The new open climate screen offers benefits not only for the plants, but also for the working climate conditions. The best part of this new screen is that it makes chalking or coating unnecessary.

The major challenge in every crop lies in the realization of a good assimilate balance. In other words, the production of assimilates (controlled by irradiation) and the consumption of assimilates (depending on temperature) must be in balance. During a heat wave such as our past summer, the temperature is high, and therefore the consumption of assimilates is high. Too high consumption of assimilates comes at the expense of the roots. Weak or uneven root growth can lead to quality problems and water stress during a heat wave with a lot of radiation, causing high evaporation. This will close the stomata. However, open stomata are necessary for CO2 absorption. As a result, not only growth comes to a halt, but also less moisture enters the greenhouse air. This can easily be avoided with the right ventilation strategy but preventing plant stress is even better. The Harmony 1315 O FR summer screen has been developed for this purpose.

Specially for exposed tomato cultivation

High light levels and air permeability are unique to the Harmony 1315 O FR summer screen. When closed, it provides a slight shadow effect (13% in direct light) and a very high diffusivity. The screen has been specially developed for illuminated tomato growing. Tomatoes can have a lot of light, but at some point, they can't handle it anymore. This climate screen has been developed to remove the sharp edges. Especially in the scarce warm months, April to July, when the plant is old and has long stems.

“Tests at the Improvement Center have shown that the plant does not have to evaporate as much on an extremely sunny day with the new screen. The water consumption is then approximately 20% lower, which means that the root quality remains better due to oxygen retention in the mat. The open structure is also unique, ensuring that there is more than enough air exchange. That's why it's a perfect screen for the summer," says climate consultant Joost Haenen. “Moreover, the cultivation plan changes from tomato. Lighting growers are planting plants earlier and earlier, sometimes in August or even in July. Small plants then have a hard time due to the high radiation and temperature. During this period, the climate screen can easily be used to keep the plant in balance."