Pcfruit npa offers via the unit ‘Service to Companies’ more than 75 years of experience in research and development of new products in the fruit sector. On a fee for service basis, trials are executed for SME’s and multinationals at various stages of product development: the ideation phase, proof of concept, development, product positioning, validation and official trials. For the latter ones, we have a GEP accreditation, allowing acceptance of efficacy trials with new crop protection by authorities throughout the central European zone. Trials can be small or big scale in any of our facilities: labs, climate chambers, cages, glasshouse, plastic tunnels, fields or orchards. Areas of expertise are crop protection, fertilization and irrigation, cultivar evaluation, machinery and equipment, other resources, IT and software, sensors and diagnostics…
Plant protection products
- Lab and climat chamber tests
- Semi-field (cage) trials
- Field trials (incl. glasshouse)
- Spectrum tests
- Artificial or natural infection
- Official trials on efficacy (GEP accredited)
- Product positioning and MoA
- Optimization dose and timing
- Anti-resistance management
- Sensitivity monitoring
- Rain fastness, residual activity
- Crop safety (phytotox)
- Side effects on colour, fruit quality or taste
- Side effects on beneficials
- Side effects on plant fertility
- Integration in IPM
- Biocontrol products and semiochemicals
- Plant activators & Biostimulants
- Herbicides
- Plant Growth Regulators (fruit thinning agents, fruit set agents, growth control agents, etc.)
- Insecticides, acaricides, fungicides, bactericides, disinfectants
- Insect traps and lures
- Application methods
- Reduction of the impact on the environment (f.i. by drift)
- Residue depletion studies
- Physical compatibility tank mix
- +/- 50 pests and diseases regularly in test
Plant nutrition
- Dose and timing soil and leaf fertilizers
- Uptake and distribution
- Mineral content fruits & leaves
- Impact on fruit and leaf quality, flower bud formation, …
- Soil improvements
- Substrates and organic fertilizers
- Irrigation and fertigation systems
Variety testing
- Yield and fruit quality
- Taste and flavor
- Tolerance/resistance level for pests and diseases
- Phytotechnical development (pruning, growth reactions, …)
Rootstocks, fertility Advanced/delayed production (small fruit)
Sensitivity for cracking (cherry)
- Phenology (possible to grow in our climate?)
- Frost damage sensitivity
- Virus status
- Making of virus free material
Machinery and equipment
- Application technology
- Spraying equipment
- Water treatment
- Mechanical weed control
- Mechanical thinning
- Mechanical pruning
- Mechanical harvesting
- Frost damage control
- Hail and rain protection
- Climate control
Others
- Technical textiles and films
- (Remote) sensors: remote (drone), proximal (tractor) and contact (handheld) sensing, Frost protection systems and Weed control systems.
- Support materials
- Plant containers
- Software (registration, decision support, disease or pest models)
- Diagnostics
- Technical writing and decision support
- Communication to growers
You name it… the more innovative, the better