Bloom Agro designs and implements technologies and solutions that help achieve greater water efficiency, use resources more effectively, and increase productivity across the various agribusiness sector value chains.

One of these innovative water treatment solutions addresses the widespread challenge of contaminated surface water used for irrigation; and more specifically, the severe challenge posed by Panama disease. This disease is caused by the Fusarium fungus and has already destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of banana plantations.

As water is one of the main carriers of Fusarium spores, many banana growers stopped irrigating their plantations out of fear for contamination, which brought about many other challenges.

To solve this problem, the Bloom Agro solution uses a combination of physical filtration, chorine injection and sufficient contact time to enable the complete eradication of the spores – and especially the long-lasting chlamidospores in contaminated surface water.

In order to develop this unique solution for this urgent global issue, Bloom Agro collaborated with Treitel Chemical Engineering – Triteia.
Triteia’s advanced standard chlorination systems were especially adapted to integrate with the Bloom Agro process solution and enable the continuous and automatic preparation and dosage of the required chlorine solution in an accurate and controlled concentration. They also include unique customized features that enable high chlorine concentration dosages in a wide range of water capacities.

During the design and development of the solution, special emphasis was placed on streamlining the daily system operation; as well as on the usage of very large volumes of granular chlorine in a safe, simple and economic manner and in challenging environmental conditions and tropical climates.

The new standard Triteia-Bloom systems were designed to operate in banana plantations for the continuous treatment of  400, 800 or 1600 CUM/Hr of surface irrigation water.

Thanks to this new and unique water treatment method, banana growers can now safely use water for irrigation even when the Fusarium fungus is present.

Bloom Agro continues to work with its customers and partners to provide onsite technical support and develop new technological solutions for agriculture water treatment.