Root Demand Irrigation (RDI) gained recognition from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) for groundbreaking industry innovation for the development of its subsurface irrigation product. RDI commercially launched as a division of Valmont Irrigation in early 2014, and while sales during its first year have been for agricultural row crop irrigation in the U.S., RDI expects significant benefits of its product will be recognized globally and across broader agricultural segments.
RDI is featured in the January/February 2015 special AE50 issue of ASABE’s magazine Resource: Engineering & Technology for a Sustainable World.
The AE50 awards program annually honors up to 50 products that will best advance engineering for the food and agriculture industries. Products and systems are selected based on their role in bringing advanced technology to the marketplace that help farmers, food processors and equipment manufacturers cut costs, enhance quality and increase profits. This award will be presented in February 2015 at the ASABE meeting in Louisville, Ky.
“We are honored to be recognized by the ASABE,” said Jake LaRue, director of research and development for the RDI product. “Most importantly, we’re proud to bring this product to the industry and show commercial irrigation users the water, energy and time savings to be gained with the installation of RDI.”
The RDI product is a unique form of subsurface irrigation that interacts with the plants’ roots to release water needed to meet the crop’s requirements. The RDI tube, a combination of the material science of DuPont and irrigation technology expertise and manufacturing of Valmont Irrigation, is the key component of the new product. The RDI tube puts irrigation in action that is controlled directly by the plant—a truly innovative solution.
Field trials have shown water use with RDI to be 45 to 60 percent less than in-furrow irrigation. Energy savings are found with the ability to operate at a very low PSI rate (as low as 2 PSI) in the field versus that of conventional irrigation methods, which operate in a range of 8 to 20 PSI.
To find out more about Root Demand Irrigation, visit www.rootdemandirrigation.com.