Our client Ángel Ortega explains to us the reasons that led him to implement humidity and conductivity probes to optimize irrigation in stone fruit trees.
Success story of a client to decide to optimize irrigation in stone fruit trees
In a phased manner and verifying the water and energy savings, our client installed sensors over three years.
He started by putting 3 zones:
- In 2021 it installed probes in nectarine, peach and paraguayan.
- In 2022, after the good results of the previous campaign, it was expanded to two varieties of nectarine, one earlier and one later, and one of peach.
- In a third phase in 2023, it expanded to the rest of the crops: stone fruit, table grapes and citrus.
It currently has 85 hectares monitored with humidity and conductivity probesd, observing water savings and fertilizer, being more profitable with an equally good production.
In addition, it allows you to optimize your water concession throughout the entire campaign and ensure you have enoughto meet the needs of the later varieties.
Equally crucial is the control of conductivity at depth in the cultivated soil. This way we will avoid the accumulation of salts, whose excess harms the absorption of nutrients, and its control has a positive impact on harvests and soil quality.
In addition to monitoring humidity and conductivity at two depths, Ángel appreciates the great value of the online advice that he receives from our agronomic department, which have helped guide its irrigation strategy and management of salts, present both in the soil and in the irrigation water.
In summary, the use of humidity probes not only provides savings in this very scarce good that is water, but we optimize the use of fertilizers, we have data on salinity and we can make better decisions for the crop and for the environment.
Assessment of harvest results
Production is positive and the trees produce with the same quality with reduced irrigation. The information from the probes allows us to make the most of resources and save water and energy without reducing production or quality, and improving the health of the land.
Sources:
English 
Spanish