Plant friendly and increasing productivity

South Auckland cucumber grower Edward Lee recently purchased the Tomsystem clipping tool, to clip plants to the twine and replace the traditional method of twisting.  The main reason for the switch was to increase the productivity and speed at which his staff could carry out this task.  There have been obvious additional benefits.  Edward now has a 100% reduction in stems sliding down the string and clipping has reduced the stress that historically twisting a plant would cause.  So far, after one week, Edward has already observed the benefits.  Working out how best to use the clipping tool and the angle to clip the plant to the twine will take a few days of practice.  However, once staff become familiar and confident using the tool then the potential increase in productivity will be realized.

Staff member Barinder Kaur, who is a very experienced greenhouse worker, had never seen the Tomsystem tool before this week. Barinder has had less than one day’s experience using the Tomsystem.  As you can see from the video below, the speed she is clipping is very impressive for a beginner.  Barinder said it was very easy to learn how to use the tool and it had reduced breaking of heads, she feels it has saved around 40% in time compared to traditional twisting.

A very common message, I’ve heard in the past month, is how desperately short of workers some growers are.  The need for increased efficiency and better productivity is certainly what each grower wishes to address.  Clipping is just one task but a task that takes up a lot of time so if the tomsystem can potentially provide you a positive cost benefit, I would suggest you definitely consider how it might help your situation.

To view the previous article on the Tomsystem click on the following link: 

news/post/tomsystem/

Barinder Kaur pictured above demonstrating how easy it is to use the Tomsystem

Silex Tools Ltd (www.silextools.co.nz)  based in Nelson, are the New Zealand agents for the Agrifast Tomsystem. They can assist with the implementation of this product into your Greenhouse. For more information please contact Rod Sharp on Mob (021) 799 992 or email rod@silextools.co.nz.

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Article Written by Stefan Vogrincic, Consultant, Grower2Grower