200th HydraFiber Processing Unit installed at Pettiti Family Farms

Grownetics

12 May 2026 — 1 min read

200th HydraFiber Processing Unit installed at Pettiti Family Farms Thanks! Substrate HydraFiber combines wood and bark and refines them in a pressurized vessel to create an approximately 98% porous fiber substrate with extremely low bulk density that can be blended with for example peat.

An important feature of HydraFiber Ultra is that it comes compressed and packaged in 50-lb. "That's key to reducing shipping costs, saving storage space and unloading fewer trucks", the team explains.

"These machines are designed to return the HydraFiber Ultra bales to their fibrous state and maximize the yield of each bale, producing 1.1 cubic yards of singulated fibrous material that's ready to blend with other components." "Two hundred installs across North America is a number that takes time, install crews showing up reliably, and growers willing to bring new equipment into their operation", Rob Draga from AdeptAg said while being on-site at Petitti Family Farms for the moment of the installation of the 200th unit. "We are grateful to Pettitti's, Profile Products, and to every grower running HydraFiber for helping us mark this milestone." For more information: AdeptAg [email protected] www.adeptag.com HydraFiber 750 W.

Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?

Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.

What is the operator takeaway from this trial?

If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.

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