Soft fruit growers worldwide are increasingly turning to flower mapping to gain deeper insights into their crops and to determine the quality of their plants more specifically. Bert Meurs, founder of Plantalogica, has been helping growers understand this by decoding flower development in plants since 2007.
"Plantalogica is a spin-off from Wageningen University in the Netherlands," Bert shares. "We started by researching malformed fruits and gradually shifted focus to what's happening inside the plant. I saw the opportunity to start my own company, and now we specialise in describing early flower development across a range of crops."
While the company has dabbled in other crops like hydrangeas, phalaenopsis, raspberry, and blackberry, Bert says 90% of their work now revolves around strawberries. "We've become very focused. Strawberry is where our core expertise lies."
Photo right: Strawberry tray plant showing 4 possible trusses
A global reach in a growing market
Over nearly two decades, Plantalogica has built an international client base that spans from Finland to Portugal, and from Latvia to Ireland. The interest is now expanding beyond Europe. "I recently gave training in South Korea, and there's growing demand from Canada and Australia. In Europe, many growers are now already familiar with flower mapping, but there's still huge potential for expansion in other soft fruit regions."
What exactly is flower mapping?
Flower mapping involves a detailed internal analysis of a plant's flower development and the complete plant architecture, often before any visible signs appear externally. By opening small growth buds under the dissecting microscope, the development of the future flowers becomes visible.
"When you get a report from us, you know exactly how many leaf positions there are and at which positions a flower truss will emerge," Bert explains. "We also document the developmental stage of the most advanced flower and other key metrics like truss height."
Photo right: The start of flower development
This detailed mapping allows growers and propagators to better understand the plant's potential and to make more informed decisions. "For example, if a buyer wants strawberry plants with four trusses, we can certify that the plants meet this quality standard," he adds. "If a plant only has two trusses, the propagator knows they need to continue growing it before putting it into cold storage."
Raspberry development
Everbearers and year-round production
Bert also notes a shift in strawberry cultivation practices. "Traditionally, Europe relied heavily on June-bearing strawberries, with a single harvest window," he says. "But now we see a strong move toward everbearers, which produce flowers, and therefore fruit, continuously throughout the season."
This trend, possibly coupled with the use of artificial lighting, opens up the possibility of year-round production. The formation of new trusses can be monitored by flower mapping.
Dissecting a bud
F1 hybrids: presenting more opportunities
Perhaps one of the most promising developments on the horizon is the emergence of F1 hybrid strawberries. Unlike conventional vegetative propagation, where new plants are cloned via runners, F1 hybrids are grown from seeds resulting from a controlled cross.
"It's a completely different way of producing plants," Bert says. "You harvest seeds from the fruit, sow them, and grow new plants indoors. That makes production less dependent on weather and allows for year-round seeding."
However, he cautions that these seeds cannot be reused. "You always have to make the same cross again for the next batch of seeds. Flower mapping can help to optimize the production of the plants."
A tool for propagators and growers
Despite the technical nature of flower mapping, Bert is clear about his role. "I don't give harvest predictions," he says. "I describe the plant at a specific moment. That's the value, to provide a clear picture of what the grower or propagator can expect."
In this way, Plantalogica supports both sides of the plant production chain. For propagators, it's about understanding how far along the plant is and when it's ready for sale. For growers, it's about verifying they're getting high-quality plants with the desired number of flower trusses.
For more information:
Bert Meurs
Plantalogica BV
The Netherlands
[email protected]
www.plantalogica.com