The participants at the workshop organised by Qafco, Agrico, and Yara International ASA at the Hydroponic Trial and Demonstration Center in Al Khor, recently.
Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco), Agrico, and Norway-based Yara International ASA jointly conducted a “Greenhouse Fertigation” workshop for 20 experienced agronomists and farm managers at the Hydroponic Trial and Demonstration Center in Al Khor, recently. The workshop was one of the initiatives of the Cooperation Agreement that the parties signed in October.
The Trial and Demonstration Center occupies an area of more than 4,000 square meters. Its purpose is to develop and demonstrate the most sustainable crop management systems suitable for Qatar to the local farming community.
The workshop covered theoretical and practical aspects of fertigation management for hydroponic systems which are becoming more popular in Qatar for growing vegetables. Fertigation is a method of application of required nutrients through irrigation systems.
The participants of the workshop had a chance to deepen their knowledge of different types of fertilizers, differences in fertigation and foliar application of fertilizers. Several theoretical problems were solved to demonstrate the importance of usage of wide range of nutrients in order to maximize production. Different dosing equipment were studied to demonstrate advantages of precise application of fertilizers for maximum productivity of crops.
A demonstration was also conducted on using simple online software such as www.myyara.com to calculate recipes of fertilizer solution for different crops and growing stages. The workshop concluded with a tour around The Trial and Demonstration center that currently produces tomatoes and cucumbers.
The workshop was conducted by Tore Frogner, Calcinit Product Manager from Yara Norway and Carol Khadra, Agronomist from Yara Middle East.
Qafco, which is Qatar’s first large-scale venture in the petrochemical sector, is also the world’s largest single site producer of urea and ammonia. The company was incorporated in 1969, and is currently a joint venture between Industries Qatar QSC (75%) and Yara Netherland BV (25%).
Established in 2011, Agrico is a private local agricultural development company specialised in developing high-tech greenhouse and cultivation system suitable to Qatar environment. The company has made a breakthrough in 2015 in its greenhouse system and has proven that it can produce vegetable all year round in Qatar.
