It's no longer thinkable to grow crops without irrigation, but interventions must be as efficient and precise as possible. Scarabelli irrigazione and Consorzio Agrario Adriatico have developed a solution that connects the irrigation system to local weather stations so as to plan interventions according to the weather forecast. If the conditions change, the system automatically corrects the schedule.
Left to right: Stefano Vertuani and Piero Bianchi (Scarabelli Irrigazione) with Marco Tommasini (Consorzio Agrario Adriatico)
"These control units are suitable for open field irrigation. In addition to planning remote irrigation and interfacing with on-field weather stations, they can also interact with the main weather satellites. They can adjust programmes in real time depending on the forecast," explains Marco Tommasini from Consorzio Agrario Adriatico and Stefano Vertuani from Scarabelli irrigazione.
Example: according to weather availability and the forecast, the programme has planned an irrigation session in the morning. If, during the night, a certain amount of rain fall, the system reads the data collected by the nearest weather station and corrects the schedule."
Detail of a station
"The possibility of managing irrigation remotely via mobile/tablet or computer is a fundamental feature together with the ability of maintaining the correct water balance of the soil. This is essential to produce high-quality plants. Plants that are watered too little suffer from the lack of nutrition and stop growing. Vice versa, plants that are watered too much are more sensitive to diseases and less tolerant to dry conditions. Excessive water suffocates plants and leads to the death of the root system."
Irrigation management system
The benefits of the new systems:
- remote management;
- possibility of managing humidity, air and soil temperature and rainfall parameters directly on fields;
- possibility of self-regulation according to the forecasts of the main satellites.