Open Field & Protected Agriculture
Reliable Irrigation Under Real-World Operating Conditions
Across many agricultural regions, profitability is increasingly influenced by water availability, energy costs, infrastructure requirements, and climate-related production risk.
Common Challenges
- Water restrictions
- Rising irrigation costs
- Pressure instability
- High infrastructure requirements
- Fertilizer inefficiency
- Heat stress
Why RDI Fits
RDI was developed specifically for environments where water efficiency, operational resilience, and infrastructure simplicity have direct commercial consequences.
The system combines:
- Root-driven irrigation delivery
- Subsurface root-zone application
- Ultra-low pressure operation
- Reduced infrastructure dependency
- Long-life deployment capability
Optional monitoring
Where measurement or reporting is required, RDI can integrate optional IoT monitoring for real-time field data and remote performance reporting.
Commercial Outcomes
- Lower water consumption
- Reduced fertilizer usage
- Reduced energy requirements
- Lower maintenance costs
- Improved production efficiency
CASE STUDY 1 - Improving Greenhouse Productivity in the UAE
Headline Results
%
Higher Yield
%
Less Water
%
Greater Plant Growth
UAEU
Validated Comparative Trial
The Challenge
Greenhouse growers in water-constrained environments need to increase production without proportionally increasing water use, infrastructure, or operating costs.
United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) evaluated whether RDI could outperform conventional surface drip irrigation for cucumber production under greenhouse conditions.
The Solution
At UAEU's Al-Foah Research Farm in Al Ain, RDI and conventional drip were installed under directly comparable conditions:
- 68 m² per irrigation zone, 224 cucumber seedlings per system
- 136 m of irrigation line per system
- RDI installed 10–15 cm below the soil surface
- Plant growth, water consumption and crop yield recorded throughout the trial
The Outcome
Deployments are expected to:
- RDI produced approximately 62% higher yield and water consumption fell 25%.
- Final average height (RDI) reached 152 cm on average, versus 143 cm.
- RDI plants developed faster and higher production was achieved from the same greenhouse area, plant population and irrigation-line footprint.
The Takeaway
The RDI system delivered substantially more marketable output from the same protected-growing asset while consuming less water. Earlier crop development may also improve harvest timing and cash-flow potential.
Independently validated by UAEU, the study demonstrates RDI's potential to improve operating margins, resource productivity and returns on existing greenhouse infrastructure without requiring additional growing area.
CASE STUDY 2 - Improving Open-Field Productivity in Abu Dhabi
Headline Results
%
Higher Yield/m²
%
Less Water per Ear
%
Less Land Required
%
Higher Harvest Weight
The Challenge
Open-field agriculture in Abu Dhabi operates under extreme water and land constraints, including non-arable, sandy and rocky desert soils.
This comparative study with ADAFSA evaluated whether RDI could improve sweet corn productivity and resource efficiency compared with conventional surface drip irrigation under identical open-field conditions.
The Solution
At Alfafa Sustainable Farm in Al-Khatim, Abu Dhabi, RDI's subsurface system was tracked over nine weeks, across all crop growth stages:
- Across 1,450 m² versus 1,850 m² for conventional drip
- Using 16 irrigation lines versus 30
- 8–10 cm below the soil surface
The Outcome
- RDI delivered 55% higher yield/m².
- Total harvest weight increased 10%, despite 22% less cultivated land.
- Water consumption per harvested ear fell 31.5%.
- Germination increased from 70% to 90%, while average plant height increased 18%.
- RDI corn achieved 20–23 kernel rows per ear versus 16–18 under conventional drip.
The Takeaway
RDI demonstrated the ability to generate more marketable output from less land and water, while operating successfully in challenging desert soils.
The combination of higher output, greater planting density, lower water requirements and fewer irrigation lines creates opportunities to increase revenue per hectare, improve resource productivity and reduce infrastructure requirements.
The ADAFSA comparative study demonstrates that these benefits can be achieved under real-world, water-constrained open-field conditions.
Is RDI Right for You?
RDI does not serve every deployment environment. suitability depends on local conditions, operational priorities, and commercial objectives.
Discuss your needs with our team today!
