Innovation for drip irrigation: Rivulis Defend won the innovation award on EIMA 2021
24 January 2022, California: Rivulis Defend, a world first innovation for drip irrigation, has been recognized at EIMA 2021 where it received a technical innovation award. In fact, Rivulis Defend was the only irrigation product to receive a technical innovation award in 2021.
The judges reviewed the test results of a 73ha (303,645 m of drip line) trial in Italy which showed an almost complete elimination of insect damage to the drip line / tape with Rivulis Defend.
Insect damage has long been known as an issue for thin wall drip lines and tapes where insect damage causes continual challenges for growers globally.
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The patent pending solution developed by Rivulis was to embed an active insecticide substance directly into the drip tape / line. It is designed so that after an insect tastes the Rivulis Defend, insects won’t bite again, and the damage will be prevented before the insect punctures the tube.
This is a departure from the traditional first line of defense against insects, which has been to increase wall thickness, which also increases cost and the amount of product left over at the end of the season. Results of independent research by the Centro di Saggio in Italy show that using Defend is a better option.
The independent research compared standard 8 and 12 mil drip line with 8 mil Rivulis Defend drip line. Typical damage in standard 8 mil drip line was 66 holes per 1000 m of tube and in 12 mil tube, it was 13 holes per 1000 m. No holes were found in Rivulis Defend tube.
In the field, growers using Defend are noted to save time and money because they do not have to search for and fix insect damage which is a considerable cost saving.
