LONDON, ENGLAND - Tanimura & Antle is debuting its Plant Tape transplantation system at The London Produce Show this week, and the company believes this hot innovation in farming will maximize crop production efficiencies, reduce labor costs, and embrace sustainable material while promoting water conservation. 

“Plant Tape is a real game changer,” says Rick Antle, CEO of Tanimura & Antle. “We continue to be amazed by the key attributes of transplanting with Plant Tape in our own production.” 

As we’ve previously reported, with the Plant Tape system, vegetable seedlings can be transplanted from the greenhouse to the field by using strips of biodegradable material. The strips are fed through a tractor-pulled planting device, and have reported to cut at least 10 to 15 percent of the overall work hours for trials with growing romaine and celery for T&A. 

Tanimura & Antle acquired Plant Tape in 2014. At that time, the Barcelona, Spain-based company was in the advanced R&D stages of development, but now the plan is to expand commercialization into the United States in late 2016. 

“The facts are clear. Plant Tape is six times faster than traditional transplanting, uses 97% less peat, requires 80% less labor and is a true space saver with 2500 plants per meter square versus only 750 plants with traditional transplanting trays,” Rick continued.

For an in-depth look at Plant Tape, check out the video below.

According to a press release, Plant Tape is slated for global commercialization in 2017. Stop by the Plant Tape booth for yourself at The London Produce Show, Grosvenor House, from June 3-June 5, to meet the executive team and learn more about the system.

Tanimura & Antle