Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 29;21(21):7203.
doi: 10.3390/s21217203.

Development of an Algorithm for an Automatic Determination of the Soil Field Capacity Using of a Portable Weighing Lysimeter

Manuel Soler-Méndez  1 , Dolores Parras-Burgos  2 , Adrián Cisterne-López  1 , Estefanía Mas-Espinosa  1 , Diego S Intrigliolo  3 , José Miguel Molina-Martínez  1
Affiliations

Development of an Algorithm for an Automatic Determination of the Soil Field Capacity Using of a Portable Weighing Lysimeter

Manuel Soler-Méndez et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The challenge today is to optimize agriculture water consumption and minimize leaching of pollutants in agro-ecosystems in order to ensure a sustainable agriculture. The use of different technologies and the adoption of different irrigation strategies can facilitate efficient fertigation management. In this respect, the determination of soil field capacity point is of utmost importance. The use of a portable weighing lysimeter allows an accurate quantification of crop water consumption and water leaching, as well as the detection of soil field capacity point. In this work, a novel algorithm is developed to obtain the soil field capacity point, in order to give autonomy and objectivity to efficient irrigation management using a portable weighing lysimeter. The development was tested in field grown horticultural crops and proved to be useful for optimizing irrigation management.

Keywords: drainage control; irrigation automation; irrigation technology; soil field capacity; weighing lysimetry.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram of reproducing soil inside a weighing lysimeter.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diagram of algorithm.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Evolution of the weight of both the CT and the DT. Red depicts the first event when SFCP was achieved. Green denotes the second event.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Evolution of the weight of both the CT and the DT between 12 and 22 January, and the SFCP calculation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Evolution of the weight of both the CT and the DT between 17 and 24 February and the SFCP calculation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Evolution of accumulated drainage and the variation average in drainage in the last 30 min between 17 and 24 February, showing the line below which the variation average in drainage in the last 30 min is considered null.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Evolution of accumulated drainage and the variation average in drainage in the last 30 min between 12 and 22 January, showing the line below which the variation average in drainage in the last 30 min is considered null.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Analysis of three random irrigations by contrasting the data provided by the meters and the data provided by the portable weighing lysimeter.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Evolution of the weight of the CT and the DT in two consecutive irrigations in the greenhouse pepper experiment, including the application of the SFCP detection algorithm developed in this work.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Juan J.A.d., Tarjuelo J.M., Valiente M., García P. Model for optimal cropping patterns within the farm based on crop water production functions and irrigation uniformity I: Development of a decision model. Agric. Water Manag. 1996;31:115–143. doi: 10.1016/0378-3774(95)01219-2. - DOI
    1. Merino Labrador F.A. Un recurso finito. Forum Calid. 2018;296:54–57.
    1. Zinkernagel J., Maestre-Valero J.F., Seresti S.Y., Intrigliolo D.S. New technologies and practical approaches to improve irrigation management of open field vegetable crops. Agric. Water Manag. 2020;242:106404. doi: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106404. - DOI
    1. Soler-Méndez M., Parras-Burgos D., Mas-Espinosa E., Ruíz-Canales A., Intrigliolo D.S., Molina-Martínez J.M. Standardization of the Dimensions of a Portable Weighing Lysimeter Designed to Be Applied to Vegetable Crops in Mediterranean Climates. Sustainability. 2021;13:2210. doi: 10.3390/su13042210. - DOI
    1. Vázquez N., Pardo A., Suso M.L., Quemada M. Drainage and nitrate leaching under processing tomato growth with drip irrigation and plastic mulching. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 2006;112:313–323. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2005.07.009. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources