Electronic Irrigation Solutions

E-Irrigation Blog Farmer's Weekly posed in interesting question with one of their September, 2017 articles. Essentially they asked "How many harvests are left in your soil?" Maria-Helena Semendo, speaking at World Soil Day (2016) stated that the world's topsoil could be gone within 60 years should the current degradation continue. Some of the main causes of soil degradation include chemical-heavy farming methods, deforestation, erosion and global warming.  Professor Raj Patel points to runoff water from farms often contaminated with high volumes of fertilizer and other chemicals as being a culprit.  “The story of industrial agriculture is all about externalizing costs and exploiting nature,” Patel states.  South African farmers are already taking the lead by becoming more ecologically accountable, by incorporating green farming practices and turning to sustainable farming methods and water conservation. One of the methods South Africans employ are irrigati

Irrigation Scheduling has several advantages. Apart from the obvious decrease in water usage farmers find the following to be true: Minimizes crop water #stress and maximize yield. Reduces farmer's cost of  # water  through fewer irrigations, and maximizes use of soil  # moisture  storage. Happy soil = happy crops. Reduces  # fertilizer  costs by reducing  # runoff  and  # leaching . Increase net return by improving crop yield and quality. Minimize #water-logging problems by reducing  # drainage  requirements. Helps control  # root  zone  # salinity  through controlled leaching. Helps farmers stay within their water quota and save water. Helps to maintain soil quality. Less leaching and runoff means less nutrients being washed away. Less water-logging means more air in the soil. All of these factors contribute to higher production and better quality crops. Adding  # valve   # actuation  /  # automation  to irrigation scheduling will further enhance the benefits as  #

The wireless system allows the farmer to effectively use the irrigation scheduling program on a large scale. The AVC integrates seamlessly with this system giving the user a unique platform where irrigation scheduling and automation is married. Technical specifications of the Router Gateway: - One router supports up to 20 probes and up to 50 AVC units -Converts 6LowPAN communication to GSM -Supports up to 20 mesh devices -Over the air firmware updates support -Solar / battery powered -SMS features The Router Gateway is responsible to communicate probe data to the software program, however it is the nodes that communicates probe data to the router. The wireless mesh network allows the nodes to search for the shortest path to the router, ensuring effortless communication. ​Technical specifications of the nodes: -Connection up to 700m distance with a clear line of sight -SDI 12 compatible -6LowPAN network communication -Battery / Solar powered -Onboard temperature senso