This document summarizes the FERTINNOWA project which aims to improve irrigation and fertilization management for fruit, vegetable, and ornamental growers in Europe. The project conducted a survey of over 500 farming operations across 10 countries to identify bottlenecks and needs regarding water and nutrient use. Key findings included a lack of sustainable water sources, limited monitoring of water and nutrient use, and challenges implementing new technologies. The project is working to address these issues through knowledge sharing between partners and implementing solutions in the field over 1-2 years. The goal is to bridge the gap between available innovations and their adoption by growers.

1. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
and innovation programme under grant agreement No 689687
Meeting growers’ needs :
Optimal management of irrigation
and fertigation
Els Berckmoes & Esther Lechevalier

2. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
FERTINNOWA’s passport
 Call: WATER-4b-2015 (one-stage)
 Water innovation: boosting its value for Europe
 Type of action: Coordination and Support Action
 Focus: fertigated crops (vegetables, fruits &
ornamentals)
 Budget: € 2.999.273
 Start: 01/01/2016 – 31/12 /2018

3. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
FERTINNOWA’s Consortium
 23 partners + 1 linked third party
 9 European Member States (BE, NL, DE, PL, SI, FR, IT, ES,
UK) and South-Africa

4. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Why is there a need for a thematic network?
2012-2013: a benchmark study on behalf of the Flemish
Land Agency revealed that :
1. growers struggle to
• achieve sufficient and qualitative irrigation water
• use irrigation water in an more efficient way
• avoid run-off leaching and manage waste fertigated water.
2. knowledge & innovative technologies are available
but are not implemented by the growers.
FERTINNOWA

5. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
FERTINNOWA’s actions:
Phase 1:
1. Mapping the current situation
2. Mapping the needs and bottlenecks
Phase 2:
Find & implement solutions by exchange of knowledge and
technologies (from in- & outside the horticultural sector)
Phase 3:
Bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation

6. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
What is the status of FERTINNOWA today?
Phase 1:
1. Mapping the current situation
2. Mapping the needs and bottlenecks
Phase 2:
Find & implement solutions by exchange of knowledge and
technologies (from in- & outside the horticultural sector)
Phase 3:
Bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation

7. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
1st step :
Inventory of knowledge and benchmark strategy
• Review of the available technologies for:
• Mapping of existing bottlenecks
 Use of sustainable water sources
 Increase water and nutrient use efficiency
 Minimize impact on the environment
 Technical bottlenecks
 Socio-economic bottlenecks
Regulatory bottlenecks

8. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
1st step :
Inventory of knowledge and benchmark strategy
Experts knowledge
+
information available in the literature:
-Technical factsheets
-Research
-Previous projects
Information at the growers’ level:
-How do they monitor fertigation ?
-Why do they do the way they do?
-What problems they meet?
-What do they need to improve their fertigation
management ?
 Bottom-up approach
 Current step: partners are
gathering data & information
on techniques & technologies
for fertigation management

9. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
1st step :
Inventory of knowledge and benchmark strategy
• Understand uses, choices and needs at
the growers’s level:
Questionnaire for growers
 Including technical, socio-economic and regulatory data
 165 questions, multi choice or open-ended
About :
-water consumption and uses
- cropping system type
- monitoring and management methods and tools
- effluents management
Etc…

10. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
1st step :
Inventory of knowledge and benchmark strategy
• Interviews carried out in
whole Europe
- 10 countries
- 17 partners
- 352 recorded interviews
On 513 cropping systems!
 Carried out between May and September 2016

11. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Where are the investigated farms ? :
North West zone
Netherlands, UK, Belgium,
France
96 interviews
Central East zone
Poland & Slovenia
92 interviews
Mediterranean zone
Spain, France, Italy
162 interviews
Mediterranean
North-west
Central-East

12. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
High diversity of farms and systems!
Who are the investigated farms ? :
237
60
52
1 system
2 systems
3 systems
Number of systems per farm
308
205
soilless system
soil-grown system
System type: 60% soilless
Main crops investigated:
Vegetables: tomato, eggplant, pepper, lettuce…
Fruits: peach,citrus, soft fruits, ….
Ornamental plants: azalea, tulips, protected plants…

13. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Towards use of sustainable water
sources

14. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Current status in soilless crops
• Type of water sources used:
MED
rainwater
groundwater
desalinated water
disinfected urban
wast water
drainage water
surface water
tap water
community water
CENW
R
G
D
R
R
G
G
D

15. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Current status in soilless crops
Q45 - 39.What would help to persuade you to use more sustainable
water sources?

16. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Q45 - 39.What would help to persuade you to use more sustainable
water sources?
Current status in soilless crops

17. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Current status in soilless crops
Q45 - 39.What would help to persuade you to use more sustainable
water sources?

18. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Current status in soilless crops
Q45 - 39.What would help to persuade you to use more sustainable
water sources?

19. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Water quality?
- On a European level the EC is a major concern
- EC strongly depends on the water source and the region
Parameter NW CE Med Remarks
pH X X
Fe X X
Salinity (EC) X X Na, Cl, nutrients
Hardness X Ca, Mg, Carbonates
Organics X
Pathogens/
Micro-organism
X X Algae
Sediments X

20. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
« Qualitative groundwater is becoming :
- Scarce due to nutrient pollution
(Spain)
- Scarce due to restrictions (Flanders)
- Expensive due to taxes (Poland) »
Current status in soilless crops

21. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Growers are facing bottlenecks
• Example of the NW and CE region:
– Technological:
- how to dimension rain water storage?
- in relation to the crop?
- in relation to the rainfall pattern?
- how to collect rain water for soil bound crops?

22. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
• Example of the NW region
- Socio-economic:
- cost, space
- Legislative:
- risk analysis is required for big rain water storages, this
often causes delays.
- Environmental:
- Drift of pesticides
Growers are facing bottlenecks

23. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
• Example of the NW region
- Dimensioning tools
- Risk analysis (flooding, herbicides)
- Cost-benefit analysis
Needs

24. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Towards more efficient use of water
and nutrients

25. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Q103 - 101. Why are you not implementing more innovative
technologies?
Bottlenecks

26. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Q103 - 101. Why are you not implementing more innovative
technologies?
Bottlenecks

27. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Q103 - 101. Why are you not implementing more innovative
technologies?
Bottlenecks

28. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Observation
• Water consumption:
Only minor group of growers measure water
flows
Growers only know some general figures
• Nutrient consumption:
Growers are forced to register (Global Gap)

29. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Needs
- Cost-effectiveness
- they need real economic impact to be in the priorities
- PROVEN effectiveness
- they need proofs from other growers that it works well
- Easy to use tools
- Technology is sometimes implemented but under used
because not practical
- Investment cost adapted to the farm scale
(observation all over Europe)

30. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Towards reduced environmental
impact

31. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Q153 - 151. Do you plan to implement new practices for limiting
effluent discharge in the next 3 years?
Q158 - 156. Do you face control regarding your emissions?

32. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Bottlenecks
- Technological:
- Availability of end-of-pipe solutions?
- Dimension of the waterflows to be treated?
- Socio-economic:
- High pressure on horticultural activities
- High Investment needed
- Legislative:
- Changing legislation (for example Poland, Belgium, …)
- Legislative demands prior to availability of technologies (for
example the Netherlands: removal from residues from waste
water flows)

33. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Needs
- Encouraging policies
- Long term legislation
- Cost effective technologies
- Technologies to reduce environmental impact:
- For example end-of-pipe solutions

34. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
FERTINNOWA ?
Phase 1:
1. Mapping the current situation
2. Mapping the needs and bottlenecks
Phase 2:
Find & implement solutions by exchange of knowledge and
technologies
Phase 3:
Bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation

35. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Phase 2: Find and implement solutions
 Focus on exchange of technologies
 From inside and outside the horticultural sector
 short term results
 Each consortium member implement at least 1
technology
 Implementation of at least 1 year, max. 2 years

36. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
FERTINNOWA’s approach: For example the Dutch
and Flemisch cucumber growers:
Outcome of growers
consultation:
Growers:
“Root exudates are
challenging when you
want to recirculate. We
need a technology to
remove these root
exudates”

37. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
FERTINNOWA’s approach: For example the Dutch
and Flemisch cucumber growers:
The FERTINNOWA’s bottom-
up-approach:
We involve other stakeholders
like researchers and industry
Research:
“Why not applying
activated charcoal? It is
done for years in
soilless lettuce crops”
Industry:
“Why not using
advanced oxidation?”

38. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
FERTINNOWA actively exchanges technologies for at least one
year on (semi-)field scale
FERTINNOWA’s approach: For example the Dutch
and Flemisch cucumber growers:

39. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Actively inform the growers of the results by demonstrations,
articles, fact sheets, practice abstracts, ….
FERTINNOWA’s approach: For example the Dutch
and Flemisch cucumber growers:

40. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Phase 3: bridging the gap between
knowledge and implementation
• Field visits en dissemination activities during 2017-2018
• Workshops & conferences:
– 2016 (12-13 October Brittany, France): results of growers
consultations)
– 2017 (The Netherlands): first experiences exchanged technologies
– 2018 (Almeria – Spain): final conference

41. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Phase 3: bridging the gap between
knowledge and implementation
• Practice abstracts
• Website www.FERTINNOWA.be
• E-newsletter (2/year)
• Articles on general and trade press

42. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
What will be your role in FERTINNOWA
today
Tell us your story!!
Growers
What are your needs?
What bottlenecks are you facing?
Industry, policymakers, researchers:
What can we do to meet the growers needs?
Bearing in mind the FERTINNOWA relults.

43. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Any questions so far?

44. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Thanks you for your attention !