Proefcentrum Hoogstraten (PH)

Research Centre Hoogstraten (PH) is located in Belgium, north of the province of Antwerp in the middle of an important horticultural area. Since its foundation in 1955 the centre plays an active role in the development and growth of horticulture in the region. Nowadays, Research Centre Hoogstraten is specialized in the cultivation in glasshouses (strawberry, tomato, pepper) and the strawberry cultivation in open air (in soil and on table tops). Practical and demonstrative research in these cultures delivers information and answers to questions raised by professional horticultural companies and growers. In collaboration with other research institutions different programs can be initiated to solve more fundamental problems in the above mentioned cultures. The transfer of trial results to growers and other scientific groups is an important challenge for the Research Centre. Acquiring the GEP (Good Experimental Practices) accreditation is important for the trials and the completion of research.

Research Centre Hoogstraten is well known internationally for its strawberry research and consultancy. In the region around Hoogstraten, a year-round production of strawberries is possible through a combination of different cultivation systems and the preservation of plant material in cooling cells. The strawberry research at Research Centre Hoogstraten applies itself in all cultivation systems used in modern strawberry culture and therefore is closely correlated with standard practice. Research is performed in both substrate and soil, open air or covered with plastic tunnels, in greenhouses or in glasshouses. The research program has made already important contributions to the evolution towards the nowadays used modern specialized culture and will continue to optimize the techniques and plant performances in the future.

Within the GoodBerry project, PH is mainly involved in identifying management practices for optimisation and exploitation of yield potential in different environments. PH contributes to the tasks around testing strawberry genotypes (as well junebearers as everbearers) for flower induction and growth cessation under different climatic conditions (light, temperature etc.) and application of nutrients. The regulation of dormancy in strawberry plants is investigated by trials at PH. Innovative strategies to control diseases are tested at PH, in order to reduce chemical crop protection products without loss of yield or fruit quality.

Main Contact

Peter Melis

Proefcentrum Hoogstraten

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