Startup spotlight: RDI Irrigation and plant-responsive drip irrigation

Startup spotlight #1

What a drip! US-based RDI Irrigation has built the world's first and only plant-responsive irrigation system.

Their flagship product, GrowStream™, is a patented subsurface tube covered in millions of micropores. When a plant is thirsty, its roots release chemicals. When GrowStream™ detects these chemicals, its pores open and deliver water and nutrients directly. When the plant has had enough, it stops.

What's interesting about their technology?

• RDI claims their system can reduce on-farm water use by up to 90% vs. old irrigation techniques, and up to 50% vs. conventional drip irrigation

• Up to 30% greater crop yields vs. conventional drip irrigation

• Works autonomously, continuously and with 100% certainty, a step-change vs. conventional drip

• Multiple plant varieties with different needs can be irrigated on the same zone simultaneously

Why is it important?

• ~70% of all global freshwater withdrawals are for agriculture; with 2B people living under high water stress, the pressure for water efficiency is intensifying

• Droughts across Southern Europe are becoming longer and more frequent, aquifers are shrinking and irrigation costs are rising

• ~85% of Greece’s water consumption is used for agriculture, in large part due to farmers’ reliance on inefficient ancient irrigation techniques

With water scarcity accelerating across the Mediterranean, the case for smarter irrigation in Greece has never been stronger.