The system was an eye-opener also regarding drainage issues, thanks to the EC measurements. Earlier, the producer measured electroconductivity only at the end of the day, not realizing that the mid-day drainage EC is much higher than it should be - most likely due to an improper irrigation strategy. With Trutina, EC is measured every 5 seconds, fully automatically, supplying the information right into the system.
However, their story does not end here. Thanks to Trutina, they were able to realize a hidden (and crucial) issue that had a negative effect on the blueberry size.
“Hidden” issues with the irrigation system
The data monitoring system was also able to point out that the irrigation system does not work properly - an issue that could not have been detected without such technology.
“I also realized that my irrigation machine made too short irrigations, harming the proper caliber of the fruit. As it turned out, it was starting the irrigations on time, but the duration of the irrigations was shorter than programmed, short enough to wet the top part of the pot but not to fill the pot properly with water. We were not able to detect this situation just looking at the plants as the top of the pot was wet after each irrigation. This malfunction resulted in less irrigation than the actual needs of the plants, causing the lack of diameter of the fruits and lowering the setting percentage of them - two of the main problems that caused so many headaches for us.” - points out the owner.
The importance of real-time control
Above example shows well that without proper data control, the bottlenecks of the irrigation problems are exceptionally hard, or even impossible to detect. Such issues, when being present for a longer period of time, result in visible symptoms on the plants - usually when it is too late to overcome the issues efficiently. This is why it is crucial to have real-time feedback of what is happening with the crop. For growers, such inputs are crucial.
The owner also confirms it:
“There are many functions that are allowing me to verify that my irrigation strategy is properly applied, detect malfunctions very quickly thanks to the alarms programmed in my Trutina Notifier app. It is really taking my crop production to the desired level, it gives me the possibility to improve my irrigation strategy by data and real time information that allows me to do precise adjustments day by day - but also, I can even follow the changes from one irrigation to another.”
On the other hand, the owner got a great help thanks to the automated operation:
“Being aware of how our plants behave, I was able to switch from manual to automated irrigation. It was an important milestone for us as we have never used automated irrigation settings. Now the irrigation system works even more efficiently than before.”
Water and energy savings like never before
Besides the higher quality and quantity, there is also a crucial achievement: the water saving, thanks to the optimized irrigation. Underirrigation and overirrigation are not present anymore, the system does its job exactly according to the plant needs, resulting in -30% of water usage compared to last year, achieving up to 25,000€/year (!) of water + fertilizer + energy saving.
This is like a big bonus that stays in the wallet of growers, for a more cost-efficient operation and room to make further improvements.
