The Tal-Ya Tray was developed in Israel with applications for African nations. ^[1] It is a viable solution in arid countries because the tray funnels “dew, rainwater, condensation, and water from irrigation” directly to roots. It reduces herbicide, and pesticide use; while being environmentally friendly, increasing yield, reducing labour, and improving soil quality. ^[2]

The Tal-Ya Tray is made from a polypropylene material, which sits on the ground surrounding a plant, crop or tree. ^[3] The serrated edges direct water towards a center hole where the plant’s root are located. The tray efficiently uses dew, but has applications for other water collection, weed control, pesticide use, and reduced labour costs. ^[4]

The Tal-ya tray is being utilized by farmers in the United States, Israel, Georgia, Chile, Sri Lanka, Panama and Canada. ^[5] The product launched in Tel Aviv at the Agritech exhibition in 2009. ^[6] The company started commercial production worldwide in 2013. ^[7]

The Tal-ya tray was founded in the Israeli village of Gan Yoshiya. The founder and R&D Manager is Mr. Avi Tamir -- entrepreneur and inventor. Major contributors were the Israel Ministry of Agriculture, the Hebrew University, Ben Gurion University and the Volcani Institute. ^[8]

Ancient Israelis used a system of stones placed around crops to collect dew and this concept was modernized by Mr. Tamir. ^[9] It has applications for the developed world, but is useful in developing nations with arid conditions or drought. ^[10]

The tray is made out of a plastic composite that is reusable and recyclable. ^[11] Additionally, the tray is made with a limestone additive and UV-filters, so the material will not break down in sunlight or from pesticides or herbicide use. ^[12]

The Tal-Ya tray uses serrated edges to collect dew. Additionally, an aluminum additive allows the tray to respond to temperature shifts of more than 12°C to collect condensation. ^[13]

Because the tray directs water to the roots, much less water is needed than with traditional irrigation systems. ^[14] The tray’s utilization of water allows the “[amplification of] 1 mm of rain so that it equals 27 mm.” ^[15] It has produced up to 50% savings in irrigated water and if needed, it pairs with traditional systems like drip irrigation. ^[16] The tray also retains soil moisture and prevents evaporation of water experienced in hot climates. ^[17]

The tray blocks sunlights, so suppresses weed growth. ^[18] This prevents the crop from having to compete for water and nutrients. ^[19] Weed reduction creates less need for herbicides, which reduces the necessity for hired labour and saves the farmer money. ^[20]

The Tal-Ya tray reduces fertilizer requirements. ^[21] The tray concentrates water and fertilizer towards the roots and inhibits it from washing away. ^[22]

The tray also protects the root system from extreme temperature shifts, such as sudden increases in temperature or unexpected frost. ^[23] The tray reduced the incidence of soil born diseases and contamination. ^[24]

Field research and feedback from farmers found about a 12% increase in yield on tested trees. Farmer feedback also cited an increase in quality and quantity of crops. This could be attributed to improved use of water and fertilizer, but further research is needed. ^[25]

The current Tal-Ya tray is 72 X 55 cm and is primarily used on crops including citrus trees, olive trees, grapes and avocados. The tray is made from composite plastic, which creates an area to collect dew, condensation, and water. ^[26] The trays can lock together to create “continuous ground cover.” ^[27] The company plans to release additional tray sizes in early 2014 from its three subcontracting locations in Israel. ^[28]

The principle of dew collection is not new. ^[29] Similar systems utilized two polyethylene foils to collect dew. ^[30] Both colour foils collected up to 20 mm of dew a year. ^[31] These systems work, but they lack the Tal-Ya’s ability to funnel water directly to the root system. ^[32] Another competing technology in Southern Africa are fog collection systems. ^[33] These systems had an increase in water collection, but are primarily applicable in mountains regions and the West Coast of Africa. ^[34]

The Tal-Ya tray is easy to use and requires little training. ^[35] Another advantage is, by reducing the need for traditional irrigation, farmers do not have to worry about issues surrounding soil salinity. ^[36] The water trapped by Tal-Ya is naturally distilled. ^[37]

An advantage to poor farmers is that they can use a single tray for up to ten years. The estimate cost for farmers is approximately $1 a tray. ^[38] The company can be contacted directly at info@tal-ya.com or their US distributor is Wilson Irrigation (billb@wilsonirr.com). ^[39] This is expected to save 10-20% in seasonal revenue. ^[40] The tray reduces fertilizer use, irrigated water use, weed growth for less herbicide use, and protection of crops from temperature swings, which translates directly into money savings for poor farmers. ^[41]

The Tal-Ya tray is environmentally friendly because it is made from recycled material. ^[42] The tray itself is useable and recyclable. It also eliminates wasted water, ground contamination and excess runoff that can be found with traditional forms of irrigation. ^[43] The tray also protects against soil erosion for soil conservation. ^[44]

The Tel-ya tray can be used on crops, trees, orchards, vineyards, plants and additionally small urban or peri-urban operations. Field results also suggests that the system would work well in greenhouses and nurseries. ^[45]

It requires minimal upkeep, but does need initial manpower to place in the field. ^[46] An advantage of reduced weeds is that women and children will not have to bend over weeding fields. ^[47] The design is found to be unobtrusive to working farmers. ^[48]

The Tal-Ya is still in early stages of completing field tests and gaining patents. ^[49] The product has been picked up by Wilson Irrigation in the USA and several countries worldwide, but needs further patenting in some countries. ^[50]

The Tal-Ya tray has agricultural implications for countries with arid conditions. ^[51] Africa is arid with only approximately 35% of the surface area receiving more than 500 mm of rain annually. ^[52] Ancient people and recent projects utilized dew collection to solve water shortages in arid conditions, thus the Tal-Ya can improve crops during drought in Africa. ^[53]

It is more than simple dew collection; it funnels rainfall and reduces evaporation around the plant. ^[54] It works in most conditions, but is important to note that it will not work equally in every location. Someone implementing the tray should account for annual rainfall in conjunction with average humidity and predicted temperature changes of the location. ^[55] It takes a change of 12C to create condensation, so night-to-day seasonal temperature fluctuation should first be accounted for. ^[56] The greatest water savings were recorded during the summer in Israel, so depending on a country’s climate, additional irrigation could be needed in autumn and spring. ^[57] Southern coastal countries with high temperatures will have a higher capacity for absorbing air humidity, which makes them candidates for increased water harvesting, reducing this need for added irrigation. ^[58]

In field tests, vegetables found up to 50% water savings as compared to the control group, which had no negative effect on the plants. The tray prevents fertilizer leaching and reduces the amount of fertilizer needed. Further soil analysis, however, should be undertaken. ^[59]

This tray may not work for all crops, such as cereal because it would be costly to implement a single tray per plant. ^[60] However, for energy and water intensive crops, like tomatoes or olive trees, this tray has great applications. ^[61] Amir noted that some field tests have shown an increase in yield, but more testing needs to be done. ^[62]

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3. Amir, Roni (2013). “Effect of Rigid ground cover - TalYa - on water volume and production”, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, State of Israel, 1-2.
5. Biddle, Sam (2009). "A new irrigation product by Israeli Company Tal-Ya is the best kind of design -- unobtrusive, perfectly functional, and wonderfully simple", PSFK Labs.
7. Chelsa, Mickey (2013). "Tal-Ya tray focus on increasing ROI for farmers worldwide", Clean Techies.
9. Davtalab Rahman, Salamat Alireza, and Ruholooah Oji. (2013). “Water harvesting from fog and air humidity in the warm and coastal regions in the south of Iran”, Irrigation and Drainage (62) 281–288
11. Goren Trade (2013). "Good for environment, Good for business", Goren Trade.
13. Hassid, Nehemiah (2009). “Economic analysis of the advantages of Tal-Ya technology”, Ben Burion University of Negev, 1-4.
15. Kalthoff N., Fiebig-Wittmaack M, Meibner C, Kohler M, Uriarte M, Bischoff-Gaub I, and E. Gonzales. (2006). “The energy balance, exapo-transcription and nocturnal dew deposition of an arid valley in the Andes”, Journal of Arid Environments (65) 420–443.
17. Kloosterman, Karin. (2009). Tal-Ya makes the most out of dew, Israel 2 News.
19. Maestre-Valero JF, Matinez-Alvarez V, Baille A, Martin-Gorriz B, and B Gallego-Elvira. (2011). “Comparative analysis of two polythylene foil material for dew harvesting in semi-arid climate”, Journal of Hydrology (410) 84-91.
21. Oliver J, and CJ de Rautenbach. (2002). “The implementation of fog water collection systems in South Africa”, Atmospheric Research (64) 227–238.
23. Siegel, A (2009). "Energy COOL: Snap into place dew collection for agricultural irrigation", Daily Kos News.