Lettuce - Primaflor, Spain
Executive Summary
Key areas of good practice:
Inputs
- The farm uses fertigation (Fertigation is the application of fertilisers, or other water soluble products through an irrigation system), which provides precise application and reduces the overall amount of chemicals applied compared to dry application.
- Soil meters monitor moisture levels at 4 zones within soil structure, allowing for accurate assessment of irrigation undertaken and planned, verses actual crop requirements.
- A weather station on the farm predicts likely rainfall events and calculates soil evaporation rates, ultimately helping improve irrigation/water efficiency.
- The weather station also predicts conditions which are likely to increase the risk of disease/pest incidence, so the use of plant protection products can be accurately targeted.
- Biological repellents (garlic extract and neem oil) are used to control certain target pest species.
- Pheromone and sticky traps capture pest species and if threshold levels are exceeded then the farm’s technician can approve the use of specific plant protection products.
A wide array of technology has enabled Primaflor to maximise lettuce yields and quality, whilst optimising the use of plant protection products and fertilisers. Through the use of the farm’s own weather station, conditions can be monitored to warn of impending disease or pest risks and with the use of pheromone/sticky traps, pest levels are monitored daily by the specialist technicians (agronomists) and targeted treatments can be applied when pre-determined threshold levels are exceeded.
Resources
- Sub-surface drip irrigation is used, which is an irrigation method which minimises the use of water by allowing it to drip slowly to the root zone of plants. It is estimated to be 25% more efficient than other methods of irrigation.
- A pressure compensated drip irrigation system is in use which, although more expensive than the conventional drippers, has far greater efficiency and accuracy.
- All water sources have two microbial tests undertaken annually to ensure purity levels are met.
Through the use of the on-farm weather station and soil moisture meters, irrigation can be targeted to achieve maximum benefit, not only to the plant but to the wider environment. Through careful monitoring and management this precious resource can be applied using the most efficient techniques which limit losses through the soil away from the plants’ root zone.
Additional areas of good practice:
Management
- The farm produces the lettuce under the requirements of the Global-Gap assurance scheme. This ensures that requirements such as food safety/quality, good environmental practices, record keeping and worker welfare are all independently audited and verified.
Operations
- A programme of plant breeding in conjunction with seed suppliers sees over 300 different varieties planted every week during the growing season, with the objectives of improving pest/disease resistance and growth in future generations.
- Pest and disease strategies are planned out in conjunction with three specialist companies.
Resources
- To date, around 500 native trees have been planted including Olive, Palm, Carob tree and Rosebay.