Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops

• Grant number: 03/07998-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: June 01, 2004
• End date: November 30, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering
• Principal Investigator: André Torre Neto
• Grantee: André Torre Neto
• Company: Enalta Inovações Tecnológicas S/A
• City: São Carlos
• Associated scholarship(s): 06/61678-0 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops (Alexandre Carbone), BP.TT; 06/60758-0 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 06/00703-8 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops (André Luiz Vieira da Silva), BP.TT; + associated scholarships 05/00900-5 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 05/00555-6 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 05/00646-1 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 05/03999-2 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 04/08482-5 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 04/05462-3 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 04/05464-6 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT; 04/06169-8 - Technological development platform for precision irrigation of perennial crops, BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

Around 70 per cent of potable water on the planet is used in agriculture. Charging for the supply of water resources in rural areas, which has been adopted to combat waste and promote the rational use of water brings with it, however, negative consequences for agribusiness. This situation shows that it is vital to develop technologies for the rationalization of water use in irrigated systems, making production possible, without nevertheless causing negative impacts in society. This project aims to develop an automatic system for precision (spatially differentiated) fertirrigation in perennial crops, under irrigation by micro-watering or drip irrigation. The system will have sensor devices and intelligent activators linked by a wireless network. Based on this network, a piece of software will be produced to handle the differentiated application of water and fertilizers, which should monitor biotic and abiotic parameters in the production system, allied to conventional and non-conventional information and methodological technologies for the space-time analysis of data. The system will be developed initially for citriculture, owing to its economic importance in the state of São Paulo, because of the logistics made available and pressing need in the face of the sudden death of citrics. However, being versatile and capable of being implemented in stages, it will be easy to adapt it to other perennial crops, such as fruit and coffee growing in general. (AU)