Italy: Osiris monitoring system

Real-time monitoring of orchards is an important opportunity for companies, as they can be more efficient and save considerable amounts of money.

TecnoQuadro, a company specialising in the design and sale of a radio monitoring system, has been testing the solution with 20 kiwi producers.

Together with general manager Massimo Marcon, FreshPlaza visited producer company Frateli Contarino to see for itself the results of experimentation with the Osiris monitoring system.

Salvatore Contarino and Marco Marcon.

"Experimentation started two years ago, when Apofruit technicians gave us the names of some of their partners to test this new monitoring system," explains TecnoQuadro engineer Marco Marcon.

After the first year, Fratelli Contarino decided to used the system, which monitors humidity and temperature providing helpful information on the water available in the ground. The company is equipped with two 30 and 60 cm sensors (in the photo above) on two control units (photo below) which sends the information to a gateway.

Producers can access data at any time by visiting the TecnoQuadro website.

"I believe this is really interesting because it helps producers assess ground humidity. We can therefore modify irrigation parameters for the whole orchard, which in our case covers 23 hectares!"

"In addition to determining the absolute value of water, we can also modify irrigation volumes according to seasonal rain trends. Once we find the right parameters, we can also adjust irrigation times to reach ideal conditions."

The chart indicates optimal irrigation levels.

In the photo, the sensors connected to the control unit.

A very common risk is in fact giving too much water - plants do not show any particular sign but excessive water causes extensive damage to roots.

The monitoring system also controls temperature - kiwi plants need at least 800 hours of cold winter temperatures between 0 and 7 degrees for germination and the system helps check that the plants get what they need.

Thanks to the data collected by Fratelli Contarino and engineer Massimo Marcon, this system guarantees yearly savings between 30 and 40%.

For further information:
TecnoQuadro
General Manager Ingegner Massimo Marcon
Via Don Torello 45
04100 Latina (Italy)
Cell.: (+39) 335 7417226
Email: info@tecnoquadro.com
Web: www.tecnoquadro.com