Sensors and satellite images in precision irrigation
The third of five interviews with the coordinator, Lior Doron, was about measurement.
Weather station
The weather station records air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, and rainfall. From these it estimates evapotranspiration (ET): the water a crop loses in a given day. ET can be calculated from weather variables or derived from measured evaporation, adjusted for the crop.
FIGARO had its own stations, but the platform was designed to be open: other brands of stations and sensors could connect through plug-ins.
Other sensors
- Soil moisture probes and water meters, which record how much water was actually applied, completed the picture.
- A fertiliser sensor measuring nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the irrigation line was being developed by C-Tech Innovation (UK).
- A tractor-mounted canopy sensor using infrared readings to follow crop development was being developed by AgroSens (Denmark).