12 Key Software Capabilities to Master Berry Plant Propagation Peaks

Optimizing Seasonal Production & Meeting Industry Demands

As someone rooted in the horticultural industry, I’m aware of the challenges that come with the propagation of young berry plants. Take the strawberry industry, for example. Young plant nurseries face unique challenges due to its highly seasonal nature. Most growers need their young plants delivered simultaneously, right in time for the annual strawberry planting season. This creates intense pressure on nurseries to manage peak volumes efficiently—not just during delivery, but through every stage of plant growth and shipping. The strain is obvious on the work floor, where everything needs to happen within a tight window, and capacity bottlenecks can pile up fast.

Capacity bottlenecks can derail operations—but what strategies can nurseries use to overcome these challenges and thrive?

Controlled Environment Propagation

Ensuring that young berry plants thrive and meet quality standards is essential. Quality berry plants are equally grown, have the best bearing yield and a low amount of drop-outs at the grower.

This is why propagation nowadays involves growing young plants within controlled environments and into trays or pots. This method allows for precise management of growing conditions and helps ensure uniformity across batches. To meet the demands of this production process, many nurseries have turned to advanced management systems like Agriware.

Key Tools For Berry Plant Nurseries

Maximize Greenhouse Space

Optimized space planning tools are essential for maximizing greenhouse capacity, especially during peak seasons. We all know how time-consuming it can be to figure out the layout of a 1,000-piece puzzle. Space-planners face this challenge daily, so providing them with the right tools will make their work easier and your business more efficient.

1. ‍Long-term and short-term planning: Gaining insight into long-term space capacity by section and fine-tuning short-term plans at a detailed level are essential features in maximizing greenhouse space utilization and preparing your company effectively for peak seasons.
2. ‍Efficient space management: Understanding which batches can be grouped together and which require specific conditions—such as lighting levels, shading systems, or climate regimes—ensures optimal growing conditions for each batch of plants.
3. ‍Graphical map planning: Gaining insight and allocate production batches to specific sections, placing them in areas with enough free space or similar products.
4. ‍Gantt-chart planning: Providing a timeline-visibility into space availability, allowing you to drag and drop batches into the correct sections or sub-positions within your greenhouse layout.

Managing Peak Capacity Management

During my time at Agriware, one challenge stands out: managing peak capacity. With rising labor costs and worker shortages, nurseries must hit production targets without losing quality. The right tools help align labor and machine capacity, keeping operations smooth during busy seasons. A solid approach to peak management boosts efficiency and helps nurseries tackle seasonal challenges with confidence.

1. ‍Labor & Machine Scheduling: Advanced scheduling of specific tasks like sticking, grafting, and grading are essential to prepare and execute your workday. By assigning tasks to teams, it’s a matter of maximizing labor productivity and machine capacity.
2. ‍Proactive Resource Management: Identifying potential shortages of labor or machine capacity allowing for timely rescheduling or the allocation of additional labor and machinery as needed.
3. ‍Precision Task Execution: Assigned tasks should be clearly communicated to the appropriate team lead. With mobile apps, teams can view task priorities in real time and log results on the go. This streamlines communication during peak seasons and helps teams adapt smoothly to last-minute priority changes.
4. ‍Monitor Progress: Track progress in the greenhouse or fields throughout the day to stay informed on task completion. This visibility allows you to make timely decisions, such as adding extra capacity or reallocating teams to support one another as needed.

Robotics and machine automation

I must be honest: not every nursery using Agriware has invested in automation through machines and robots yet. However, this trend is rapidly gaining momentum among young plant growers, driven by rising costs and labor shortages. Automation can truly make a difference. But what good is a grading machine or a URC sticking robot without the right input? They need to be fed with accurate information to perform their tasks and maintain traceability of your batches.‍

1. ‍Integration with automated systems: Machines from TTA, Flier Systems, or ISO Group ensures that only high-quality plants move forward in the production process. In our experience, many machine are custom build or fine-tunes so they have unique characteristics. However, by integrating these machines with Agriware, you can maximize their potential and achieve greater efficiency from your investment.
2. ‍Labor saving, higher accuracy: It’s evident that machines can execute tasks on plants much faster and accureate then the human labor forces. But machines are expensive and with only a high-peak season they will stand a lot of time during the year still… So in our experience it’s common that tasks are partly done by machines the overage capacity will be done by traditional labor forces. On this way it’s possible to plan your machine capacity to a maximim level and improve your return on investment.
3. ‍Labor savings and higher accuracy: It’s clear that machines can perform tasks on plants much faster and more accurately than human labor (in many cases). However, these machines come with a high price tag and often remain idle for much of the year outside of peak seasons. Based on our experience, it’s common for nursery tasks to be shared between machines and traditional labor forces. This approach allows you to maximize your machine capacity for the best return on investment.
4. ‍Waste / Scrap Tracking: Whether through machine automation or manual recording, waste is an important cost element and influences the future availability. Therefore, it’s important to keep your waste tracked to improve overall efficiency.

Read case study: World's Most Innovative Berry Nursery – Van der Avoird Trayplant

By leveraging these advanced management systems and propagation techniques, berry plant nurseries can better meet the seasonal demands of growers while maintaining high standards of plant quality and operational efficiency. 

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_{Written by Arno Hogervorst, Senior Horticulture Software Architect at Mprise Agriware}