A recyclable drip tape system that reduces water, energy and labour while ensuring soil moisture levels at a critical time has been trialled by Norfolk farmers. Howseman Agriculture, with its sister company DripUK, is the first in the UK to offer Streamline X Re-Gen, a drip tape that can be recycled at the end of the season.
Smart irrigation resulted in a 7% increase in the yield of strawberries following commercial trial of a precision irrigation packaged by NIAB EMR with Delta-T Devices.
There have been several times over recent years where the gap between demand for water and the capacity to supply has become worryingly narrow.
In July 2019 the AHDB Water Resources Management Scientist, Nicola Dunn, said: “Following last year’s drought and a dry winter, we’ve been monitoring the water resource situation closely this season. Earlier in the year we warned that irrigation may be interrupted later in the season. While there has been some rainfall, water resources are still challenged particularly in the east and south east of the country.”
Against this background, this Agri-Tech Week event, hosted by AHDB, is looking at effective use of irrigation and best practice for soil and water management for farmers and growers in East Anglia