This farm in Almeria, southern Spain, has several hectares of land under greenhouse tomato cultivation.
The main problems faced by this grower were clogged pipes and uneven irrigation.
So, he turned to the solutions of AZUD, a leading technology supplier in this agricultural area, which is very marked by greenhouse cultivation. The province of Almeria is home to the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world, with more than 32,000 hectares.
Tomato cultivation stands out for its need for a considerable amount of water, requiring up to 7,000 cubic metres per hectare. In addition, tomatoes are highly sensitive to both lack of water and excess soil moisture.
To obtain a healthy crop and maximise tomato production, the quantity and quality of water, as well as the timing of its application, are of utmost importance.
The main challenge was to ensure uniform irrigation throughout the crop to speed up the start of production and ensure homogeneous quality of the tomatoes.
In addition, the water source used came from a reservoir with a very low quality and a high organic load. This caused frequent clogging of the irrigation emitters, resulting in irregular irrigation and decreased productivity.
The solution proposed by AZUD included the installation of irrigation pipes with integrated AZUD GENIUN PC self-compensating drippers. These emitters feature anti-clogging technology, a self-cleaning labyrinth and a long service life.
In addition, the AZUD HELIX SYSTEM disc filtration system was implemented, with a filtration degree of 130 microns and a flow rate of 20 cubic metres per hectare.
The implementation of this solution provided a number of notable benefits: