Canada-based NatureFresh Farms has signed an agreement with Netherlands-based Van der Knaap Group to grow bell peppers organically using a patented sustainable cultivation system. 

NatureFresh said the agreement supported its plans to increase organic pepper production from nine acres to 15 in 2018 and further this effort with 30 acres of organics by 2019.

Van der Knaap’s R&D team has been working with its partners to develop a cultivation system for growing organically above the soil, according to a release.

This effort has been led by Karel de Bruijn, R&D Manager of Van der Knaap who developed a reactor that converts proteins into nitrates (NO3) nitrogen.

This nutritional solution produced with the reactor is free from organic residue, fungi and bacteria.

In comments sent to Fresh Fruit Portal, NatureFresh general manager John Ketler said the company had been following Van der Knaap on this project for the last four years with frequent visits to its Netherlands facility.

"Our plan is to eventually roll this out to all the crops we grow at NatureFresh," he said.

"It is being installed now in Leamington [Ohio] and will be ready for this coming 2018 growing season."

In a release, Ketler said the NatureFresh team strives to constantly innovate in order to improve its growing practice.

“Sustainability is core to our business and this partnership allow us the ability to think globally and grow locally,” NatureFresh CEO and owner Peter Quiring said.

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