Optimal irrigation strategy throughout the day and along the growing period requires a deep understanding of the growing substrate, plant physiology and the water uptake by the plant. In some cases, improper irrigation practice is implemented, accompanied with excess or shortage of water. "Early detection of the improper irrigation strategy can be recognised and adjusted by analyzing the water content in the substrate in high resolution. Following the online water content in the substrate will improve irrigation efficiency significantly", explains Mr. Ziv Omer, DrainVision Product Manager & Agronomist with Paskal.
Monitor and adjust irrigation strategy
DrainVision Floor-Scale is a system that enables the grower to monitor and adjust the irrigation strategy to achieve the optimal moisture level in the substrate and potentially save on the high cost of excess drain.
"DrainVision system is suitable for a wide range of crops and different growing media, including rockwool slabs and cubes, cocopeat, potted plants, and also various outdoor crops", Ziv shows. "The system is simple to maintain, has a competitive price and the data are presented in clear user-friendly graphs"
The monitor's data is stored securely in a user account and is available online. "It can be viewed on either a PC or a mobile phone, so the grower can monitor and respond in real time to any changes in water content in the substrate."
The system allows to optimize irrigation, accompanied with improved yield and quality. Monitors the level of water content in the substrate and the EC level in the drain, providing accurate data and working wireless", Ziv says. "This way it provides significant savings on both water and fertilizers."
Description of the system
The main components of the system include: a drain collection tray, measuring manifold for the drain and irrigation quantity, EC sensor and weight scales from 50-100 kg load capacity.
DrainVision monitors the data in resolution of five minutes intervals via radio frequency and is transmited wirelessly to the base station in the greenhouse. The data is then transmitted to the cloud every ten minutes, and presented to the end user by way of PC or mobile phone. One base station can collect data from an unlimited number of moitoring stations in the greenhouse.
In addition, the DrainVision data can be integrated into any of the leading Climate Control programs.
The system interface includes simple and clear graphs, providing information on the water content in the substrate (gr/slab), on-line and daily accumulated irrigation volume (liter, ml/tray, msq, plant), on-line and daily accumulated drain volume (liter, ml/tray, msq, plant), the drain percentage in relation to irrigation and the EC in the drain solution (dS/m)
An online notification will be received anytime a threshold will be crossed. Thresholds can be set by the grower according to his needs.
A user-friendly application
An example of data presented in DrainVision user interface. Above the computer interface - on the right the mobile interface.
E – Accumulated amount of irrigation (liter)
A – Weight of substrate (gr)
F – Accumulated amount of drain (liter)
B – EC in drain (dS/m)
G – Drain percentage of irrigation (%)
C – Current irrigation
D – Current drain
DrainVision systems are operated in 13 different countries in various crops such as blueberries, strawberries, rasberries, cannabis, flowers, vegetables and nurseries. During this period, growers and researchers have enjoyed a productive cooperation with Paskal Monitoring Solutions. This cooperation yields more efficient and productive growth.