Water management Water conservation at forefront
of potato production • Field trials improve management • Moisture uptake closely monitored • Irrigation booms help save water
to environmental protection – and water management is a pri- ority across the 1200ha of drought prone land he farms in the north of the county.
N
Mr Papworth is well aware that potato production can be- come unsustainable if not man- aged properly. For this reason, he has implemented various on- farm practices to counteract im- prove productivity as well as prof- itability on his land.
“We put in green cover crops to prevent soil erosion, over-winter stubble to provide a food source for farmland birds, and careful- ly manage our hedgerows and woodlands to maintain habitats for wildlife. However, water con- servation is currently at the top of our agenda.”
Water saving
He explains that water is an es- sential input and an asset that he could not farm without. “It’s a precious resource, and we do everything we can to help con- serve it, especially as we operate within an environmentally sen- sitive area.”
However as East Anglia gen- erally sees less rainfall than oth- er areas of the UK, with many ar-
Tim Papworth is continually looking to improve potato yield using less water
orfolk grower Tim Pap- worth aims to be ahead of the curve when it comes
eas of well drained sandy soil, it’s not surprising that Mr Papworth regularly needs to irrigate his ar- able crops, as well as his 130ha of potatoes, that supply multiple markets.
“I normally irrigate the cere- al crops in April or early May to ensure that the system is fully functioning. This avoids wasting water going forward and main- tains productivity when we irri- gate the potatoes to protect them from scab at tuber initiation.
Targeted application
“One of the steps we’re taking to minimise water wastage is changing our rain guns to ir- rigation booms, we’re now us- ing them on around 50% of our crops. These are much more effi cient, as water is spread evenly across the width of the boom, and is distrib- uted close to the crop, giv-
ing a targeted application that wastes less in drift.” In addition to clever irrigation management, Mr Papworth is al- ways testing out the newest prac- tices, varieties and products in a bid to improve his business effi - ciency. “I’m continually looking to improve potato yield using less water, so I hosted a fi eld-scale tri- al of ICL’s wetting agent, H2F- lo, as it appealed as another wa- ter-saving opportunity.” The product increases the
spread of water both vertically and laterally through the soil pro- fi le, making it more readily avail- able to the crop, which can help to avoid drought stress in dry condi- tions. This therefore saves on ad- ditional irrigation costs and in- creases yields through improved water uptake.
Monitoring trials “With assistance from ICL and Agrii we applied H2Flo to a block of Royal potatoes, mixed with our
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26 ANGLIA FARMER • MARCH 2018
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