Substrate water status and evapotranspiration irrigation scheduling in heterogenous container nursery crops (original) (raw)

Advancing Wireless Sensor Networks for Irrigation Management of Ornamental Crops: An Overview

HortTechnology

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) transmit sensor data and control signals over long distances without the need for expensive infrastructure, allowing WSNs to add value to existing irrigation systems since they provide the grower with direct feedback on the water needs of the crop. We implemented WSNs in nine commercial horticulture operations. We provide an overview of the integration of sensors with hardware and software to form WSNs that can monitor and control irrigation water applications based on one of two approaches: 1) “set-point control” based on substrate moisture measurements or 2) “model-based control” that applied species-specific irrigation in response to transpiration estimates. We summarize the economic benefits, current and future challenges, and support issues we currently face for scaling WSNs to entire production sites. The series of papers that follow either directly describe or refer the reader to descriptions of the findings we have made to date. Together, they...

Implementation of Wireless Sensor Networks for Irrigation Control in Three Container Nurseries

HortTechnology

Water quality and quantity are increasingly important concerns for agricultural producers and have been recognized by governmental and nongov-ernmental agencies as focus areas for future regulatory efforts. In horticultural systems, and especially container production of ornamentals, irrigation manage-ment is challenging. This is primarily due to the limited volume of water available to container-grown plants after an irrigation event and the resultant need to frequently irrigate to maintain adequate soil moisture levels without causing excessive leaching. To prevent moisture stress, irrigation of container plants is often excessive, resulting in leaching and runoff of water and nutrients applied to the container substrate. For this reason, improving the application efficiency of irrigation is necessary and critical to the long-term sustainability of the commercial nursery industry. The use of soil moisture sensing technology is one method of increasing irrigation efficiency, with t...

Traditional and New Approaches to Irrigation Scheduling in Vegetable Crops

HortTechnology, 2011

Intensive vegetable cropping systems use large amounts of water and nutrients. Excess application of water and nutrients results in economic losses (higher fertilizers and pumping costs) and contributes to nutrient leaching and environmental degradation. Increasing nutrient use efficiency (NUE) and water use efficiency (WUE) should be a priority for sustainable horticulture. This increased NUE, WUE, or both depend on the utilization of efficient irrigation technology, including appropriate methods for irrigation scheduling (IS).Various methods are available for IS based on determination of crop water balance (weather-based method), soil/substrate moisture level, or plant water relations. Rather than discussing the physical and biological basis of irrigation management, this article focuses on currently available irrigation control devices for open-field and greenhouse production systems, with particular emphasis on soil moisture sensors (SMSs). SMS regulates the frequency of irrigat...

Fine tuning irrigation scheduling with phytomonitoring technology in Chile

2005

The introduction of phytomonitoring technology in table grape and avocado production in Chile is reported. Results in significant yield increments, modifications of fruit size distribution curves, as well as water and energy savings are discussed, and several irrigation strategies are quantitatively compared. Information about continuous sensing of trunk, shoot and fruit growth is correlated with soil water dynamics and climatic conditions, enabling us to schedule irrigation events (frequency and water depth applied on each cycle) according to actual and precise plant water requirements. The agronomic implications and irrigation decision support activities included in the phytomonitoring advisory scheme provided to farmers are discussed. Historic database management provided by the phytomonitoring set-up, sensors, data storage, data transmission features and software enabled us to evaluate applied research strategies to modify plant response, according to specific production objecti...