Domenico Giulian started his company in the mid-seventies in the Salerno area, in southern Italy. Since then he has produced mainly lettuce in winter. In spring and summer he usually switches to tomatoes, melons and eggplants.
In the beginning, the production was in a greenhouse on 3 hectares. In 1999, he decided to change the crop into baby lettuce, rocket and different types of chards in plastic sachets for the ready-to-eat market. That was a good decision, because of the growth in this market. The company grew and is now 21 hectares in area.
Baby lettuce production
The baby lettuce production cycle is very short. A new crop is sown every 35 to 50 days. ’Because of the very short productions, the soil gets weaker, and in the past chemicals against soil-borne diseases were common practice.’ Domenico explains.
In 2002, Domenico saw that the market required another approach. ’It was required to limit the chemical residues. In order to banish the soil-borne diseases for these crops, I had to look for another solution.’ He decided to use Trianum-P.
Results
’I started to check the efficacy of Trianum-P on one hectare. I soon saw that the results were excellent! No fusarium, no rhizoctonia, many healthy roots which resulted in many healthy, thicker leaves. The results were really better than when I used chemicals,’ Domenico observes.’
’After two years, I decided to invest in Trianum-P for the whole surface area. With very good results! My clients are happy that my crops are free from chemical residues and I experienced that my crops are stronger and healthier and that the disease control has absolutely improved. My yield is above average now compared with when I used chemicals,’ Dominco concludes
Trianum-P
Trianum-P works preventively against different soil-borne fungi such as Pythium spp., Fusarium spp, and Rhizoctonia. After the application of Trianum-P, the spores germinate and the mycelium colonizes the roots of the plant. The mycelium suppresses the development of soil pathogens by competing with them for space and nutrients. The myco parasitism of the pathogen and strengthening of the resistance mechanism are two added properties of the product's effectiveness against soil pathogens.
Trianum-P also improves the uptake of nutrients and enhances the resistance of the plant which has been weakened as a result of suboptimal fertilization, watering, and climate conditions. This reinforces the development of the root system and parts of the plant above ground, creating more uniform crops and an improvement in the state of the crops.
Trianum actively grows along with the plant roots. In this way, the roots are protected against various soil-borne diseases. No chemical crop protection agents can rival this. Since Trianum is a very good root colonizer, it establishes itself on the roots, you do not have to apply it as often as other biological products. This therefore also means labour savings.