Northern Serbia is known to have some of the most fertile land in Europe and has been one of the leading apple exporters in the region. With changes in demand for apples, I.M. Matijević, one of the biggest agriculture and livestock companies in Serbia, made the strategic decision to branch out to an alternative crop that is in very high demand in the region: Sour Cherries for frozen processed market.

Rivulis was tasked to deliver the first subsurface (SDI) sour cherry irrigation project in the region. This project will be in phases over a three year period, reaching 1,000ha.

This is a new technology for growing sour cherries and Rivulis designed the complete SDI irrigation system for the sour cherry project, supplying all irrigation technology and equipment including Rivulis Hydro PCND drip lines, Rivulis F3200 filters, Rivulis V2000, V3000 and air valves, and supporting the integration of the automation and irrigation control system.

The Rivulis team managed logistics and purchasing, provided field and product training and partnered closely with Delta Agra on installation.

“With this being the first large-scale crop of sour cherries in Serbia ever, we needed a partner we could trust and who could supply the full range of irrigation products. We chose Rivulis because of their expertise and experience as well as the innovative technology and full set of solutions and products they provide. We are one year into the project and are already seeing positive results.” Aleksandar Marjanović, Head of Irrigation, Delta Agrar.