Management of subirrigation benches in the production sugarcane pre-sprouted seedlings

• Grant number: 15/07483-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: July 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Soil and Water Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Edson Eiji Matsura
• Grantee: Fernando Henrique Lopes Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola (FEAGRI). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

One of the most common means of production using subirrigation in a protected cultivation is the ebb-and-flow, in which the substrates are used as a path for capillarity and the plants get their roots wet. The use of a closed water system allows the remaining solution to return by gravity to a reservoir, where the water can be evaluated and possibly reused, increasing the resources and inputs efficiency as well as preventing soil contamination and waste of water. The goal of this experiment is evaluate the application of the subirrigation technique in the sugarcane pre-sprouted seedlings (MPB, in Portuguese) production, using resources like humidity capacitive sensors to control and to automate the irrigation in the subirrigation bench. The production potential of MPB consists in reducing the volume of sugarcane used to crop and better quality control which increase the product's homogeneity. Developing techniques that improve or benefit the use of the MPB technology can provide upgrades in natural resources saving, like water and the sugarcane itself.