The shortage of water in the reservoirs spaniards during the last months of 2021 marked the first weeks of the current campaign seed. Few records lows that caused a lot of uncertainty in the agricultural sector. Especially in the areas of early Spain in the planting potato.
The uncertainty about the possible restrictions and increases in the prices of the water delayed the start of the campaign potato planting 2021.
In the chart of historical records posted on the web embalses.net, is clearly shown as the situation of the levels of the reservoirs Spanish in 2021, has been well below the records of 2020 and the average of the past 10 years.
The water situation has improved in most of the Autonomous Communities
Two months after the start of the campaign potato planting the water situation has improved in most of the Autonomous Communities. It is true that there is an improvement in the levels of the reservoirs, but it is an improvement ‘soft’, that does not guarantee still the correct development of the potato crops in the Peninsula. In the following table you can see the variation in the percentages of the water impounded in Spain by Autonomous Communities.
| AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY | 2-11-2021 | 04-01-2022 | VARIATION |
| Andalusia | 30,42% | 31,45% | 1,03% |
| Aragon | 52,84% | 61,97% | 9,13% |
| Asturias | 55,79% | 58,68% | 2,89% |
| Cantabria | 38,26% | 62,61% | 24,35% |
| Castile and Leon | 40,34% | 48,09% | 7,75% |
| Castilla-La Mancha | 35,26% | 36,54% | 1,28% |
| Catalonia | 59,08% | 56,77% | -2,31% |
| Community of Madrid | 63,11% | 58,96% | -4,15% |
| Valencian Community | 48,16% | 49,85% | 1,69% |
| Extremadura | 35,75% | 38,67% | 2,92% |
| Galicia | 43,48% | 54,44% | 10,96% |
| La Rioja | 37,26% | 58,25% | 20,99% |
| Navarra | 28,56% | 69,87% | 41,31% |
| Basque Country | 57,94% | 74,21% | 16,27% |
| Region of Murcia | 21,6% | 22,97% | 1,37% |
Water impounded by the Autonomous Communities in the Iberian Peninsula. Comparison between the 04/01/2022 and 2/11/2021.
As we can see, the biggest increases in the volume of water in the reservoir has been produced in the north of Spain. In areas early in the planting potatoes from November and December, as the Valencian Community, Murcia and Andalusia, the increases have been minimal. So the situation in these areas is still very uncertain. In fact, in Seville maintains the state of pre-alert for a drought was declared in November (source). With these data, The Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir (CHG) states that “the long-term forecasts are bad for the whole region” (source).
What can the farmer to water scarcity?
The cultivation of potato requires abundant watering to maintain a proper development, so that the shortage of water seriously affects this crop. From the point of view of the producer of potato, the weapons with which to water scarcity are mainly two:
- Improve the efficiency of the irrigation of their farms. To increase the utilization of the irrigation system is essential to control costs and optimize the performance of the crop. More information here.
- Choose varieties of potatoes resistant to drought. As we have mentioned in some previous posts, there are several varieties of potatoes tolerant to deficits in water. The varieties of LOTUS and BERNICE producer Dutch AGROPLANT, JELLY German EUROPLANT, PICASSO of AGRICO, or TORNADO of IPM are some examples. There are also varieties free with good resistance to drought as SPUNTA, KENNEBEC, JAERLA, or DESIREE among others.
Published in: POTATO PLANTING,VARIETIES OF POTATOES
Filed by: reservoirs
