Hop researchers at the LfL in Weihenstephan agree: Targeted irrigation protects the ecosystem

The hop experts at the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture (LfL) in Weihenstephan have been researching the development of resource-saving irrigation systems for years.

Their findings have now been published.

Freising

- Even if drought is not an issue in Bavaria this year, the LfL deals with freak weather and the measures to counteract it.

Tests in hops have shown that targeted irrigation protects nature and the environment.

The findings have now been published in the LfL information sheet “Drip irrigation and fertigation in hops” as a recommendation for practical use.

Climate change and its capers have been clearly felt in the past few weeks.

Violent thunderstorms have overwhelmed the soil's absorption capacity and locally led to flash floods and floods.

Heavy precipitation events in summer are one side of climate change.

Loss of yield and quality losses are not uncommon

The other side are record heat waves and dry spells.

In agriculture, they caused dramatic losses in yield and quality.

The hops in the Hallertau were not spared either.

Loss of yield and quality losses of 30 to 50 percent in hops are no longer uncommon and can put the farm in economic distress because of the consistently high costs.

Agricultural irrigation must not compete with a secure drinking water supply and must preserve ecosystems worthy of protection.

The LfL hop researchers have long made resource-saving irrigation and the targeted feeding of nutrients the focus of their research activities.

In the past ten years alone, two large projects have been carried out.

In numerous irrigation and fertilization experiments, it has been shown with hops that targeted irrigation and needs-based fertilization, only with the nutrients required by the plant, protect the groundwater.  

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