Lettuce - Primaflor, Spain
Resources
The farm’s subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) uses a temporarily buried dripper line located at the plant roots. This system has become popular for row crop irrigation, especially in areas where water supplies are limited as it is the most efficient irrigation system. This type of irrigation method minimises losses by allowing water to drip slowly to the root zone of plants. It can be 25% more efficient than other methods of irrigation as it does not incur the losses through evaporation that topical applications of water are subject to.
The farm has gone one step further with the introduction of a pressure compensated drip irrigation system, which is more expensive to purchase than the convention drippers but provides a higher degree of accuracy over the conventional system.
The farm is supplied with water from two sources and microbial testing is undertaken to ensure purity levels are consistently met.
To date, the company has undertaken a commitment to plant more native trees in the area to help improve local biodiversity. At present 500 native trees have been planted, which includes Olive, Palm, Carob and Rosebay.
The farm’s efficient irrigation systems maximise water for the crops while minimising waste.