Company Profile
Ekeberg Myhrene is one of Norway’s leading strawberry producers, operating 18 hectares of fruit production and propagating approximately one million strawberry tips annually.
The company grows the cultivars Florice and Favori in substrate-based systems and continuously invests in plant health, biological control and production reliability.
“Since we started using Plantsauna and AgroPure, we can see an eradication of all former risk of introducing hidden pathogens into our production.”
Operation at a glance:
18 ha fruit production · 720,000 plants/year · 1,000 tons strawberries/year · 1 million propagated tips/year
Product We Used
Plantsauna
Thermal treatment of plant material at 42°C for 2 hours.
AgroPure
Annual steam sterilization of reusable materials and production equipment.
Our Solution
Ekeberg Myhrene implemented a combined prevention strategy targeting both plant material and production equipment.
All incoming propagation material is treated with Plantsauna before entering production. The thermal treatment eliminates hidden pathogens and pests without chemicals while maintaining plant quality.
At the same time, AgroPure is used between production cycles to sterilize reusable materials such as drippers, trays, troughs and transport equipment. This creates a clean starting point for every new season and reduces the risk of pathogen carry-over.
The combination supports a production system that relies less on chemical interventions and is more compatible with biological control methods.
Our Results
- Spray applications reduced from 5–6 to 0–2 per season
- No recurrence of previously observed multiresistant fungi
- No further tarsonemid mite outbreaks observed after implementation
- Biological control became viable due to reduced chemical interventions
- Workers reported easier handling and faster establishment of treated plants
Evidence and Learnings
The grower reported two major loss events over six years: 60,000 plants lost to multiresistant powdery mildew and 80,000 plants lost to tarsonemid mites.
Based on annual production volumes, this corresponds to an estimated historical crop loss of approximately 3.3% per year. Using the grower’s own production, pricing and margin assumptions, this represents approximately NOK 750,000 of annual net profit at risk.
Based on an investment of NOK 3.2 million, the estimated payback period is approximately 3–4 years.
Recommendations from the Grower
- Start with clean plant material before pathogens enter production
- Treat both plants and reusable equipment
- Source propagation material from nurseries using Plantsauna
- Reduce chemical interventions to enable biological control
- Establish efficient handling protocols before scaling operations
Download Case Study
Download the full case study in PDF format and learn more about how Ekeberg Myhrene uses Plantsauna and AgroPure to reduce hidden pathogen risks in strawberry production.
Case Study
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