Monitoring of Sugar Beet Water Management
Experience
Finapp probe has been installed which, thanks to the cosmic ray CRNS technology, monitors the soil moisture of an entire sugar beet plot.
Use
Finapp probe has been installed which, thanks to the cosmic ray CRNS technology, monitors soil moisture on an entire sugar beet plot.
In the reference season, the farm irrigated using as a reference data of a point probe TDR already present in the field for years, because it is considered reliable and already tested, using the probe Finapp only as comparison.
In the first months of the year, the water content dynamics were managed satisfactorily, with irrigation or rain, the agricultural professional kept the level of water content within the ideal range for the beet.
In July the surface of the land appeared visually arid. Continuous irrigation has resulted in an increase in soil moisture above the threshold value of 35%, which is the field capacity. In August, some thunderstorms, even intense, have prolonged this condition of high humidity. This resulted in a situation of asphyxia that facilitated the onset of Cercospora beeticola, reducing the yield of the crop by 20%.
The soil moisture values given by the TDR probe, although it was an expensive and “quality” sensor, were lower than the measurement obtained with the CRNS sensor, since the installation point could not be representative of the whole plot. Irrigation management based on the information obtained from the CRNS sensor would have reduced energy costs and water consumption, and almost certainly avoided the emergence of the fungus, resulting in higher productivity.
Benefits
To manage your farm efficiently and make the right decisions at the right time, you need very reliable information, measured and related to your land. Decisions resulting from established and handed down practices, or from unreliable information, can compromise production by making unnecessary the complex work of the professional.
Decision support systems (DSS) in agriculture extract information for decision-making processes quickly and flexibly from a large amount of data, and are now a determining factor for efficient farm management.
Technological change and innovation in farming practices are no longer an option, but a necessity that enables farmers to generate value and be competitive.
Knowing the actual water content of the whole plot allows to provide support to technicians and farmers in the analysis of decisions to be made, as well as to make them at the right time.
