Protected Cantaloupe
Spain
Crop | Piel de Sapo Cantaloupe Melons
Region of trial | Almería, Spain
Trial Duration | 12 weeks
Co-operators | CASI - Thomas Perez Garcia
65%
Saving on water
About the Trial
The aim of trial was to use Integrate technology to reduce the water required to grow a 90 day crop of Piel de Sapo Cantaloupe melon to reduce overall cost per hectare in water, fertiliser and energy.​
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CASI are the largest fruit cooperative in Almería covering tomato and melon production. Established in 1944, they now have over 2100 hectares of in house production and manage over 3 million kilos of tomatoes per day from the region during the growing season.
In the 2014/15 season they produced and marketed 220 million kg of tomatoes around the world.
CASI have 1240 member growers with another 535 collaborating and third party growers.
Piel de Sapo or the ‘Christmas melon’ is a variety of melon of (family Cucurbitaceae, Cucumis melo, Inodorus group) originating in Spain that grows to about a foot in length and is oval in shape. It has a thick, green-striped outer rind and pale green to white inner flesh with a mild melon flavour and sweetness close to honeydew melons. It is prized in Spain due to its earliness and commands a good price if grown early in the year. With over 30,000 hectares in Spain it is now a prominent variety for production.
Trial Conclusion
The data clearly shows that the use of Engage’s Integrate technology in this trial reduced the overall duration of irrigation and reduced the mean length of watering from 1 hour 30 minutes to 20 minutes per day.
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This represents a significant reduction in water volume and reduces cost in water, fertilisers and energy.
The data also proves that the use of Integrate in this trial had positive effects on yield to the value of 1.09kg per square metre.
77%
less time irrigating
Business Case
The following business case is designed to illustrate the difference in cost based upon the mean saving reductions in water volume used over the melon growing period. Yield data is not included as this cannot be guaranteed from crop to crop.
Cost per m³ of €0.80 assuming water is not desalinated.
Total cost of water without energy cost inclusion €3,200.00 - €4,800.00 per ha
Cost of Integrate application per crop in this case was €180.00 however commercially the cost would be €120.00 per ha.
The trial has proven the reduction in water for Melons with Integrate in this case was 65%.
Therefore the saving in water alone is 2600 – 3900m³ which at €0.80 per m³
this equates to a saving of €2,080.00 - €3,120.00 per ha.
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Fertiliser Reduction
Melons use 500-600kgs per ha per crop at an average cost of €0.862 per kilo.
Total cost per crop is €431.00 - €280.15 per ha.
Therefore the saving in fertiliser applications is between €280.15 - €336.18 per ha.
Total saving with Integrate usage for a melon crop is between
€2,360.12-€3,456.18.00 per ha.
