It almost seemed a fait accompli, that tree grower Willy De Nolf would win a gold medal at Florall, the Belgian trade fair for ornamental plants and nursery stock products. And indeed, last Tuesday, the 3rd of March, Laura de Nolf accepted the gold award for their Distylium ‘Vintage Jade’. Previous prize winners from De Nolf’s nursery include Hydrangea Runaway Bride and garden plant Daphne Perfume Princess.
Florall is held twice a year, in spring and autumn. The original location of the event was Ghent, but it was moved to Waregem in 2019. The organisers decided the fair could go ahead this week, despite the coronavirus, but unfortunately, the situation did affect the number of visitors to the fair, which was much lower compared to previous editions.
Worried about exports
Exhibitors also said they were worried about the global problems associated with the coronavirus, especially the influence it may have on exports. The drop in exports to Italy has been manageable so far, but other trade flows are now also (partially) coming to a halt.
With a value of approximately €30 million, Belgian exports to Italy have been quite stable the past few years. It’s their fifth largest export country, after France (€230 million in 2018), the Netherlands (€226 million), the United Kingdom (€55 million) and Germany (€12 million).
Odd one out
The ILVO stand was an odd one out at this Florall edition. It was manned by researchers Siel Desmet and Emmy Dhooghe, who were presenting the outcome of their recent study. The Belgian research institute and Ghent University succeeded in integrating compactness as a genetic characteristic in three horticultural crops. “Compactness as a trait is spread across many genes, which influence each other in a complex way. Moreover, each plant variety is different. That’s why these first genetic successes could be a game changer for the sector”, explained Desmet.
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