Gulf Agriculture Jan-Feb 2022 edition

Agriculture Abu Dhabi Sweet Corn 3,2

September 2021, Responsive Drip Irriga􀀁on (RDI) began installa􀀁on of the RDI system for a sweet corn trial for Alfafa Farms in Al Kha􀀁m, Abu Dhabi, where a 5-hectare area of unfarmed desert land was cleared of large rocks prior to the seeds being sown.

As a result, comparison to SDI, RDI was able to save more than 40% water, increase the average corn ear weight to a higher grade, weighing between 350 to 450 gm/ear. Crop yields increased from 1 or 2 ears/stalk to a minimum of 3 ears/stalk, overall increasing the crop yield by 120%, using 50% less fertilizer and without bringing in top soil prior to planting (which is typically required due to the poor quality of soil in the region). The 5 hectares were seeded in sections, so maturity and harvest are occurring at different intervals. After the sweet corn is harvested in a section, the stalks are cut and sold for green fodder for livestock.

Regenerative Farming practices are being utilized with the RDI system, so no tilling was performed, and the sections are being seeded again for another sweet corn harvest, which will be followed by beet root for a summer crop. This was only possible with GrowStream™ tube, RDI’s irrigation system with a visionary technology.

GrowStream™ is the world’s first and only irrigation system to ever interact directly with plant roots and their chemical signals, allowing the plant to self-regulate its own water delivery. The GrowStream™ tube is comprised of millions of micropores along its entire surface. The thermoplastic material combines hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers to produce the system’s properties of retentivity and transitivity through the membrane.

This revolutionary method of delivering water and nutrients ensures a higher water-use efficiency than any other irrigation system. In response to different agricultural settings and farming structures and methods, RDI has been implemented in other applications including greenhouses, screenhouses, and orchards.

THE PURPOSE OF RDI IS TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION THAT EASES THE WATER CRISIS, SOLVES PROBLEMS SUCH AS FOOD SECURITY, AND FOSTERS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. NOT ONLY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT ALSO FOR THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY, SETTLEMENTS IN REMOTE AREAS, AND FOR CITIES THAT HAVE FOCUSED THEIR ATTENTION ON INCREASING FOOD SECURITY WITHIN THEIR COUNTRY.

RDI has been installed in 25 vegetable greenhouses with a total area of 3.5 hectares in the UAE alone. The advantages of RDI’s plant-responsive system over traditional irrigation is being monitored and analyzed on these projects.

One of these studies is the Tomato Trial. The RDI system was installed in a greenhouse for 3500 tomato plants (seedlings in coco peat mix). 3 months after the transplantation, tomato greenhouse using the RDI system began harvesting 10 days earlier than the SDI greenhouse, while using 33% less water and 40% less fertilizer, while demonstrating an increased crop yield by 30%.

FOR ALL ITS EFFORTS, RDI WON THE 2021 INNOVATIVE CHALLENGE AWARD AT THE AIDEX GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN AID EVENT, IN BRUSSELS. THE AWARD WAS GIVEN TO RDI’S GROWSTREAM™ TECHNOLOGY FOR ITS INNOVATION AND ABILITY TO IMPACT SEVERAL OF THE 2030 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

RDI Featured in Good News Network For Cutting Water Use by 30-50%

RDI has been featured in the Good News Network for our state of the art water reduction technology!

“Responsive Drip Irrigation (DRI) has designed a watering system that installs tubes under the earth filled with pore-like depressions. As plants begin to get thirsty they produce a certain chemical in their roots. The micropores in the tubes in turn detect this chemical and release a water drip that will continue until it detects the plants have drunk their fill.”

Check out the full article here: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/responsive-drip-irrigation-system-changes-agriculture-saves-30-50-water-costs/

Want to get started with what RDI can offer for you? Contact us today to learn more!

RDI Featured in FAST COMPANY

Check out the full article here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90668669/this-irrigation-system-talks-to-plants-to-find-out-when-they-need-water

We would like to thank FAST COMPANY for covering our business in the most recent article about our technology! We are happy to have been featured. See some excerpts from the article below:

“When plants get thirsty, they release a particular chemical into the surrounding soil. The technology, from a company called Responsive Drip Irrigation, uses tubes that are embedded with a pore-filled polymer that can sense those chemicals. “When the plants give off the chemicals, micropores start releasing the water,” says Jan Gould, founder of Responsive Drip Irrigation. “So the water starts free-flowing, and the plants can slowly drink what they need.” When the plants have enough water, they stop emitting the chemical, and the pores close, turning the tubes into a tiny underground stream until the plants need irrigation again. The system can also be used to deliver fertilizer or soil amendments directly to the roots of plants.

The technology, originally developed by a chemistry professor, is now in use in places like Abu Dhabi, where farmers are growing local vegetables in the desert. It saves substantially more water than drip irrigation, another type of system that emits water out of small tubes. It can also help beyond farms: In Los Angeles, the company is currently working with the local water utility to test using it on urban landscaping. “If you tear out all the turf and tear out the plants, you create another set of issues —creating a heat island in the city with too much concrete and hardscapes,” says Gould. “Plants are important in the environment. So what they were looking to do is find out ways to keep some green, but to use less water to do it.” In side-by-side tests with a drip irrigation system in the L.A. pilot, the newer technology used 45% to 50% less water.”

Need our technology? Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.

EVENPRODUCTS AND RDI JOINT STATEMENT

Evenproducts RDI Joint Statement

Evenproducts and Responsive Drip Irrigation - Joint Statement

Evenproducts is thrilled to announce that we have become RDI’s exclusive partner to the Aid and Development sector. Combining our expertise in supporting development programmes with a rich history of working across global agricultural sectors, together we believe that GrowStream™ has the potential to change lives for millions of people across the world.

GrowStream™ is the world’s first plant-responsive irrigation and nutrient delivery system. This truly amazing innovation promotes sustainable agriculture, reduces water and energy consumption, works on gravity fed systems, simplifies high-quality crop production and diversity, and increases yields to ensure food security. Complementing Evenproducts’ extensive range of water, sanitation and irrigation equipment, together we will help NGOs address some of the most important challenges the world faces as we aim to deliver the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Learn more at:
www.evenproducts.com

RDI IN THENATIONAL.AE

thenational.ae logo

RDI featured in TheNational.ae

Abu Dhabi has offered Dh110m in incentives to a select group of AgTech companies.  RDI is proud to be among the visionary group of recipients- all with a common goal to develop sustainable farmland and food production to Abu Dhabi and the region. 

RDI GrowStream™ plant-responsive technology will usher a new generation of irrigation for hyper-arid climates.  Learn more about RDI’s launch in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi to offer Dh110m in incentives to AgTech companies – The National

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