Near Šid, there is an innovative apple and cherry orchard, planted at only 50 cm between plants, owned by Predrag Čortanovački. Apple plantation occupies 10 ha, and the represented varieties are Gala and Golden Delicious. The full yield (in the fifth year) is 80 to 90 t/ha. The cherries were planted two years ago, in the varieties Ferovia, Kordia and Regina. The expected yield is 10-12 t/ha of top quality fruit with a diameter of 30 mm.
Israeli agronomists visited this beautiful and tidy plantation and made sure that the trees were healthy and fresh. After reviewing and collecting the necessary data regarding fertilization and irrigation, the team of agronomists from Netafim will propose to the investor the ideal schedule of irrigation and fertigation.
DNL valves – Uniform excavation on high slope terrains
– The irrigation system, the lateral DripNet PC AS, was installed last year on this plantation, explains Olivera Lukačević, sales director of the company AVITAL DOO, and adds that it is a lateral with a drip spacing of 60 cm, and with excavation 1.6 l. The whole system is adjusted so that DNL valves are placed at the beginning of the lateral, which are very important on terrains with a large slope, as is the case with the plantation in Šid. For the uniform quality of the genus, it is necessary for the dripping to be equal from the beginning to the end of the row. Without the use of DNL valves, uniformity in irrigation on higher slope terrain would be difficult to achieve.
To make sure that each plant received the same amount of water, it is necessary to constantly monitor the dripping. NMC Junior is connected to the water meter and provides data on all flows on the plantation.
The supply of the plantation is currently provided by the use of aggregates, so that the entire function of automatic irrigation and remote control is not fully used. The plan is to bring electricity to the plantation, which will enable the maximum use of advanced technology that has already been installed.
“The filter station has Venturi pipes,” emphasizes Olivera Lukacevic, “equipped with rotometers that are connected to fertilizer tanks.” Fertilization is performed according to the set program by the NMC Junior device.