Norwegian company Desert Control has developed a liquid natural clay (LNC) that reportedly restores and enhances soil ecosystems to reduce usage and improve efficiency of water, fertilizers and natural resources for agriculture and other uses. It has signed contracts with the Limoneira Company to apply LNC to citrus trees in California and Arizona.
The project’s initial scope is to apply LNC to 2,000 citrus trees at the Limoneira ranch in Cadiz, San Bernadino, California, and to 2,000 citrus trees at the Limoneira ranch in Yuma, Arizona. The collaboration started in July 2022 with the deployment of LNC for a small pilot of 50 citrus trees at the Limoneira ranch in Arizona. Positive indications for significant improvement of water-use efficiency during the first months of the pilot are the driver behind the new contracts.
The application for the 2,000 trees at the Cadiz ranch is anticipated to be completed during December 2022, and at the Yuma ranch during January 2023. That will allow key indicators to be measured over the growing season and evaluated after harvest in the fall of 2023.
It is anticipated that a large-scale rollout for Limoneira could start in the fourth quarter of 2023 for the Cadiz ranch, with 800 acres of land and approximately 70,000 citrus trees under cultivation. The broader opportunity includes the Yuma ranch of 1,300 acres with approximately 120,000 trees. Limoneira has15,400 acres of agricultural land and water rights in California, Arizona, Chile and Argentina.
The project aims to demonstrate the capabilities of LNC to meet Limoneira’s sustainability objective of improving water use efficiency in water-scarce areas by 37%. It also aims to reduce energy intensity and improve the efficiency of fertilizers and other inputs while increasing yields and crop quality.
Source: Desert Control
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