The 12th edition of Interpoma was held in Bolzano Italy, welcoming 490 exhibitors from 17 countries. This year ‘s theme was dedicated to technologies that optimize water management in apple orchards, allowing water savings and improving yield or fruit quality. The 2022 awards include two categories, one reserved for Companies, the other for Start-ups.

The Company award went to Poland-based Inventia sp. z o.o. with the Agreus system. It’s a complete and user-friendly system allowing for a precise control of the irrigation management, based on soil water availability and climatic parameters. Its main features include solar-powered sensors, wireless transmission, an App customized to suit the growers’ needs, an alarm notification of the irrigation needs, and the possibility to automatically manage the irrigation process. Additionally, the system provides tools for managing fertigation, frost control and modelling pathogens´ development.

A special mention was made in this category to the Plantection system, recognized as a valuable irrigation control technology for larger agricultural enterprises or cooperative irrigation schemes, where system complexity and safety of operations are decisive criteria. The modular architecture with the possibility of integrating sensors and meters and the user-friendly operation are among the features.

The winner of the Start-up award went to the ODIS smart irrigation system, highly promising for its capacity to integrate different sensors – for both environmental variables and plant conditions – into a versatile, cloud-based App which will enable farmers to monitor the water status of their orchards and will eventually allow for a control of the irrigation system.

Philippe Binard of the World Apple and Pear Association gave an overview of apple production in the European Union. Poland leads the way in terms of production value, accounting for 23 per cent of the market share, followed by Italy with 22.51 per cent and France with 21.48 per cent. As far as volumes are concerned, the total estimated 2022 harvest in the EU will be 12,201,000 tonnes.

Source: Interpoma November 17, 2022 news release