Utilise our Substrate Management System to precisely match your plant's needs
Good Irrigation management in substrate is the difference between success and failure. With little room for error it is vital that the irrigation system can deliver water and nutrients to the plants equally and evenly across your crop. To ensure your irrigation system is delivering it is worth investing time and money at this point in proper planning and design.
See our page on Planning your substrate irrigation
Moisture Probe Data Agronomics Data Climate Data
The Dashboard above is split into three sections (see above). The Moisture probe data together with the Climate data is coming in from the SMART sensors in the field.
The display uses a traffic light system ranging from blue to green, amber and red depending on the sensor data, making the display very visual for quick data analysis
The Agronomics data is being manually entered via the Agri-tech Substrate App. When the User synchronizes their data from their device with the database this automatically updates the Dashboard
Growers therefore have up to date data on their moisture status, Ec pH and run-off, and Climate data including VPD, Growing Degree Hours and Chill where appropriate.
Identify a representative area to insert the probe. Switch on the system and data is immediately reporting to your secure area of the Agri-tech server
Watch your plants wake up and go to sleep each day. Match the irrigation to the plant's varying plant water demand by watching "live" as it happens
Watch the hour by hour water use, see your irrigations as they happen together with run-off events
Move away from the traditional "24hr" average run-off, and focus on run-off percentage from each and every irrigation event - this enables the irrigation team to achieve "Precision Irrigation".
To ensure the probe data is representative, daily checks are required by the irrigation team on positioning of the probe, the plant material in the bag or pot, and the irrigation drippers providing the water and feed.
Run-off measurements together with a check on EC in and EC out are required, together with squeeze tests across the crop to determine irrigation uniformity is happening, and that the correct moisture levels are being achieved at the right time of day.
The new automatic run-off station is a labour saving device - eliminate the need for your staff to spend time emptying drain stations. Eliminate the opportunity to make the wrong calculation for percentage run-off!
Clients have access to their data 24/7 365
Agri-tech will interpret the moisture data, highlight moisture parameter markers and add in additional field data such as run-off, "squeeze test" analysis, as a cross reference to what is being seen in the field. The sort facility, and viewing facility enables user specific settings to be enables. Each client Login has a "notice board" together with a report area for all staff to reference whilst within their login page.
Listed above top is the moisture content graph with the squeeze labels added. The blue zone is where there is plenty of freely available water and where run-off will occur, green zone run-off ceases but there is still freely available water, amber freely available water starting to be in short supply, and the red zone where plant stress is likely to occur.
Middle graph and bottom table are coming from the Agronomics app indicating pH, Ec and run-off in detail.
Example Raspberry Substrate Graphs - with user defined date range facility
To avoid wasteful run-off and ensure uniformity, we recommend using the Agri-tech surveying service to obtain highly accurate and detailed information, from basic tunnel layout to detailed topographic data that the substrate system sits on. A detailed "picture" of the ground enables the irrigation team, together with the designer, to ensure that the system performs at its optimum, avoiding drain down once the system shuts down. Drain down must be avoided; therefore, choice of dripper and correct placement of any DNL (dripper non leakage) devices is essential. The DNL acts like a "canal gate" preventing drain down of the system once the valve closes. The DNL devices need to follow the contour lines of the land, meaning detailed contour maps are essential to help ensure uniformity.
Having insured that the irrigation system is capable of delivering the correct quantity and frequency of water to meet the plant's demand, Agri-tech's Substrate Management Solution becomes an essential "tool" to understand the plant's needs.
Using the moisture probe in either pots or bags, one is able to see "real time" the moisture content as it varies over time. The data is displayed in mm of water (an easy to understand format). From the probe data one can see exactly how many mm of water per day the plants are using, how many mm's are being applied each day to the pot/bag, and from this information one is easily able to adjust the number of irrigation events each day to match altering climatic conditions.
Adding the Run-off sensor enables complete clarity as to when during the 24hr period the run-off is taking place, essential information for Precision Substrate Irrigation.
To complete the "picture" temperature and relative humidity sensors can be added to the data logger in the probe electronics to see what impact the protected environment is having on plant water demand, and PAR light sensors can highlight the effect the glass or polythene is having on light within the growing environment.
