A new irrigation system reduces by 42 percent the use of water in Strawberry

April 30, 2015 

Researchers at the University of Córdoba (UCO) has designed a system that requires precision irrigation using 100 liters of water to produce a kilo of strawberries in Huelva area, which represents a reduction from 28.5 and 42.1 percent compared to previous systems accuracy.

The UCO is reported that the system obtains more accurate information about the water footprint of the specific area to be studied. The University specifies that, generally, the calculation of the water footprint of a culture is performed using data from weather conditions and yields, at basin scale, region or country, publishes the digital newspaper Huelva Información.

Thus, it was estimated that the water footprint strawberry Huelva was between 140 and 173 liters per kilo produced, according to two studies performed. In order to obtain a “more accurate” information, the research team took direct data, actual water use and production of strawberry producers in the Doñana.

“This way, we could access more realistic information identifying problems in the process of irrigation to further increase the high water efficiency of strawberry cultivation in Doñana,” said the coordinator of the research group, Pilar Montesinos .

According to Montesinos, it is necessary to move towards a production system precision, “because the availability of water resources is scarce” and “often a source of conflict”. Source: Universidad de Córdoba