irrigNET

Irrigation
optimization

COMBINING REAL-TIME
FIELD MEASUREMENTS WITH
CROP-SPECIFIC ADVANCED
ANALYTICS METHODS
TO OPTIMIZE IRRIGATION

HU The existing irrigation methods are to a large extent based on experience instead of hard facts causing over-irrigation or under-irrigation of crops. This leads to leaching the soil minerals, increasing the production cost, decreasing the yields, soil destruction and after all losing the profit. To maximize the effects that water has in plant production, the irrigation schedule has to be harmonized with the crop requirements, soil properties, as well as with the current weather conditions and weather forecasts.     

irrigNET service for rational irrigation, provides a ”recipe for irrigation” by giving farmers reliable information on when and how to irrigate based on: field measurements (soil moisture), specific needs of the plant, type of soil, vegetation period and weather forecast (forecasted rainfall).

Plant requirements and soil type

Specific water requirements for different plants during the growing period define the exact amount of water that should be used for irrigation. The exact time of irrigation depends on water constants which are specific for each soil type and have to be defined before starting the service.

 

Field measurement

Portable and energy independent devices providing real-time soil moisture and air temperature measurements are involved in irrigNET service. Cloud based infrastructure enables data storage, analytics retrieval and visualization as well as weather forecast for the area of interest. Combining agricultural expertise and collected data advanced algorithms create a recipe for irrigation which is presented in web and mobile applications in real time.

 

Weather forecast

Forecasting temperature and rainfall has an important role in defining the exact time of irrigation thus preventing irrigation at times when rain is expected as well as delay when the temperature is high.

 
 

"RECIPE" for rational irrigation

The recipe defines the exact time of irrigation as well as the exact amount of water to be used, based on the field measurements, soil type and specific needs of the plant, taking into account forecasted temperature and rainfall as well.
Irrigation recipes available for: corn, soybean, sugar beet, potato, onion, cucumber, paprika, vineyards, blueberries. New crops are being added continuously and can be made on request.

 

Benefits:

  • Increased yields up to 30%
  • Increased profits
  • Optimized costs
  • Reduced soil destruction by lowering water usage

 

 
     
The initial version of the irrigNET solution is developed with the support of FRACTALS (Future Internet Enabled Agricultural Applications, FP7 project No. 632874),
under the funding framework of the European Commission.