Irrigation scheduling from soil sensing and imagery
Soil moisture profiles, weather and satellite imagery feed a water-balance model that recommends irrigation per block, validated against yield and water use over two seasons.
- Location
- Spain
- Duration
- 2 seasons
- -21%irrigation water per hectare
- ±0%yield difference against matched blocks
- 140hectares scheduled by season two
The challenge
Irrigation followed a fixed calendar adjusted by feel. Water allocations were tightening and the cooperative needed to show measured use per block.
What we did
Soil moisture probes were placed by soil type and root depth, with local gateways providing offline buffering. Weather and vegetation indices from imagery were added per block.
A water-balance model, calibrated to the probe data, produces a recommended schedule; agronomists review and adjust before it is sent to the irrigation controllers.
Season one ran side by side with calendar irrigation on matched blocks so that the effect could be measured rather than assumed.
The outcome
Water use fell by about a fifth on scheduled blocks with no measured yield loss, and the cooperative now reports measured use per block to the water authority.
A representative engagement. The figures are indicative of typical outcomes for this kind of work and are not drawn from a named client.
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