water saving measures of using the groasis waterboxx in organic gardening in desert regions

8/9/2019 Water Saving Measures of Using the Groasis Waterboxx in Organic Gardening in Desert Regions

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Report: the Groasis waterboxx©

ISTC 01 Technical Communication Techniques

Final report

Diego Schiavon, student number #7937

Potential adoption of water-saving measures by members

of the cooperative

This report has been prepared by Diego Schiavon for the management

board of the La Primavera agricultural cooperative.


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ISTC 01 Technical Communication Techniques - Diego Schiavon, #7937 Page i

Report: the Groasis waterboxx

Copyright and Disclaimer Notice

AquaPro, Groasis and waterboxx are registeredtrademarks of AquaPro BV.

All pictures and illustrations of the Groasis

waterboxx shown in this report are subject to

the copyright and usage restrictions of

AquaPro BV.

The La Primavera logo is a registered

trademark of Cooperativa Agricola La

Primavera Scarl.


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ISTC 01 Technical Communication Techniques - Diego Schiavon, #7937 Page i i


Executive summary

This report presents the Groasis waterboxx and can be used by the members of the management board to

form an opinion about the device. It consists of ten sections, covering the history of the device, its

components and usage, some suggestions about the installation, the available test results and a concluding

evaluation

The first three sections present the historical background of the waterboxx from the prototype stage to the

present, a physical description of the device and a general explanation of the principles used to design it.

Drawings of the device and graphical illustrations of its usage are included as well.

The fourth section lists the single components of the device and their function, and provides some

graphical illustration of how the waterboxx is to be assembled. The fifth section expands on the previous

one, lists the different steps necessary to install a waterboxx, provides some brief suggestions about

planting materials and strategies, and concludes with instructions about removing the device.

Section 6 describes the data collection techniques and experiment designs to be used when testing the

waterboxx, with some practical suggestions about the experiment setup. Section 7 lists some of the

species used in the past for test purposes, and the countries where these tests have taken place. The

evidence gathered from the tests is briefly evaluated in section 8.

Section 9 evaluates the compatibility with organic regulations, both at a national and supernational level,

and concludes that the waterboxx is most likely to be suitable for organic farming, although the

cooperative technical service and the certifying agency should be contacted to confirm this.

Finally, a general evaluation and a recommendation is presented in the conclusion.


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ISTC 01 Technical Communication Techniques - Diego Schiavon, #7937 Page i i i


Table of contents

Introduction

1 About the waterboxx

2 A short description

3 Waterboxx: the concept4 The components

5 Using the waterboxx

5.1 Soil preparation

5.2 Orientation

5.3 Laying the paperboard

5.4 Planting the seedlings

5.5 Placing the water tank

5.6 Mounting the waterboxx

5.7 Final preparations

5.8 Removing the waterboxx

6 Logging procedure

7 Experiments

8 Test results

9 Suitability for organic farming

10 Conclusion

References

Addenda

Item I: International Groasis waterboxx plantings 2010/2011

Item II: the AquaPro pricelist

1

2

3

45

6

6

6

6

7

7

7

7

8

9

10

10

11

12

13

I

II

IV


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ISTC 01 Technical Communication Techniques - Diego Schiavon, #7937 Page 1


This report has been requested by the management board to establish whether the cooperative should use

the waterboxx©, a device to farm without irrigation. The wateboxx has recently received media attention

as a device that makes it possible to farm marginal, arid lands: this is of importance in the light of

increased competition on the market and lower food prices.

The present report is a collection of available information about the Groasis waterboxx, its history,

components, usage and applications. The members of the management board should use this report to

form an opinion about the product. An assessment of this product is provided in the concluding section.

As described in the report, the waterboxx is a device that could prove useful on the chalk- and sulphate-

rich fields of our Southern members, as well as improve water drainage on our peach, apple and pear

fields in the North. However too few test results have been published, and therefore it is the

recommendation of this report that this product should not be used until more data become available.

The Cooperative could discuss the possibility of carrying out their own tests with the support of theTechnical Service.

Introduction


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Pieter Hoff (1953) is a

Dutch inventor and

businessman. He has a

wide agronomical

background,

accumulated while

running his family

nursery garden. In

2003 he decided to

sell his company and

focus on developing a

strategy to fight

desertification. In the

prologue to his 2008 book "CO2, a gift from

heaven", he writes that he was motivated byfrustration at the pitiful state of the Italian

Apennines around Naples, once lush with

vegetation and now abandoned to erosion1.

The Groasis waterboxx is the result of his

research, culminated in 2004 with a prototype: a

round, donut-shaped plastic box with a 20-inch

radius; once filled with water, it sequestrates more

water from the atmosphere in the form of

condense and drips it down to the seedlings planted in its middle. It allows plants to grow

under extremely harsh conditions on desert soils

and even rocks.

Mr. Hoff extensively tested his invention on arid

soils, first in his native Holland, and then in the

Moroccan Sahara, in Zaragoza (Spain) and

California (USA). The testing phase lasted four

years, from 2005 until 2010, and resulted in

improvements on the prototype design. Further

testing was conducted starting in 2010 in Spain,

Morocco, Kenya and California. In total, over

15,000 waterboxxes with trees will have been

tested in 20 research and demonstration areas2.

The test in Morocco was conducted with the

support of the University of Oujda, Morocco. The

results are presented on Mr. Hoff's company

website, www.groasis.com. He claims that after

four years, 88,2% of the trees planted with a

waterboxx were in good condition, with 11,8%alive but "weak". Of the control group, consisting

of trees irrigated weekly but without the

waterboxx, 89,5% died, and 10,5% were alive and

in good condition3. Mr. Hoff also claims that

plants survive once the waterboxx is removed4.

The waterboxx project attracted media attention

ever since the testing phase: the first articles in the

national press appeared in 20075 and the invention

was soon mentioned in newspapers in the English-

speaking world and beyond. In 2008, the

waterboxx was awarded the prestigious Dutch

BètaDragon Award and 10,000EUR 6. Finally, in

November 2010 the American magazine Popular

Science awarded it the 2010 Grand Award of

Green Tech and the Overall Award of Popular

Science7. Petrus Hoff was invited to present hisinvention at the PopTech 2010 conference in

Camden, Maine. The appearance in Popular

Science greatly increased the popularity of the

waterboxx.

The project also attracted public funding: the

Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Dutch

Province of Brabant and the EU EFRO-

Programme OP Zuid 2007-2013 contributed part

of the money to make the latest innovations possible8.

The Groasis waterboxx is the means to a much

more grandiose end: stopping climate warming

and feeding the world not through government

regulation, but by planting trees on marginal, non-

productive lands. Mr. Hoff's views are laid out in

his 2008 book, "CO2: a gift from heaven", where

he calls for a global effort to reafforest 2 billion ha

worldwide9.

1 About the Groasis waterboxx

Fig. 1 Petrus (Pieter) Hoff, inventorof the Groasis waterboxx.

Fig. 2 A waterboxx installed on arid soil in Oman


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The waterboxx is a circular water tank made of

plastic with a radius and height of 25 cm. It is

covered by a corrugated plastic sheet slanting

inwards towards the center, where a tubular

opening allows for the planting of one or two

seedlings. The sheet covers a circular tank to be

filled with water.

Along the tubular

opening are two

small pipes: the

plastic sheet is

supposed to

sequestrate water

from the atmospherein the form of

condense, which

then slides towards

the central tubular

opening and reaches the water tank through the

small pipes.

The tubular opening can accomodate one, two or

three plants, depending on the model. The model

with a double opening is more recent, and arosefrom the need to reduce the economical damage if

the only plant dies. AquaPro, the company

producing the waterboxx, recommends to cut the

smaller of the two plants.

On the bottom of the water tank there is a wick,

whose purpose is to drip small quantities of water

into the soil; the waterboxx can also be installed

without the overflow pipe.

Optionally, the device can be provided with two

wind protectors to anchor it to the soil and prevent

it from being blown away by strong winds. Two

nails are necessary for each anchoring pin.

The waterboxx is available in polypropylene or in

a biodegradable product called Ecopur: the former

can be re-used several times, while the latter is to

be used only once and then left to decompose,

particularly in remote regions and extremely poorsoils.

2 A short description

Fig. 3 A drawing of the waterboxxas shown on the AquaPro website.


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The waterboxx is a work of bio-mimicry: an

imitation of how nature works. Mr. Hoff observed

that while humans cultivate by plowing the soil,

under natural conditions the seeds are first

dispersed (for example by animals) and then

germinate directly in the topsoil, i.e. the top ~10cm

soil layer. Plowing destroys the capillary canals

present in the soil, but in nature they stay intact and

help retain the humidity necessary for the seed to

germinate.

Zoochory, or seed transportation by animals,

provides another lesson on how to protect a

growing seedling: a seed ingested by an animal and

then excreted with the feces can use the water andnutrients in the feces to grow. The feces also

prevent evaporation and keep the water stored in

the subsoil capillary canals.

Finally, many plants survive in extremely arid

conditions by absorbing morning dew and

occasional fog, like Tillandsia spp. and some

lichens and pine seedlings10.

The waterboxx design takes the points above intoaccount: the seed is sown on the topsoil without

damaging the subsoil capillaries, and the

waterboxx is put on top of it. The waterboxx,

basically a round hollow plastic tank, prevents

water evaporation just like animal feces do in

nature; finally, the water tank creates a temperature

differential that causes water vapour condensation.

The waterboxx tank, filled with water, will staycooler in the morning when the outside air

temperature starts to rise. The difference between

the lower inside temperature and the higher outside

temperature causes the atmospheric water vapor to

condense on the outside cover of the waterboxx.

From there, it drips through internal tubes to the

inside water tank and is then conveyed to the

underneath soil by means of a wick. The system is

able to collect rainwater in a similar way.

The waterboxx has the advantage of stabilizing soil

temperature: the water present in the tank and the

water regularly dripped into the soil can buffer

temperature fluctuations because of water's high

specific heat capacity, i.e. the high amount of

energy necessary to alter water temperature. Mr.

Hoff claims the soil temperature below thewaterboxx is about 25°C11. This is a very important

feature for a product to be used in desert areas,

where daily temperature excursion can run in the

dozens of Celsius degrees and plants may not be

able to survive.

Temperature regulation is not limited to the soil,

but extends to the plant micro-climate as well. The

young plants are surrounded by the waterboxx

water tank: the inside water absorbs heat during the

day and releases it during the night, stabilizing air

temperature around the plant. And as long as the

plant is smaller than the waterboxx height, it is

protected from strong and dry winds as well.

By completely surrounding the plants, the

waterboxx also has the advantage of preventing

weed growth and of protecting the plant from

damage by rodents12. Labor costs for weeding are

also reduced.

3 Waterboxx: the concept

Fig. 4 The wick drips approximately of 50 ml per day in the soilunder the waterboxx.

Fig. 5 The primary root reaches water 2 meters underground.


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The waterboxx consists of seven different

components:

Water tank: the water

tank is the main body of

the device. It is circular

or elliptical in shape and

delimited by 25cm-high

edges. In the center, a

tubular duct opens to

uncover a small portion

of the underlying ground. The mid-plate and the

cover sheet can be secured to the tank structure.

Additionally, two openings at the bottom of the

tank can accommodate the wind protectors, and ahole can accommodate the wick;

Wick: the wick is a cotton

pipe of 25cm of length. It

must be inserted in the

hole at the bottom of the

water tank, with about half

the length inside the tank

and half outside. It drips

water collected in the tankfrom the atmosphere into

the underlying soil;

Mid-plate: the mid plate is a plastic disc slightly

smaller in radius than the water tank. It has an 8-

shaped hole allowing for the central opening in the

waterboxx, and a further hole to let water inside

from the top opening in the cover sheet. The mid-

plate needs to be secured

to the water tank. It

separates the water from

the outside air: the shaft is

cooler than the outside in

the morning, and causes

water vapor condensation

on the plastic cover sheet;

Cover sheet: the cover sheet is a corrugated,

round plastic sheet that slopes inwards towards the

center at an angle of 45 degrees. It has an 8-shaped

opening in the middle, a simple compass shape foreasier orientation, two smaller holes to secure the

siphons and a round hole from which water can be

added to the tank. The corrugation pattern allows

the condense droplets to easily flow downwards

towards the siphons,

from where they reach

the tank and, through the

wick, ultimately the

ground. The cover sheet

also doubles as a

growing surface for

climbing plants like

tomatoes or pumpkins;

Wind protectors: the wind protectors are small

plastic plaques shaped like the AquaPro logo (see

Fig. 5 and 8). The can be clicked into place at the bottom of the water tank and need to be nailed into

the ground to prevent wind damage. They are

optional and need to be ordered separately.

Alternatively, some rocks or heavy material can be

used to hold down the water tank;

Siphons: the siphons are two small pipes to be

inserted next to the central opening on the cover

sheet. They gather the water from the cover sheet

and convey it to the underlying tank;

Cap: this is is a round plastic

cap sealing the water tank and

the whole waterboxx. When

open, water can be poured into

the inside. Otherwise it should

always be kept closed to

prevent evaporation.

Additionally, the installation set consists of a

paperboard to be laid on top of the seedlings (see

Fig. 11 on the following page). This is the first

protection against evaporation and can have one,

two or three holes, depending on the number of

seedlings to be used per box.

4 The components

Fig. 5 The water tank, the main body of the waterboxx.

Fig. 6 The cotton wick at the bottom of the tank.

Fig. 7 The mid plate mountedon the tank.

Fig. 8 The cover sheet mountedon top of the mid-plate.

Fig. 9 The cap and thesiphons.


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A number of variables have to be taken into

account while designing a waterboxx installation,

such as climate, temperature, rainfall, soil or

growing medium, wind and sun exposure.

Installing the waterboxx requires the following

steps:

It is crucial that the waterboxx is levelled

horizontally and to guarantee efficient collection of

the condensed water. The underlying soil must be

horizontal as well and free from rubble. Aquapro

suggests to dig a hole with a diameter of 60 cm and

a depth of maximum 10 cm; the dug up earth will be used later on in the installation to protect the

waterboxx from the wind blowing underneath the

water tank.

Some rocky terrains have developed no soil at all,

or what there is is too hard for water to penetrate,

as in the case of a hardpan developing on top of

limestone soils. In these cases digging a hole can

prove hard or impossible, and Mr. Hoff suggests to

use a capillary drill instead.

A capillary drill is an automatically balanced drill

that can be connected to a tractor lift. It can drill a

horizontally levelled, 60cm-diameter hole within

30 seconds. The capillary drill can break through

the hardpan but still leave the subsoil capillary

canals intact. Initially developed in the mining

industry, it has been adapted by Mr. Hoff for

agriculture. It is still at a prototype stage and can

be rented from AquaPro at a fee. Note that thiscould indeed prove useful on the hard Apulian clay

soils.

The use of the capillary drill has the added

advantage of requiring little manpower in areas

where providing for workers is hard or impossible,

like deserts and remote regions. Finally, the drill

allows to exactly calculate the time and cost of

preparing the soil, thus making budgets more

consistent.

The waterboxx has an 8-shaped central opening

where two small trees can be sown or planted. It is

important that the two plants receive the most

sunlight when it is least damaging, i.e. in the

morning and evening, and the least during theafternoon heat. Care must be given to installing the

device with the holes in a East-West direction: a

compass shape on the cover sheet helps

determining North and South.

AquaPro supplies paperboard sheets with one, two

or three holes. As explained above, the paperboard

is a first barrier against evaporation and covers that part of the soil not directly supporting the water

tank.

The paperboard should be laid on top of the

planting soil with the holes oriented in a East-West

direction; the holes in the paper should be used as

marker for the planting holes, to be dug with with a

small shovel or a hollow awl. The hole depth

depends on the plant species: ideal planting depth

is usually 2-3 times the seed size13.

Fig. 10 The capillary drill mounted on a tractor.

5 Using the waterboxx

5.1 Soil preparation

5.2 Orientation

5.3 Laying the paperboard

Fig. 11 A three-hole paperboard on top ofgerminating seed.


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Mr. Hoff recommends using water-soaked seed for

planting because it gives the highest planting

results. Alternatively, he recommends to have

young plants bred especially for the planting,

although he admits that the resulting primary rootswill be weaker. He recommends not to transplant

the young trees in order not to hurt the primary

roots in the process14.

The twinboxx variant of the waterboxx allows for

two or three plants. A number of strategies can be

used, for example growing a small fruit tree as

cash crop and a taller hardwood tree as a longer-

term investment, or two trees of the same species

of which only the strongest will be kept, or twocereal plants, or again just one climbing plant and a

support15.

Before placing the waterboxx on the soil, the wick

and the wind protectors must be put in place. The

wick should be inserted in the apposite hole on the

bottom of the water tank: about half of the cotton

should stay on the inside, and half on the outside.

The wind protectors are optional and need to be

ordered separately; they can be clicked into place

on the bottom of the water tank.

The water tank should be placed so that the central

tubular openings correspond to the holes in the

paperboard. One should make sure not to damagethe plants, seeds or other planting materials while

placing the water tank.

If wind-protectors are in use, they need to be nailed

into the soil once the water tank is in place. Special

nails are delivered together with the wind

protectors. If no wind-protectors are in use, it is

suggested to put a weight of about 3kg, for

example stones, in the water tank.

The isolation plate, or mid-plate, needs to be put in

place on top of the water tank. The cover sheet

must be placed immediately on top of the mid-

plate: it will click into place along the edges of the

water tank. Both the mid-plate and the cover sheet

have an 8-shaped opening that will fit exactly on

top of the similarly shaped relief on the water tank.

The earth that was first removed when preparing

the soil should now be added around the bottom of

the waterboxx to prevent evaporation and the wind

from blowing underneath the box.

Once the soil is in place, enough water should be

added to fill up the water tank (about 16 liters) and

4 more liters should be poured through the central

opening onto the ground.

The final pieces still need to be mounted: the blue

siphons need to be pushed into the apposite

openings and clicked in the correct position, and

the water tank needs to be sealed with the cap.

A layer of about 3 cm of soil should be added to

the ground through the central opening for further protection against wind, animals, and evaporation.

Fig. 12 The bottom of a waterboxx with a mounted wick, ready to be put on top of two seedlings.

Fig. 13 The blue siphons are to be inserted in the apposite slots.

5.4 Planting the seedlings

5.5 Placing the water tank

5.6 Mounting the waterboxx

5.7 Final preparations


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After about one year the plant primary roots should

have grown deep enough to reach the underground

water and have become strong enough to survive

without the help of the waterboxx. This stage

becomes evident when the trees exhibit a stronggrowth phase. When this happens, the

polypropylene waterboxx can be removed and used

for a new planting. Note that AquaPro claims that a

polypropylene model can be re-used 10-20 times:

in order to get an idea of the average cost per

planting, a pricelist is included at Item II of the

Addenda.

The soil now laying bare should be protected with

a layer of paperboard, sand, cloth or hay to preventexcessive evaporation and curb weed growth.

If the model used has a double opening for two or

three plants, and more than one plant has suvived,

this is also the time to cut the weakest of the plants

and leave the fittest to grow.

In case the biodegradable, "Ecopur" model is in

use, there is no need to remove the waterboxx, and

usually this was not the intention in the first place:

the device can be left where it is. It will protect the

trees for longer, decompose and release its

nutrients in the environment. The decayed

waterboxx will increase the soil nutrient content.

5.8 Removing the waterboxx


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AquaPro encourages individuals and institutions to

experiment with the waterboxx and make their

results public. To this end, a section of the website

is dedicated to collecting information and making

it accessible to third parties. Registered users can

submit their data to the AquaPro database.

In order to make results comparable, AquaPro

recommends a standard procedure to gather

results. Next to information about place, local

climate conditions, soil quality and species, data

can be entered about temperature and relative

humidity.

In particular, AquaPro recommends to use twoelectronic loggers, one to be exposed to the outside

air but not to sunlight, for example under a roof,

and one inside the water tank. The logged data can

then be uploaded to the website at the address

http://testform.groasis.com/. Additionally, a soil

thermometer can be used to log soil temperature.

Standardized climate information is to be retrieved

from the National Climatic Data Center website

(http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html).AquaPro recommends using the Lascar Easylog

EL-USB-2-LCD logger. A very detailed procedure

is available on the company website15.

AquaPro requires a control group of 2-10 saplingsof Cupressus sempervirens (cypress), wherever in

the world the planting is taking place.

6 Logging procedure

Fig. 14 One of the loggers needs to be inside the waterboxx.


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The Groasis website claims that the waterboxx has

been tested in the United States, the Netherlands,

Morocco, Spain, France and Kenya. The range of

species is quite large, ranging from fruits and

vegetables plants like grapes (Vitis vinifera) and

squash (Cucurbita pepo), to hardwood species like

holly (Quercus ilex), bushes and bio-fuel plants

( Jatropha spp.).

AquaPro claims that some of the tested plants have

medicinal properties: Warburgia ugandensis is

supposed to cure malaria and Moringa oleifera is

supposed to cure AIDS16. However, the

AgroForestry Tree Database puts these claims17,18

into question, and a study by the German GTZquestions Jatropha's value as a bio-fuel crop19. A

full list of the species used in 2010/2011 can be

found in the Addenda at the end of the report.

The initial tests took place in the Moroccan Sahara

with the support of Mohammed I University of

Oujda, Morocco. Plantings have also occurred at

US vineries in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, at

the Californian Preserve Dos Palmas, Preserve

Pipes Canyon and Preserve Whitewater, in West-

Sahara with the cooperation of the University of

Agadir, and in seven Spanish provinces with the

cooperation of the University of Valladolid20. The

website does not specify which provinces.

The waterboxx was used for landscaping and

urban landscaping purposes at the Port of Sohar in

Oman and for regreening purposes at sites owned

by the Union Minera del Norte, a Spanish coal

mining company. Further plantings are mentioned

in Ecuador, Mongolia and India, but the website

does not expand on these claims21.

7 Experiments

The weakest point in the Groasis waterboxx

project is the lack or peer-reviewed evidence and

publicly accessible data. Very little detail is

provided about experiment design and results.

Whatever results are available are of dubious

significance: for example, regarding the planting

for Minera del Norte, Mr. Hoff claims that

"although Spain had one of its hottest summers in

2010 the planting experiment showed a result of

over 95% success ratio"22, with no further

elaboration.

No research papers are quoted, and none can be

found on the JSTOR and IngentaConnect academic

databases. A search with Google Scholar only

returns an invitation to test the product.

The site page dedicated to research turns out to be

just a commercial for the device23, just like the

pages supposedly reporting the experiment

results24. The web page where growth data can be

logged is only accessible for registered users, and

all it shows are pictures of "successful" plantings.

The company left unanswered my emails asking

for more information.

While AquaPro is a commercial venture and

understandably needs to promote its product, the

lack of presented evidence is a major weakness.

8 Test results


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9 Suitability for organic farming

There are no reasons to believe that the adoption of

the waterboxx would in any way breach the EU

Regulation 2092/9125, the most important

regulation in organic farming. If outside inputs are

kept within the parameters given in the Regulation

Annexes, no problem should arise. However the

Technical Service should be contacted, if

necessary, to confirm this.

National regulations can be stricter than the

European one. In particular, the Bio Austria

General Standard26, the Bio Suisse Standard27 and

the UK Soil Association Organic Standards28 place

restrictions on hydroponics and other soil-less

techniques. While the waterboxx clearly uses soil,similar techniques like bottle-irrigation are

assimilated to hydroponics: the Technical Service

should clarify whether this would somehow breach

national regulations.

An article from the Dutch magazine

Groenten&Fruit Actueel shows an organic farmer

using the waterboxx in a greenhouse29, so we could

conclude that using the device does not breach

organic regulations. However the article raises

more questions: no dew can develop at the almost

constant temperatures inside a greenhouse, so one

has to wonder about the added value of the

waterboxx.

If the Council is to decide to proceed with our own

field tests, our certification organization ICEA

should be contacted for clarifications as well.


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Mr. Hoff's invention seems to be quite promising: many of our eroding fields in Southern Italy could

benefit from it, and it could be an improvement over gravitational irrigation for our fruit fields in the

North. Members planning to upgrade their watering systems to sprinklers or drip-irrigators could combine

those systems with the waterboxx. The cooperative members could certainly benefit from reduced

irrigation costs and improved soil quality. However the waterboxx cannot be recommended for extended

usage at the present stage: too little test results are available.

Among the good sides of the product are the sound understanding of root growth and the thorough

troubleshooting and design improvements over the years. Positive reviews in the press and by prize

committees are encouraging, and the product does not violate any EU and national organic standards,

although the Technical Service could be contacted for further clarifications on this point.

What really is missing are peer-reviewed test results and references from the academic and agronomical

community; without those, the waterboxx should not be introduced. The cooperative should instead wait

for more conclusive research or carry out its own tests.

10 Conclusion


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References

1 Hoff, P. (2009) CO2 , a gift from heaven. 2nd ed. Eburon, Delft, the Netherlands.2-4 AquaPro Holland (2007) AquaPro Project Presentation [online] Available at:

[Accessed 13 September 2011].

5 AquaPro Holland (2007) Press Presentation [online] Available at: [[Accessed 16 September 2011].6 Eburon Academic Publishers (2010) Eburon-Auteur wint prestigieuze BètaDragons prijs [online]

Available at:


19 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (2009) Jatropha Reality Check ,

GTZ – Regional Energy Advisory Platform (East Africa), Nairobi.

7 Popular Science (2010) The best of what's new 2010 Grand Awards [online] Available at:

[Accesses 16 September 2011].8 AquaPro Holland (2010) Technology / Stimulus [online] Available at:

[Accessed 16 September 2011].9 Hoff, P. (2009) CO2 , a gift from heaven (p. 82). 2nd ed. Eburon, Delft, the Netherlands.10 J. L. Andrade Dew deposition on epiphytic bromeliad leaves: an important event in a Mexican tropicaldry deciduous forest , Journal of Tropical Ecology (2003), 19: 479-488.11-12 AquaPro Holland (2010) Technology / Principle [online] Available at:


14 AquaPro Holland (2010) Technology / Planting materials [online] Available at:

[Accessed 16 September 2011]

17 AgroForestry Tree Database, Warburgia ugandensis [online] Available at:


16 AquaPro Holland (2011) International Groasis waterboxx plantings 2010/2011 [online] Available at:


15 AquaPro Holland (2010) Manual [online] Available at:


13 "Sowing." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation [online] Available at

[Accessed September 16 2011].

18 AgroForestry Tree Database, Moringa oleifera [online] Available at:


20 AquaPro Holland (2011) Advanced overview of plantings [online] Available at

[Accessed 16 September 2011].21 AquaPro Holland (2011) Press / Photo library [online] Available at

[Accessed 16 September 2011].22 AquaPro Holland (2011) Experience in gravel in Oman and mine spills in Spain [online] Available at

[Accessed 16 September 2011].23 AquaPro Holland (2011) Technology / Research [online] Available at

[Accessed 16 September 2011].24 AquaPro Holland (2011) Experimental results [online] Available at



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28 Soil Association (2011), Soil Association organic standards for producers, revision 16.4 June 2011

[online] Available at:

[Accessed 20

September 2011].

27 Bio Suisse (2011) Bio Suisse Standards, Edition of 1.1.2011 [online] Available at: [Accessed September 20 2011].

26 Bio Austria Verein zur Förderung des Biologischen Landbaus

(2010), Produktionsrichtlinien Fassung September 2010 [online]

Available at:


25 Regulation (EC) 2007/834 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products

and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, OJ L 189, p. 1 of 20.7.2007.

29 Visser, P. (2011, September 6) Tomaten plukken in woestijnbestendige teelt. Groenten&Fruit

ACTUEEL, p. 19.


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Addenda

Item 1: International Groasis waterboxx plantings 2010/2011

Item 2: the AquaPro pricelist


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UNITED STATES

Whitewater (High Desert), Mission Springs

(Low Desert), Dos Palmas (Salton Sea), CA

Honey Mesquite -- Prosopis glandulosa

Screwbean Mesquite -- Prosopis pubescens

Blue Paloverde -- Parkinsonia florida

Sugarbush – Rhus ovata

Velvet Ash – Fraxinus velutina

California Sycamore – Platanus racemosa

Holly Leaf Cherry - Prunus ilicifolia

Wishbone Bush - Mirabilis bigelovii

Cheesebush - Hymenoclea salsola

Paperbag Bush - Salazaria mexicanaBeargrass - Nolina parryi

Joshua Tree - Yucca brevifolia

Apricot Mallow - Sphaeralcea ambigua

California-Napa,Sonoma:

Vines

Chardonnay – Vitis vinifera

Zinfandel – Vitis vinifera

Vegetable

Squash – Cucurbita pepo

HOLLAND

English Oak - Quercus robur

Irish Yew - Taxus baccata aurea fastigiata

MOROCCO

Argan - Argania spinosa

SPAIN

Stone Pine - Pinus pineaMaritime Pine - Pinus pinaster

Portuguese Oak - Faginea

Almond - Almendra

Hawthorn - majuelo

Poplar - alamo

Holly Oak - Quercus ilex

Pine - Pinus spp.

Cherry - Cerezos

Juniper - Juniperus spp.

Scots Pine - Pino silvestreSessile Oak - Roble albar

Birch - Petrea abedal

FRANCE

Maple - Acer monspessulanum

Boxwood - Buxus serpervirens

Mastic - Pinus halepensisEvergreen - Pistacier lentiscus

Mahaleb cherry - Prunus mahaleb

Laurestine - Viburnum tinus

KENYA

Plant resources:

Biodiesel - Jatropha spp.

Neem tree - Azadirachta indica

Prostrate - Prunus africana

AIDS - Moringa oleiferaMalaria - Warbugia ugandensis

Acacia species:

tortilis

mellifera

hockii

seyal

xonthophloea

Trees with timber value:

Menu oak - Vitex keniensis

Elegon teak - Olea welwitschii

African cedar - Junipera procera

Fruits - climbers and runners:

Strawberry- Fragaria virginiana

Passion fruit - Passiflora edulis

Fruits - trees:

Orange - Citrus sinesis

Mango - Fera indicaLemon - Citrus limon

Pawpaw - Papaya crica

Avocado - Persea americana

Oil plants

Palm oil - Elaeis guineensis

Rape - Brassica napus

Soya - Glycine max

Date palm - Phoenix dactylifera

Item I: International Groasis waterboxx plantings 2010/2011


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Vegetables

Carrots - Daucus carota

Cabbage - Brassica oleracea

Tomatoes - Solanum spp.Radish - Raphanus sativus

Legumes

Beans - Phaseolus spp.

Black beans - Lablab albus

International Groasis waterboxx plantings 2010/2011 (continued)


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Item II: the AquaPro pricelist

water saving measures of using the groasis waterboxx in organic gardening in desert regions

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