AZMUD Project

About the project

AZMUD will be focused on reducing the cost and efficiency of heating systems by a local joule heating of plant roots based on electrically conductive plastics integrated in standard soilless systems, at the same time it will be adapted and optimized the ultra-low energy drip irrigation to the soilless greenhouse’s conditions to increase the use of wastewater, reduce the water and energy needs.

In relation to the irrigation system, it will be identified the potential of magnetically treated water for increasing the efficiency of it, which leads to a better quality and quantity yield of greenhouse crops.
Moreover, this last advance will enable to control the number of pathogens/plant parasites by combining magnetic fields, control release pesticides and optimized agronomic parameters. Other solutions settled within AZMUD scope will be developing a new control release system based on tailor-made biodegradable polymers, that in melt state can be used to coat and encapsulate natural pesticides from botanical innovative formulations suitable for several crops.

Goals

1. Plant heating on soilless systems based on the Joule effect

2. Semi-transparent Photovoltaic (PV) modules

3. Biodegradable agricultural film which lifespan > 3 months

4. Natural pesticides based on botanical extracts.

5. Encapsulated biopesticides with biopolymers.

6. Optimization of the crop productivity by using a magnetic technology.

7. Low Energy Drip Irrigation (LEDI) system

8. Smart decision support system tool.

9. Establishing up to 4 training centres

10. To reduce up to 15% of crop production cost

We are aligned with the solutions that can be given to COVID19:

To include within T4.2 Best practices technique for greenhouse business another section in which will be proposed different measures and recommendations for prevention and protection against COVID19 in greenhouses.
To assess the most extreme climate conditions within nurseries that could be adopted, in a way the plants cannot suffer and demise, but the temperature is high enough to avoid the proliferation of new COVID strains.
The implementation of the new irrigation system proposed in the project, which enables the reduction of water use, as well as to produce micro-drops with which COVID19 expansion can be reduced.
* The low-pressure drip irrigation system is also a low-flow system. Therefore, the low-pressure drip irrigation system will reduce the risk of contamination.
The implementation of magnetic field can help with sanitation, since it changes the water properties.