Potato
Mexico
Crop | Potato
Region of trial | Aramberri, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Trial Duration | 5 months
Co-operators | PepsiCo, Rancho El Madero, Aramberri, Mexico
14:1
Return on Investment
About the Trial
In 2025, Engage was invited to trial Aqualatus at Rancho El Madero in Aramberri, in the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León.
PepsiCo grows over 35,000 hectares of potatoes in this highly water-stressed region. The Mexican potato industry frames water as the headline constraint on Nuevo León potato production, citing water availability and high irrigation costs as key challenges.
Aramberri is one of Mexico's key potato-growing municipalities.
It sits in a mountainous, semi-arid setting with shallow, limestone-derived sandy soils and low rainfall. Rancho El Madero lies within Aramberri, in southern Nuevo León — a zone where mountain/valley topography drives significant variability in farming conditions. Soil depth, infiltration behaviour, and rainfall reliability can change markedly from one field to the next.
Aim of the Trials
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Agronomic impact
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Water management
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Yield improvement
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ROI
​To evaluate the agronomic and productive effect of Aqualatus application on potato crops, measuring its impact on yield and the potential economic benefit to the crop.
Aqueduct: Aramberri
Irrigated area water stress score: “Extremely high stress: 4.49”
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The Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas is the World Resources Institute’s global water‑risk mapping tool
The Soil
Leptosol — very shallow (from the Greek leptos, meaning "thin") and undeveloped soils formed from eroded limestone. These soils have very low water-holding capacity: they saturate and dry out quickly, meaning crop stress can develop rapidly.
Aquifer Availability
The local aquifer, "Sandia–La Unión," shows negative water availability — a clear indicator that water balance constraints exist in the region.
Irrigation
Drip tape ("cintilla") irrigation.
Trial Parameters
The trial managed water application — and compensated for water and nutrient (fertigation) shortages — to the growing potato crop, based on soil water probe data. The objective was to reduce irrigation over a six-week period and maintain the reduced regime until the end of harvest, while monitoring water savings and crop growth parameters.
Trial Structure
Plot | Treatment | Application |
|---|---|---|
Plot 1 | Control | Standard fertigation |
Plot 2 | Aqualatus 2+1 | Initial application of Aqualatus at a rate of 2.0 L and then 1.0 L per hectare, all months until the harvest ends. |
Plot 3 | Aqualatus 2+2 | Initial application of Aqualatus at 2.0 L and then 2.0 L per hectare and then 1 litre every month until the harvest is finished. |
Agronomic Results
Using Hydro-satellite data imagery, the plots were measured for soil moisture and water efficiency.
The images and graphs to the right illustrate:
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Increased water-use efficiency, with a balanced reduction in respiration.
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Increased soil moisture and a greater buffer against ABA stress response.
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More gradual adjustment of stomatal conductance, allowing continued COâ‚‚ uptake and photosynthesis.
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Soil Moisture & Water Use Efficiency
Root Development and Vegetative Growth
Yield increased under Aqualatus treatment, despite reduced plant water loss, indicating improved water-use efficiency without compromising carbon assimilation or photosynthetic activity.
This suggests that plants were able to maintain physiological performance while using available water more effectively under improved soil moisture conditions.
The concurrent increase in yield and improved moisture buffering proves that Aqualatus enhanced water-use efficiency by supporting a more balanced physiological response to water regulation under moisture-limited conditions.
Treatment | Yield (t) | Yield Increase (t) | Yield Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
Control | 53.227 | ||
Aqualatus 2+1 | 58.549 | 5.322 | 10% |
Aqualatus 2+2 | 61.211 | 7.984 | 15% |
Water Movement
During the trial, the plots experienced four weeks of interrupted irrigation due to problems at the Sandia Pueblo pumping station, cutting off water supply for multiple days.
Photos (right) show how the plots responded to this disruption.
Control Plot
Aqualatus 2+2
Control Plot
Control
Aqualatus 2+2
The two photos above show the difference Aqualatus makes in water distribution and retention.
The control shows the irrigation water only 15cms either side of the irrigation line and moving vertically down as the sides of the ridges and path are dry.
At 2.0 litres per month, Aqualatus shows a dramatic improvement in water distribution as the potato ridges are fully moist as is the path in between.
This highlights the effect that Aqualatus has on lateral movement of water and retention by the micelles.
Trial Conclusion and Return on Investment (ROI)
It's important to note that ROI here is calculated on yield alone. This area of Mexico suffers from water scarcity, meaning water provision is insufficient for optimum crop production. Aqualatus's role was to help manage the water that was available.
Aqualatus improved soil moisture, water-use efficiency, and root and vegetative development. This resulted in a yield increase that delivered a positive return for growers.
Lot | Treatment | Aqualatus Litres Applied | Yield tons/ha | Yield Increase tons/ha | Aqualatus Cost ($612.50/L) | Yield Increase ($9,000*/t) | Grower Gain ($/ton) | ROI (ratio) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lot 10 | Control | 40.93 | - | - | - | - | - | |
Lot 11 | Aqualatus 2+1 | 5 | 45.03 | 4.1 (10%) | $3,062.50 | $36,900 | $33,837.50 | 11:1 |
Lot 12 | Aqualatus 2+2 | 6 | 47.08 | 6.15 (15%) | $3,675.00 | $55,350 | $51,675.00 | 14:1 |
