Automating Irrigation Scheduling in Nursery Production
Traditionally irrigation scheduling in production nurseries has been determined by past experience (gut feel) and the setting of specific run times depending on the season. Other common methods employed include manual moisture assessment of individual containers, daily evaporation measurements or using a weight method to determine a container’s water holding capacity. In this month’s Nursery Paper Queensland Industry Development Manager John McDonald and Research Scientist David Hunt describe the water use efficiency and cost savings achieved through the automation of irrigation scheduling.