Portal de Cartagena
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Monitor the crop water status anytime or anywhere, is a reality thanks to a novel platform of deficit irrigation through remote control developed by researchers at the schools of Agricultural and Industrial Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) .
The device has been developed in a research project funded by the MECD (Ministry of Education), which has made the thesis of Paul Puerto Conesa, directed by Rafael Domingo Miguel Torres Sánchez Roque.
The tests were carried out successfully in almond trees in the region over the past three years.
Tests with this method of precision agriculture have achieved a saving of 50% water close to total crop water needs.
Research shows that it is possible to schedule irrigation Almond throughout the season from continuous measurements and real-time trunk diameter, the researchers explain Rafael Domingo, Department of Crop and Roque Torres, Department of Systems Engineering and Automation.
The platform developed in the thesis, entitled "Programming and optimization of deficit irrigation in almonds from direct and continuous measurements of tree water status" takes data collected from a large number of sensors electronic devices.
This information is analyzed and compared with setpoint values ​​previously established by the technician or the farmer.
In this way increases or decreases the amount of water through irrigation solenoid.
The newest, according to the study authors, is that it has proved possible to schedule irrigation remotely based on the maximum daily contraction of trunk diameter.
Researchers have devised an algorithm that provides the programming of the almond.
A agronomic, 7% of the almond trees in the region are irrigated.
"If the food industry knew the answer that has the almond to the reduced supply of water there would be many more such crops because it pays off because it increases tenfold production in rainfed" says Rafael Domingo.
The tests were conducted in a commercial farm in Mazarrón and Agrifood Experimental Station Thomas Ferro, UPCT.
The results of the thesis show the suitability of the almond to be handled in deficit irrigation and how monitoring and control platforms can contribute to deficit irrigation precision, which can save significant water and minimal reduction in harvest compared the almond with full irrigation.
The thesis was conducted with a grant FPI (Research Personnel Training), a predoctoral training aid researchers in their 2008 session which at the time was Ministry of Science and Innovation, reference to his aid was BES-2008 -004,153.
These studies, conducted in almond, will continue into other major crops in the region, such as cherry, through MINECO and funded by FEDER reference: AGL2013-49047-C2-1-R.
The most beneficial of this new platform is that "greatly facilitates precise handling of deficit irrigation and lets go precision agriculture practices," says PhD student Paul Puerto Conesa.
Pictured, from left to right, Roque Torres, Pablo Port and Rafael Domingo, enl to Finca Thomas Ferro
Source: UPCT
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