Use of micro-dams in potato furrows to reduce erosion and runoff and minimise surface water contamination through pesticides

The use of micro-dams in potato furrows is an interesting technology to reduce erosion and runoff in hilly areas. These phenomena are major sources of surface water contamination by nutrients and plant protection products (Gillijns et al., 2005). In 2011 Bayer CropScience set up a trial in collaboration with the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA-W) and ULg-Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech in Huldenberg (Belgium) to demonstrate this technique in potatoes. Micro-dams create barriers between furrows in order to encourage rainwater to infiltrate in the soil rather than to run off. The results from the trial over this year confirm that the application of micro-dams is effective in reducing erosion and runoff significantly. The total loss of plant protection products (PPP) to surface water is dramatically reduced and also strongly depends on the physic-chemical characteristics of the active ingredients. In addition, the technique tends to produce a higher yield of potato tubers as an effect of an optimised utilisation of the available rainwater and nutrients.