Irrigation is a widespread agricultural practice in hot climate zones. However, it is less common in moderate and relatively cold regions, where summer rains are a frequent occurrence “In central and northern Europe, potato production is an immense enterprise that supplies both the fresh produce market and for industry,” according to Dr Menahem Dinar of Netafim.
In an exclusive interview with the Journal, Dinar, Netafim’s European agronomist, says the potato market is becoming increasingly challenging, with buyers and supermarkets on the lookout for high quality potatoes and continuous sources of supply. Netafim, owned by three kibbutzim in Israel, has recently devised a new strategy for irrigating potato crops, aimed at getting higher yields and higher quality crops.
The pioneer of drip irrigation, Netafim is one of the world’s largest irrigation systems companies. With over 1,500 employees, 12 manufacturing facilities in eight countries, 28 subsidiaries, and distribution in over 100 countries, the organisation boasts global sales of about US$250 million, and more than 30 billion emitters in operation.
Dinar maintains that “in order to insure a steady supply of high quality potatoes across the entire potato consumer spectrum, irrigation in central and northern Europe is imperative. This is due to the fact that evapotranspiration rates are higher than the total amount of precipitation,” he adds, continuing that the irregularity of rainfall is very often characterised by a break of three, sometimes four weeks or even more. He remarked that these breaks create water stress in the potato crop resulting in a reduction in yield and quality.
Potatoes are among the most sensitive crops to water scarcity. Yield accumulation is a very fast process and reach up to 1,000kg/ha/day in fully developed foliage with optimal light and water supply, whereas lack of water will have a significant negative effect on photosynthesis, followed by reduction of dry matter accumulation.
Dinar explains the new strategy for commercial crops should meet its specific requirements, namely - high sensitivity to water stress as expressed in yield response and quality; sensitivity to leaf and tuber diseases; and for unique soil preparation requirements. He maintains Netafim’s drip irrigation strategy for potato crops is based on the need to optimise potato production and meet environmental requirements that should take into consideration the water requirement of the potato plant:
• High frequency water application and the ability to respond in a short time to high water demand. Poor root system and high sensitivity to water stress necessitate a short water application response. This is true for the entire growing period in which each phenological phase will express its sensitivity to water stress with a specific response
• Frequent irrigation with low quantities will create the optimal water balance in the roots. Water scheduling can vary between daily application, to every two or three days. In case of salinity, it appears that irrigation with a low flow rate of two to three hours a day will result in an optimum soil water status
• High soil moisture is also required for the regular growth of tubers. In order to promote favourable conditions for tuber cell expansion, the soil near tubers should contain moisture. The irrigation system should create a situation of soil moisture uniformity within the ridge: the lack of uniformity will lead to high water logging in the ridge centre and low moisture at the edge
• Proper irrigation of crops calls for maintaining optimal soil conditions, in order to prevent soil cracking and clods, and to prevent high temperatures at the edge of the ridge
• Potato crop is very sensitive to leaf diseases: watering below the leaves will assist in plant protection which will result in reducing the use of chemicals. This will also significantly reduce the amount of chemicals washed to the ground and probably to the underground water table
• A major role of an irrigation system is to transport nutrients in the fertilising processes. Nutrient uptake by the plant is significantly improved by high water availability located very close to the root system
“Netafim’s strategy for drip irrigation of potato crops has the answers to the unique water requirements of the potato crop. The combination of an accurately designed drip irrigation system and optimal irrigation scheduling will result in high yields and high quality of potatoes,” Dinar concludes.
No comments yet