Asparagus cultivation
Asparagus cultivation has been under pressure for many years, partly due to the lack of manual labourers needed to pick it. Increasingly stringent industry regulations are making it more and more difficult to find affordable migrant labour. Current methods of hand picking have their limitations too when it comes to the quality of the final product. Since spears can sometimes go undetected and be left sticking out of the sand bed for the next harvesting session. This can lead to discoloration and the asparagus developing open heads. The quantity can also be increased: for a 23-centimetre end-product, a 45-centimetre spear is required due to the unreliability of the current harvesting process.
Selective harvesting solution: Sparter
Cerescon has developed a solution to the problem of selective harvesting: the Sparter, which is not only able to lower harvesting costs, but also significantly improve both quality and quantity.
Several versions of the Sparter have been extensively tested in the past.
Click on the link to see videos from these tests.
Season 2021
Season 2020
The harvesting solution is based on a unique patented underground detection method. This type of detection and harvesting enables all kinds of data to be collected, as a result of which crop yields become more predictable and can be influenced, for example, by micro-fertilization or micro-irrigation. In the future, crop yields from a field of asparagus may be even higher.
During the development process, through the medium of a UserGroup, Cerescon has maintained at all times intensive contact with a number of innovative asparagus growers and an agricultural contractor and asked for their feedback.