EFFICIENT DRIP IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGIES SUITABLE FOR WOODY CROPS (RTC-2016-4972-2).

In fruit farming, the main challenge is to continue providing high-quality, safe products while coping with an ever-decreasing supply of water to meet the crops’ needs.

Due to climate change and competition from other economic sectors, it is expected that the water resources available for agriculture will become scarcer and more expensive in the coming years.

To address this situation, in addition to continuing to modernize irrigation systems, it is increasingly important to improve water use efficiency at the field level. Drip irrigation is the most efficient irrigation system; however, this technology is not yet fully adapted to the needs and specific characteristics of woody crops, since their water requirements increase as the tree’s vegetative growth progresses.

Within this framework, the main objective of AZUD in the RIEGOTEL project is to develop new emitter management systems that enable the controlled release of water based on the crop’s water demand.

This solution helps reduce energy costs associated with irrigation, thereby helping to ensure the sector’s economic sustainability.

At the same time, new agronomic designs for drip irrigation are being developed to determine the volume of wetted soil needed to optimize the plantation’s water status without increasing evaporation, thereby improving water use efficiency and addressing the challenges of food security and quality.