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POLAND
Chelkowscy: innovative tray farm
Of the Polish mushroom farms that use phase IV compost, there are only a few that buy filled trays with compost and casing. One of these is the Chelkowscy farm. By Nikodem Sakson
The colourful farm of G.G. Chelkowscy.
Some 120,000m2 of mushrooms are grown in trays, all of which are metal, in Poland. Production is concentra- ted on a few big farms and a number of small produc- tion facilities that use phase IV compost. Most farms use phase III. The growers buy the compost and casing soil independently, fill the compost in the trays and do the casing on their own casing lines. Some wait until the trays are pinned – phase IV- and then transport them to other rooms for picking. Only a few growers buy trays already filled with compost and casing soil with cacing. One of these growers is G.G. Chelkowscy, a company managed by two generations of the same family. The mushrooms are grown for the fresh market on a surface of 10,000m2 in 24 growing rooms, constructed by the owners. The rooms are not linked in any way (no central corridor). Production here reaches 30-34 kg/m2. The main customer is Banken. The farm has its own distri- bution centre and own vehicles to transport trays filled by Hajduk. The company is remarkable for its constant development – the growing surface is still being ex- panded and innovative solutions are being introduced. The farm is proud of its equipment developed in-house: an automatic waste wood combustion line combined
with the heating facility; a tray empting line, also for use during the very cold winters, an empty tray cleaning line with 100% hygiene guarantee, and a spraying sys- tem integrated in the trays including a water softening feature.
Organisation The mushrooms are picked from mobile platforms sup- plied by Hajduk. The company uses fork lifts equipped with special accessories for internal transport. This enables various tasks including waste transport after picking or transporting trays to be carried out. An interesting technical solution is the farm’s own pre- vention programme for mushroom pests and diseases. At present, the farm has no record of loss caused by pathogens and no pesticides are used. The programme is based on continual hygiene inspections of points of potential infection sources (mainly dry bubble) as well as a disinfection regime. The procedure consists of regular hosing of selected places, mainly floors, with a hydrogen peroxide solution. If foam is still noticeable after the watering procedure, cleaning and disinfection have to be repeated and the prevention programme adjusted accordingly. Production is organised so that all tasks can be com- pleted within the eight hours of the maximum labour limits on Saturday and Sunday. This schedule is only disrupted if picking the first flush is delayed. The farm currently works to a four-flush schedule and plans to increase the yield using their own supple- ments and growing methods. By preventing losses caused by pests and diseases, al-
The mushrooms are picked from mobile platforms supplied by Hajduk.
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