Catyra Trials Ancient Persian Cooling Principle in Dutch Orchards

Dutch company Catyra is trialing four-meter climate towers in orchards across the Netherlands, adapting an ancient Persian evaporative-cooling principle to counter drought and heat stress in fruit crops.

Gravity-driven evaporative cooling

At the Fruit Research Centre in Randwijk, in the Betuwe region of Gelderland, the towers stand four meters tall and operate without a pump or fan. Dry, warm air is drawn in at the top and passes through two rings of misting nozzles; it absorbs water, becomes heavier, and flows downward by gravity. The result is a cooler, more humid microclimate near the ground that keeps the crop's stomata open, allowing photosynthesis to continue. The nozzles require very little water pressure, and any water source can be used, including salt water.

The principle is not new. Co-founder Marcel Kers explains that masonry shafts running from roof to lower floors, with wet sheets hung at the top to humidify and cool the air, have been used in buildings across ancient Persia and the wider Middle East for a very long time. Catyra's adaptation replaces the masonry and wet sheets with engineered nozzles while retaining the gravity-driven mechanism. The Randwijk trial is supported by the Knowledge and Innovation Program for Fruit Growing and by Fruitpact.

Multiple trial sites and crop types

Beyond Randwijk, Catyra is testing variations in several locations:

• In Puiflijk, a netting sleeve has replaced the climate tower under the hail netting at an apple grower's site.
• In Tiel, lower versions of the towers are being placed at the orchard of fruit grower Arnold Dorrestijn, a project co-funded by the Regional Stimulus Fund of Fruitdelta Rivierenland. The reduced height allows Dorrestijn to operate crop protection equipment above the rows.
• In a greenhouse, a trial with a strawberry grower has already shown an improvement in the number of growing hours, an increase in bee activity, and better pollination.

Kers notes that the company is demonstrating that orchard climate can be improved in different ways and prefers to work with a variety of partners.

Recognition and company details

Catyra has been nominated for the 2026 KVK Innovation Top 100.

Catyra Veemarktkade 8 5222 AE 's-Hertogenbosch [email protected]

Source: Fruitpact