INV-DSS Operational Group: Development and use of a digital irrigation/fertigation management tool for greenhouse horticultural crops
- Type Operational group
- Status In progress
- Execution 2022 -2024
- Assigned Budget 262.252,28 €
- Scope Autonómico
- Autonomous community Andalucía
- Main source of financing PEPAC 2023-2027
- Project website GO INV-DSS
The INV-DSS software tool is commercially available and free of charge for determining irrigation and fertilization requirements for horticultural crops in Mediterranean greenhouses, based on actual crop needs.
This tool will be ready to operate in today's digital environment, with web access via a mobile app, and its design will be intuitive and easy to use for technicians and farmers, facilitating its adoption. Furthermore, it will be compatible with information collected by sensors or provided by the user to tailor recommendations to each farm, as well as to adjust them based on soil and crop conditions.
This tool will be tested on commercial farms associated with the UNICA Cooperative so that farmers and technicians can use it on their farms, allowing them to quantify the costs and benefits of its use in real-life situations. A plan is also planned to promote the adoption of the developed tool.
The availability of this digital tool in Mediterranean greenhouses could help improve the efficiency of water and fertilizer use, reduce environmental problems associated with their use, improve the economic balance of operations by reducing costs, and provide a commercial advantage by implementing more sustainable management practices that can contribute to improving the sector's image and fostering the development of modern and competitive horticulture.
Currently, greenhouses on the Mediterranean coast have scarce and medium-to-low-quality water resources. They are located in areas declared "Nitrate Pollution Vulnerable Zones," which means that farmers must adopt irrigation and nitrogen management practices that reduce nitrate contamination of groundwater.
Furthermore, there is a growing demand from consumers and supermarket chains for products grown using more environmentally friendly practices. Added to this is the sharp rise in fertilizer costs, which is why the sector is showing interest in using tools that help them ensure more efficient and controlled water and fertilizer delivery.
- Development of a basic decision-making support tool for irrigation/fertigation management in greenhouse horticultural crops (INV-DSS).
- Adapt the digital irrigation/fertigation management tool to the agronomic conditions of each greenhouse and crop (advanced INV-DSS).
- Demonstration and evaluation of advanced INV-DSS in commercial greenhouses.
- Promote the adoption of irrigation/fertigation management support tools (INV-DSS) by farmers and technicians.
To develop a commercial software tool to determine the irrigation and fertigation requirements of Mediterranean greenhouse horticultural crops based on crop demand.
This tool will be web-based, have a mobile app, and will be designed to be intuitive and easy to use for technicians and farmers, thus facilitating its adoption. This tool will represent a substantial technological advance, as it will be available free of charge to farmers and greenhouse technicians and will provide combined irrigation and fertilizer dosage recommendations based on real-time weather data and climate forecasts.
- Name of coordinator/entity: Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organizations of Almería, COEXPHAL
- Postal address: CARRETERA DE RONDA 11 1ºE 04004 ALMERÍA
- Coordinator/entity email: victoria@coexphal.es
- Telephone: 687 69 69 89
- ASOCIACIÓN DE ORGANIZACIONES DE PRODUCTORES DE FRUTAS Y HORTALIZAS DE ALMERÍA, COEXPHAL
- FUNDACIÓN CAJAMAR (mdoloresfernandez@fundacioncajamar.com)
- UNIVERSIDAD DE ALMERÍA (otri@ual.es)
- HISPATEC ERPAGRO S.L.U. (alba.gutierrez@hispatec.com)
- UNICA GROUP S.C.A. (jamunoz@unicafresh.es)
- ASOCIACIÓN DE ORGANIZACIONES DE PRODUCTORES DE FRUTAS Y HORTALIZAS DE ALMERÍA, COEXPHAL
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