{"id":458488,"date":"2023-09-19T09:35:39","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T07:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=458488"},"modified":"2023-09-19T09:35:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T07:35:39","slug":"a-colorful-experiment-semi-tropical-crops-thrive-on-dutch-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/a-colorful-experiment-semi-tropical-crops-thrive-on-dutch-soil\/","title":{"rendered":"A colorful experiment: Semi-tropical crops thrive on Dutch soil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An initial trial has revealed that semi-tropical vegetables and herbs are easy to grow on Dutch soil, says Wageningen University &amp; Research\u00a0(WUR) in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wur.nl\/en\/news-wur\/show-home\/growing-tropical-crops-in-the-netherlands-first-a-dialogue.htm\">press release<\/a>. This opens up new opportunities for diversifying our agriculture and the food on our plates. However, plant researchers Martina Huber and Eric Schranz also point out that the cultural significance of these food products should always be kept in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"io-block io-block__summary\"><ul><li>Simple cultivation methods discovered for semi-tropical crops on Dutch fields. They enhance diversity on the plate. <\/li><li>Researchers emphasize the cultural significance of these food products and the importance of involving migrant communities<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In a field close to the Wageningen Campus, beyond the state-of-the-art Radix greenhouse complex, stand postdoc Martina Huber\u2019s six growing tunnels. This summer, she has been growing an unusual range of crops under the half-domes made of tubes covered in plastic. Her harvests have included yardlong beans, bitter melon, Chinese cucumbers and Thai basil, all semi-tropical crops, mostly from the southern hemisphere. \u201cI grew 48 different varieties in total,\u201d Huber says, \u201cand I am amazed by the results. These crops were easy to grow and required very little maintenance; I learnt it as I went along. The harvests were huge; I ended up with a mountain of hot chillies!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To celebrate this bountiful harvest, Huber and her colleagues are organising a harvest festival on 20 September. After a short lecture, the guests will sit down to a multicultural dinner: they will eat their way from Thailand via Nigeria to Suriname. During the project, Huber increasingly discovered more about the food culture of the products in her tunnels. What began as an experiment to learn how these crops would fare in the Netherlands, soon developed into a socio-cultural meeting with migrant cultures from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/nygaia-as-an-alternative-to-harmful-peat-potting-soil-which-nl-imports-millions-of-pounds-of\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"Nygaia as an alternative to peat potting soil (which NL imports millions of pounds of)\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Nygaia as an alternative to peat potting soil (which NL imports millions of pounds of)<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Drones that recognize diseases in crops, robots that pick tomatoes, and geothermal heat as a source of energy. Greenhouse horticulture in the Netherlands is a &hellip; <a href=\"\">Continued<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Diversity at the crop level<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy project is part of \u2018Breeding for Biodiversity\u2019, which in turn falls under the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wur.nl\/en\/research-results\/research-programmes\/research-investment-programmes\/biodiversity-positive-food-systems.htm\">Biodiversity-positive food systems<\/a>\u00a0investment theme,\u201d explains Huber. \u201cThat\u2019s quite a mouthful. In this case, it means that we asked ourselves: \u2018How can tropical crops help towards diversifying our agriculture and the food on our plates?\u201d Huber explains that the majority of Dutch fields are planted with a handful of \u2018cash crops\u2019 (crops that are most in demand, such as maize or soya). While a relatively large amount of research has been conducted into new forms of agriculture that encourage more biodiversity between or around existing crops, the question also arose whether more diversity was possible in the plants themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis resulted in two projects. Some of my fellow researchers examined crops that were once widely grown in the Netherlands, such as parsnips. I focused on new crops from more tropical parts of the world.\u201d Her aim was to test whether semi-tropical crops could grow on Dutch soils. Huber conducted her research using a simple setup, with plastic tunnels as her only tool. \u201cGrowing tunnels extend the growing season because they remain humid and warmer for longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Food tells a story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While researching methods for cultivating the crops, Huber discovered that some of the vegetables and herbs she experimented with were already being grown in the Netherlands. \u201cMigrant communities grow crops from their home countries. They plant them in their garden, on their balcony, or in a small greenhouse. Their methods and motivations have mostly gone unstudied.\u201d This social dimension was not initially part of the project. However, Huber now has no doubts: migrant communities need to participate. \u201cIt is their knowledge and it\u2019s in their interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor of biosystematics Eric Schranz also stresses the cultural aspect of food. \u201cFood tells a story. Yardlong beans are closely linked to the Surinamese identity, for example.\u201d This product currently has to be imported, which is not the most sustainable solution. However, it is not simply a question of the Netherlands growing its own yardlong beans in the future. \u201cFarmers in Suriname are connected to the Surinamese community in the Netherlands through that crop, and they would lose income if it was grown here. That does not only have economic, but also cultural implications.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps these crops should be grown here in the summer, but imported in the winter? \u201cThat could be an option,\u201d Huber thinks. \u201cBut that is not only a question for us researchers; the affected communities need to be involved first and foremost.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An initial trial has revealed that semi-tropical vegetables and herbs are easy to grow on Dutch soil, says Wageningen University &amp; Research\u00a0(WUR) in a press release. This opens up new opportunities for diversifying our agriculture and the food on our plates. However, plant researchers Martina Huber and Eric Schranz also point out that the cultural [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2589,"featured_media":494503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69111],"tags":[54520,36529,27038],"location":[6763],"article_type":[36684],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-458488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agrifood","tag-crops","tag-soil","tag-wur-nl","location-netherlands","article_type-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"An initial trial has revealed that semi-tropical vegetables and herbs are easy to grow on Dutch soil.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Team IO","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/erikdevries\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/country-3514779_1280.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Agrifood<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Agrifood<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">crops<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">soil<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">WUR<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">crops<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">soil<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">WUR<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on September 19, 2023","modified":"Updated on September 19, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on September 19, 2023 9:35 am","modified":"Updated on September 19, 2023 9:35 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2589"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458488"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=458488"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=458488"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=458488"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=458488"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=458488"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=458488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}