Put to the day on control of the irrigation in nurseries of ornamental plant in container

More than half hundred of professionals linked to the production of plant in container, technicians and auxiliary companies of systems of control of the irrigation assisted to the day 'Control of the irrigation in the nurseries of production of ornamental plant in container', that took place the past 17 January in the installations of the Institute of Investigation and Technologies Agroalimentarias (IRTA), in Cabrils. The session, included in the Annual Plan of Technological Transfer (PATT) of the DAAM, had a good received between the public assistant. It does not be necessary to forget that although it is frequent that the nurseries of production of plant in container use systems of diverse irrigation, no longer is so usual the employment of instruments or methods of objective control that initialise or restrict the contribution of water when this is not necessary. Conscious of the ignorance in this matter, during some years the group of Horticultural Agronomy of the Unit of Engineering and Agronomy of Biosistemas of the IRTA has carried out projects of investigation on design and application of instruments or methods that control the irrigation in these nurseries. From the IRTA pretend like this increase the efficiency in the use of the water and of the fertilizantes in the same.

The IRTA, together with the Federation of Viveristas of Catalonia (FVC), has promoted the presentation and execution of a project of transmission of the knowledge to the company (TRACE) that has treated, in good part, of this thematic. The project has been funded, mainly, by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Reference TRA2009_0274 'Use of substrata autochthonous and of instrumentation for the efficient control of the irrigation in nurseries of ornamental in container'). Besides, it has received support of the same DAAM, the Agency of Waste of Catalonia-ARC (Department of Territory and Sustainability of the Generalitat) and the companies COPERSA, Establiments Sabater, Tervex-Terres Vegetals and the Plant of Compostatge of Cabrils. It fits to stand out that, apart from the thematic quoted, the project possesses another slope focalizada in the use of substrata autochthonous in the crops in container.

The presentation of the day was to charge of Anna Goutan, responsible of the local office of the DAAM in the region of the Maresme. The thematic developed in three reports and, at the end, opened a space of dialogue between the assistants.

The first report, to charge of Oriol Marfà, versó on the bases that have to consider to manage properly the irrigation in the nurseries of crop of plant in container. The second contribution, to charge of Rafaela Cáceres, described precisely, the development of the project TRACE; the experiments that have realised until the moment in two nurseries of the region of the Maresme and therefore, the devices to manage the irrigation tested to scale real.

In third place, Conrad Cunill presented the results that these experiments have provided when they compared the monitoring equipment of irrigation in relation to the usual irrigation that practised the viverista. For example, it stood out that the use of an element that measures the state hídrico of the substrata in continuous (electrotensiómetro) connected to a controller-switch of the valve of irrigation, has made possible the saving of 37% of the water contributed, if it compares with the usual irrigation of the horticultor. Likewise, also it appreciated that the vegetal growth has not resulted affected. Like this then , it arrived to the conclusion that said element suppressesed unnecessary irrigations. Also it underlined the goodness of the operation of the called box electrolisimétrica (or tray to the demand) that it can activate the irrigation in function of the needs hídricas of the system sustrato-plant.

The questions posed as a result of the presentations, ended in an extensive dialogue around the management of the water in the nurseries. Between the group of the assistants stood out interesting appearances eat: the need to have of devices –adapted to the irrigation of plant pots– that help to the viveristas in the taking of decisions of the moment of the irrigation, the suitability to evaluate in economic terms the saving that can suppose the use of these technicians, the possibility of application of these systems (or other based in the control of the fertilisation) to promote the endurecimiento of the plant as well as the need to provide information and learning to the users that decide to adopt these devices in the vivero. Regarding the two systems of control of irrigation that the IRTA has developed and tested, thanks to the realisation of the project referred, concluded that it treats of technologies sufficiently mature to promote the manufacture of commercial models and spread his utilisation. Próximamente Will edit a ficha technical of the DAAM that will collect the most remarkable results spread in the day.