IRRIGATION BASED ON PLANT NEEDS
Hoogendoorn Growth Management is proud to be one of the Implementation Partners of Growing by Plant Empowerment. Plant Empowerment is a new unique cultivation method that leads to higher productions and better quality.
At the same time, resources such as water, energy and nutrients are used more efficiently. This makes Plant Empowerment the roadmap to sustainable horticulture. In recent years Hoogendoorn has embraced the ideas and principles of Plant Empowerment and incorporated these in new automation solutions.
Irrigation based on plant needs
Understanding of physics and plant physiology are necessary to understand the behavior of plants. These are the basic principles of Plant Empowerment. An important plant process is evaporation. Evaporation is necessary for the transportation of nutrients in the plant and also helps the plant to cool down at high radiation. Therefore it is crucial that the plant has enough water available, to maintain evaporation.
This is called the water balance of the plant. The water balance is the ratio between irrigation and the use of water. When the correct water balance is not attained, the stomata will close to limit evaporation in order to prevent plant stress. Closing of the stomata means also a reduced uptake of CO2 and hence a reduction of photosynthesis and growth. Therefore it is crucial that the water balance is kept in equilibrium.
How can we determine the amount of crop evaporation?
The evaporation rate can differ from time to time. Energy is necessary for the evaporation of water. Therefore energy is always the driving force behind evaporation. Plants are incapable of generating energy by themselves to maintain evaporation and therefore depend completely on external energy sources, such as radiation from the sun, assimilation light or heating. Energy can also be supplied by convection from the greenhouse air. For this, air movement is required.
In practice, mapping the aporation energy around the plant has proved to be an effective way to estimate the water demand of the plant. The amount of radiation reaching the plant can be assed using a Solarisensor, or more effective a PAR sensor, inside the greenhouse, close the canopy of the plant. A PAR sensor can also be used to measure the radiation of the assimilation light reaching the plant canopy. Energy from the heating and air movement can be calculated.
The sum of the combined energy sources, i.e. evaporation energy, can be used in the iSii process computer as the basis of your irrigation strategy. Previously growers based their irrigation strategy solely on outside radiation. Making use of the evaporation energy leads to a more accurate and precise irrigation; irrigation based on the needs of the plant.
Do you want to know more about what the Hoogendoorn
iSii can do for you?
Together with partner Bosman van Zaal, Hoogendoorn has a wealth of horticultural experience in various
African countries. We help you as a grower to always be a step ahead and get the maximum out of
your greenhouse or open field. Bosman van Zaal supplies local service and support for growers and installs the systems at your greenhouse. They also provide maintenance service, crop-focused and user training, and technical support to customers. With Hoogendoorn Growth Management and Bosman van Zaal as partners a long term investment and partnership is key.
For more information,
please contact us:
Flower Business Park – Panda
20117, Naivasha, Kenya
+254 707 000 308
office@bosmankenya.com
www.bosmanvanzaal.com
+31 10 460 80 80
info@hoogendoorn.nl
www.hoogendoorn.nl
