you’re not thinking only about the substrate – you’re taking one step back and looking at the bigger picture.”

But whilst they must be able to view the crop from a “macro” point of view, growers must also be able to understand what’s happening to the crop on a micro-climate level. Each micro-climate – be that south-facing side of the glasshouse or the root zone, for instance – is its own complex system or “instrument.”

Changing the nature of discussions

“What you see happening is that, more and more, we’re focusing on data – deploying more sensors in the crop, learning how to read and interpret the data from these sensors, and understanding what data we need. There are now so many challenges at once it’s too difficult for growers to deal with them all by themselves. They need the data, they need analysis. Of course, the traditional ‘green mind’ is still required because you have to be able to interpret the data in the right way. And I think that’s what the Plant Empowerment team can really growers help with: What is the data really telling us? and Which way should we go?”

Maat states that the work of the Plant Empowerment Foundation has changed the nature of the discussions with customers.

“We are not talking only about the substrate, for example, but also about the influences on the substrate coming from outside the rootzone. We’re looking for more connections between the actions done by the growers and factors influencing the substrate. And by giving them a better understanding of these connections, the growers can better control their plants.”

A great journey so far

Maat has many memorable experiences of how he and the Plant Empowerment team have helped growers to problem solve. The Foundation’s work with the 65-hectare Mexican vegetable produce company United Farms has, for example, been a particular highlight for the consultant. “This was a project in which, for multiple years, we combined all our knowledge together with the practical side of the grower. In the end it was a great journey where we learned a lot – not only about other ideas but also about working together, better understanding of differences in culture and how to communicate in a way that everybody understands what the other is talking about.”

He adds: “Another memorable experience were the seminars we held in Canada. Having so many people out of the sector together for multiple days. Giving training and having good discussions. And a last one is working together with the other consultants and companies. By combining knowledge from different experts, you get a better idea about what is happening with a crop/plant.”

“The fact that Saint-Gobain Cultilene is working together with all the other companies that form and support the Plant Empowerment Foundation means that we can together bring that combined knowledge to the customer. So, when the Plant Empowerment consultants run the training sessions, for example, we’re not just talking about one topic – it’s everything together. And that gives growers new insights.”

Reaching the next level of growing

In the five years since the creation of the Plant Empowerment Foundation, the global horticulture industry has endured some big challenges including the energy crisis, labour shortages, and the arrival of destructive crop viruses. These challenges have prompted many growers to actively adjust their growing regimes. Helpfully, the Plant Empowerment consultants have been on hand to advise on, and explain the reasoning behind, these regime changes.

“When energy prices went up a few years ago, growers started to find ways of using less energy – or using energy in a different way, such as using LEDs instead of HPS lighting. And in doing so, the way in which the crops were watered became an even greater consideration. With HPS, a lot of heat is radiated to the head of the plants, so the plant heads are always warm, which means that evaporation levels are high. But when we have LEDs, we have low radiated heat levels, which means lower head temperatures and therefore low evaporation. So, we have to be careful how much we irrigate.”

“When we discuss these considerations with growers, they understand them and so, thanks to the help of the Plant Empowerment team, growers’ knowledge is getting bigger and bigger.”

Undoubtedly, more challenges lie ahead for the sector but, says Maat, “we can help growers to reach the next level of growing and help solve issues with them.”

He says: “During the last five years the use of screens became common, HPS lights were replaced by LED and varieties changed. This all had a big impact on the way we grow. For the coming years, we will have further challenges – like the reduction of crop protection agents. This means that we’ll have to make the plants more resilient. This is still a new way of thinking where we still have to learn a lot.”

Maat adds: “Everywhere in the world we see different challenges. For now, but also for the future, to cope with these challenges we always have to look at them from a holistic point of view.”

Looking ahead, one of Maat’s goals for Plant Empowerment is “to make sure we have enough plant growth/ evaporation on one side, and how can we minimise the use of fresh water on the other side. And by doing this, to keep the rootzone in a perfect condition so the grower can grow in an optimal way.”

Data will also play an even greater role in future, predicts Maat. “The better the (understanding of) data the better the decisions the grower can take. But also, the support to make better decisions via technology will most likely improve the coming years.”

In the meantime, the Plant Empowerment Foundation will continue to be a place “where people can ask questions and where we can provide information for a particular crop.”

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Jeannette den Boer

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