Company profile AquaNed

Company

Aquaned specializes in fertigation and irrigation systems for fruit cultivation and horticulture. The company has been active throughout Europe for over 20 years. Aquaned has completed leading projects in Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Portugal, Costa Rica, France and Germany.

Aquaned is internationally appreciated for its high level of knowledge and specialized advice on fertilizers for fruitgrowing. Aquaned is a leader in developing new techniques and applications and closely collaborates with renowned research institutes at home and abroad.

Aquaned has a vast assortment of products & services. The focus is placed on the fertigation systems and more specifically on the Golden Rain fertigation systems. In addition to the information, please see the attached brochure.

Fertigation systems
Aquaned fertigation systems are advanced systems consisting of a pump, a fertilizer unit and a system of main pipes and sprinkler laterals, placed directly by the rows. Fertigation is an excellent combination of sparing drip irrigation and specific fertilizing for deciduous fruit as well as soft fruit. A fertigation system enables the application rate of fertilizer to be optimally dosed. Aquaned’s fertigation system increases production and saves water consumption and fertilizer. 

Water quality
The water quality is an important point to consider when constructing a fertigation system. A good water analysis should be performed before planning the construction. On sandy soils, in particular, where installing a fertigation system is an interesting option, the ground water often contains high levels of iron. This can lead to soiling inside the drippers and hoses. In addition, the pH, and with salt water the EC-value, are especially important as well as any possible amounts of bicarbonate. The fertigation specialists at Aquaned advise to analyze the amounts of iron and EC and the pH-value in advance to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Fertilizing advice
In fruit cultivation, the fertilizing advice is initially determined based on soil and water analysis. After a few years, the nitrogen and phosphate contain of the leaves can be included in the analysis. An adequate dose of fertilizers is also very important. If, following constant fertilization with organic fertilizer, a situation occurs where the nitrogen demand is fully covered, there will be years when the nitrogen content exceeds optimal cultivation levels - for example, through favourable mineralizing circumstances. This can disrupt the leaf/fruit balance, which will have a negative impact on fruit quality. It is therefore important that in addition to possibly applying organic fertilizer, the required amount of nitrogen is provided flexibly and specifically using a fertigation system.

With the Aquaned fertigation systems you can accurately adjust the dose of your fertilizer to suit the leaf-analysis, soil samples and any foliar fertilizing. This approach will automatically lead to optimal fertilizing of your orchards and fields – whether you grow apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries, cherries or similar crops

Hoses and drippers
Aquaned supplies the latest types of hoses and drippers. In fruit cultivation, inline drippers are mostly applied. With this system, the capillary is placed inside the hose, so there is less risk of damage during activities in the orchards. As well as inline hoses, Aquaned also supplies various other drippers, including loose drip emitters that can be pinched into the hoses. Particularly in situations with large distances between the plants in the row it can be financially attractive to place loose drip emitters. Aquaned also offers a choice between pressure-compensating and non-pressure-compensating drippers. The advantage of the pressure-compensating drippers is that there is always a constant water supply at a pressure of between 1.5 and 4.0 bar. These pressure-compensating drippers are, for example, highly suitable for extremely sloping plots of land or if extremely long pipes are used where a loss of pressure can occur. The Aquaned range offers the ideal dripper for every application.

Fertigation-units
In the construction of fertigation-units, Aquaned uses Rovatti pumps. Rovatti pumps can operate under the most diverse circumstances with a minimal amount of maintenance. The solid construction and use of robust, high quality materials make the pumps durable, ultimately reliable and efficient. These pumps must remain reliable in combination with frequency controllers, plus energy consumption must be minimal to gain the optimal benefit from the installations’ performance.

Pump sets
For frost-protection systems, a large pump capacity is very important. A capacity of 30-35m3/hour/hectare is often not feasible using an electrically driven pump. This capacity is no problem at all for a Golden Rain Diesel motor pump set. The pump sets can be provided for frost-protection systems as well as automatic (drought) irrigation and are custom made to suit your wishes and requirements. For example, pump sets can be fitted with a 4- or 6- cylinder Iveco or Deutz engine. For each specific application, a choice is made from the broad range of Rovatti bare-shaft pumps. These flanged pumps are available with different capacities and discharge heads.

USP’s:

• AquaNed is a proven supplier of high quality & innovative systems; AquaNed is market leader in the Netherlands in fertigation in fruit cultivation
• The fertigation units are developed in house
•  The systems can be supplied turnkey: including software, the units, the hoses & drippers etc. Though modular supply is also possible

The units can fertigate any size of land, from small up to very large

AquaNed Watertechniek BV Oudenbosch T 0165-313350