SI Poročilo o preizkušanju BioTHOP vrvice iz poskusov v hmeljiščih v Sloveniji in tujini je podal Žan Trošt iz IHPS. Pojasnil je, da je IHPS pred projektom izvajal številne poskuse z biorazgradljivimi vrvicami, vendar se je vrvica Lankhorst Elite Biotwine izkazala za najprimernejšo. Je tudi najbolj podobna polipropilenski vrvici, ki je v slovenskem hmeljarstvu najbolj razširjena. Tako je bila uporabljena v projektu. IHPS je v 3,5 letih v sodelovanju s hmeljarji testiral vrvico na več kot 60 ha hmeljišč. Po prvi sezoni je bilo potrjeno, da se lahko vrvica z nekaterimi modifikacijami uporablja za oporo hmelju. Med testiranjem na terenu ni bilo težav z vrvico, razgradnja v kompostnih kupih pa je bila zadovoljiva. Vendar pa je nekaterim hmeljarjem vrvica delala težave na obiralnem stroju, saj je bila premehka in se ni dobro rezala. Lankhorst Yarns je vrvico izboljšal in jo naredil tršo. Hkrati je IHPS izdelal smernice za hmeljarje, kako prilagoditi in očistiti obiralni stroj. Z vsemi temi izboljšavami in ugotovitvami lahko hmeljarji brez težav uporabljajo vrvico BioTHOP PLA.
IHPS je naredil nekaj video posnetkov o namestitvi vrvice, nastavitvah nožev – najdete jih na BioTHOP YouTube kanalu.
Vrvica je bila preizkušena tudi v drugih hmeljarskih regijah po EU: Belgija, Avstrija, Češka in Srbija, pa tudi v pridelavi zelenjave.
Ob zaključku projekta lahko s ponosom rečemo, da je vrvica BioTHOP primerna za hmeljarski sektor; ne zahteva večjih sprememb za hmeljarje, ki imajo tehnologijo prilagojeno uporabi polipropilenske vrvice. Vrvica je komercialno na voljo od pomladi 2022.
EN The Validation Report on the BioTHOP Twine Performances from Hop Field Experiments in Slovenia and Abroad was given by Žan Trošt from IHPS. He explained that the IHPS was performing many tests with biodegradable twines before the project, but Lankhorst Elite Biotwine was shown to be the most suitable. It was also the most similar to the polypropylene twine, which is the most used twine in Slovenian hop growing sector. So, it was used as the start material for the project. In 3.5 years IHPS tested the twine in more than 60 ha of the hop fields in collaboration with hop growers. After first season, it was confirmed that with some modifications, the twine can be used for hop production. During the testing, there were no problems with twine on the field and degradation in compost piles was satisfactory. However, to some farmers the twine made some problems on the harvest machine, as it was too soft and wasn’t cut well on the cutter. Lankhorst Yarns improved the twine and made it stiffer. At the same time, IHPS made guidelines for hop farmers, how to adjust and clean the harvest machine. With all these improvements and findings, the farmers can use BioTHOP PLA twine without problems.
IHPS made some videos about the twine instalation, about the knifes adjustements – you can find them on BioTHOP YouTube channnel.
It was tested at the end also in other hop regions across EU: Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic, Serbia and also in vegetable production.
At the end of the project, we can proudly say that the BioTHOP twine is suitable for hop growing sector; it doesn’t require any major changes for hop growers, who have their technology adapted for use of polypropylene twine. The twine has been commercially available since Spring 2022.
