As Leonardo da Vinci famously once said: “Water is the driving force of all nature” and so, with that inarguable point in mind, it’s unsurprising that water, including how it is sourced, treated, applied to the crop, recycled, and stored, is a fundamental part of horticulture production. The expertise of Plant Empowerment consultant Ruud Schulte, Manager Innovation, Sales, and Technology for Van der Ende Group’s Filtration Division, therefore plays a vital role in helping growers around the world to produce their controlled environment horticulture crops according to the Plant Empowerment principles.
Meet the consultants
Ruud Schulte
Published: May 19, 2025
Share?
Nature is at the core of everything we do
The Plant Empowerment Foundation enlightens these producers on how to grow more sustainably and achieve higher yields by using valuable data insights. These insights show them what to do to keep the plants’ natural balances, in equilibrium: water, energy, and assimilates (sugars). When supporting this three-way balance, plants make more efficient use of water, fertilizers, and energy. The plants are then more resistant to pests and diseases, just as in nature.
Using water as efficiently as possible also conserves water, which is an increasingly precious resource, as Schulte explains: “About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 97.5 percent of all Earth’s water. The remaining 2.5 percent is fresh water, and less than one percent of this fresh water is available for human consumption … and that amountis decreasing. For example, the amount of groundwater stored in aquifers is decreasing all over the world, leading to lower water levels in wells.”
Looking at the whole picture
“In some parts of the world, such as in some areas in Africa and South America, growers are not always using this precious fresh water in the most efficient way. For example, they may not have an irrigation system to collect drain water. And so, my purpose is to advise them how to do this so that their horticulture operation requires less water. Using less water also costs them less, so we help them to create a ‘win-win’ situation.” To this end, Schulte observes that, over the last few years, the Plant Empowerment partners have become just as focused on the importance of water management and treatment as they have on other key aspects of sustainable crop production, such as climate factors like humidity and radiation.
Creating amazing results
The need to produce greenhouse crops as sustainably as possible, including conserving water, is according to Schulte one of the biggest challenges facing the CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture). But, as part of the Plant Empowerment team, Schulte is successfully helping growers tackle this challenge. “Every grower has a different situation and a different water quality,” explains Schulte. “There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all installation. When I meet a grower, I have a discussion with them to find out what water source(s) they use, what their issue is, and how I can help them. For example, if they have a disease in their water, where is it coming from? Is it coming from the water source or somewhere else? How do they disinfect their water? And what technology are they using for this? This approach makes my job very interesting because we’re looking at the greenhouse’s whole picture and not just at one specific problem.”
The drive to reduce water use and shift to renewable energy sources has grown rapidly in recent years, observes Schulte. “More and more growers are introduced to these ideas through the Plant Empowerment philosophy, which helps prepare them for a more sustainable future”, he says , adding that technology is already playing a key role in helping growers reach their sustainability goals. For instance, Van der Ende Group’s Nexus HPRO desalination system requires growers to source less water from boreholes, surface water, or city water to produce the required amount of irrigation water. This reduces energy consumption, and the amount of wastewater is lowered by up to 50%.
Many growers are learning about the Plant Empowerment principles, and how to apply them in their greenhouses, during the Plant Empowerment workshops, which are held all over the world and have been a highlight for Schulte during his time as a Plant Empowerment consultant. For example, he’s enjoyed presenting at two conferences in Canada (one in Ontario and another in British Columbia) “The Plant Empowerment workshops are invaluable. During my presentations, I guide growers through water management, available sources, and sustainability strategies. What is the quality of each water source? If you want to disinfect your drain water, what technologies are available? And what are the advantages or disadvantages of those technologies, and how can you use them? And if you want to discharge your water, why do you want to do that? Or how can you prevent having to do that, and if you still need to do it, what kind of technology can you use? Also, if you want to store your water, what possibilities do you have, and what will happen when you store water? And how can you prevent biological contaminants from growing in the water? There are many questions to consider, and our goal is always to help growers find the right answers for their specific situation.”
Working as a Plant Empowerment consultant
“The growers learn a lot from the consultants, I like the fact that we always get asked a lot of questions and have many open discussions on how best to apply the Plant Empowerment principles to crop production. But we also learn a lot from the growers, each of whom is producing crops in a unique set of circumstances, and from our fellow consultants (as we enjoy sharing technical information with one another). What’s interesting about Plant Empowerment is that it brings together many different types of horticultural companies. They’re not competing with one another, but instead collaborating and sharing their knowledge with growers. This spirit of collaboration is a key reason why the Foundation is so effective in educating the industry. The Plant Empowerment team’s ability to work together and share their expertise in greenhouse cultivation makes the initiative truly, and invaluable for growers worldwide.”
Educating growers through collaboration
The Plant Empowerment team’s ability to work together to educate growers about the Plant Empowerment principles is the most significant achievement of the Foundation to date, opines Schulte. “We empower growers to create sustainable greenhouseenvironments, using less water, energy, and chemicals while reducing their carbon footprint. By optimizing the three-way balance of water, energy, and assimilates, they can achieve equal or even higher yields in a more sustainable way.”
Schulte hopes that, in the near future, the Plant Empowerment team of consultants will expand so the Foundation can further share its knowledge across the globe. But for now, he’s still looking back on the inspiring Plant Empowerment conference that took place in Mexico at the end of March.