Overhead sprinkler irrigation ban for fruit growers in South Tyrol

22-7-2026

For the time being, fruit growers in South Tyrol are no longer permitted to irrigate their apple orchards using overhead sprinkler systems between 06:00 and 21:00. Drip irrigation is still allowed. The sprinkler irrigation ban is one of the measures introduced to prevent water shortages. Due to a lack of meltwater from the mountains, persistent drought and high temperatures, the flow of the River Adige has repeatedly fallen below 80 m³ per second in recent days. The Adige rises near the Reschen Pass and flows through the fruit-growing region and the cities of Merano, Bolzano, Trento and Verona before reaching the Adriatic Sea. If the river’s discharge falls below 80 m³ per second, salt water can penetrate too far inland and contaminate drinking-water sources.

In areas where no sprinkler irrigation ban applies, everyone is being urgently called upon to use water “extremely sparingly and efficiently” and to reduce consumption “to the absolute minimum necessary”.

“Water is the new gold,” says Jürgen Braun, fruit grower and managing director of the variety management company Adema. It is no coincidence that apple breeding programmes have for decades been searching for new cultivars that are better able to withstand water scarcity, global warming and other effects associated with climate change.

Agriculture and horticulture are by far the largest consumers of water in South Tyrol. The sector uses 150 million m³ of water annually. The region has 8,000 irrigation systems supplied by 6,200 groundwater wells.

Private gardens and public lawns or lawns used for tourism may no longer be watered either. However, South Tyrol’s economically important hotel sector and its swimming pools are not explicitly mentioned. This is a source of considerable irritation among local residents.

One of South Tyrol’s daily newspapers put it as follows: “As long as wellness centres can continue operating their swimming pools without restriction, no one needs to lecture me about saving water.” (Source: Fruchthandel.de)