What are you looking for?
Higher potato yields with consistent size and shape through precision irrigation
At a time when cost of farming is going up, there is pressure on potato farmers to both produce more efficiently, and produce higher-quality potatoes. That’s why precision irrigation is such a big help.
Why Choose Precision Irrigation for Potatoes?
- Satisfy all market segments
Every potato market segment has unique demands. The fresh segment requires superb appearance, high cooking quality and even shape. The processed segment insists on low reducing sugar concentrations, uniform tubers, and consistent dry matter. Whatever your goal, precision irrigation will get you there. - Keep your potatoes healthy
Drip irrigation delivers water precisely to the root-zone of the plant, avoiding leaf moisture and ultimately fostering a dry environment. Less moisture reduces the risk of potato blight and other fungal diseases. - Take control of plant nutrition
Potatoes are heavy feeders. With a shallow and fibrous root system, they only flourish with consistent nutrition. Precision Nutrigation™ brings nutrients directly to the root-zone, on demand. - Optimise resources
Drip irrigation distributes water and nutrients only where the crops grow, avoiding waste between beds. In addition, there is no water loss due to run-off or evaporation. - Foster uniformity
Uniform distribution of water and nutrients creates uniform tubers across the field. Even in the face of strong winds, challenging topography, inconsistent row length or odd field shapes.
How Precision Irrigation Helps
Precision irrigation gives you control over your potato field by using SDI (subsurface drip irrigation), delivering water and nutrients directly to the root zone of each plant, in specific combinations. It fits into any plot, and can be applied to all topographies, field sizes and soil types. So you can maintain optimal soil moisture and nutrient levels in all conditions.
And if you add digital controls to your system, you’ll be able to monitor and optimise your potato yield remotely as it’s growing, gaining data about every aspect of your field and local climate. So wherever you are, you can ensure top-quality potato yields every season, do less of the dirty work, and make even bigger profits.
Read MorePotato FAQs: Things We Get Asked Often
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Why should I choose precision irrigation over other, cheaper methods?
Precision irrigation will always give you higher economic returns. You’ll get consistently higher and better yields using your resources efficiently. And by delivering water and nutrients directly to plant roots, you’ll ensure healthier soil for future years. It’s a secure, long-term crop profitability model that only improves over time.
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Should I use surface or sub-surface drip irrigation?
Sub-surface drip irrigation (SDI) systems are most suitable for large-scale potato field operations. Compared with on-surface systems, SDIs deliver additional benefits such as lower labour requirements, protection from agro-machinery interference, and enhanced water-use efficiency.
One of the biggest advantages of SDI is that it is not wetting the canopy, resulting in significantly reduced leaf disease.
On-surface systems are best for small to medium-scale potato growers, or for use on extremely sandy soil plots. They’re also a great option for plots that are deep-tilled. But bear in mind that while they require a lower initial investment, they do carry a higher operational cost.
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What if I have an uneven topography or irregularly shaped potato field?
Again, you’ll still make bigger wins by switching to precision irrigation. You can make sure of that by installing pressure-compensated (PC) dripperlines in your system, so water and nutrients are delivered to each plant with a uniform flow rate – across your entire field.
