The expansion of hydroponic berry production is transforming how irrigation and fertigation are managed. In crops such as blueberries, where the root volume is confined to containers, water and nutrient management requires a level of precision that is accelerating the adoption of continuous monitoring systems.
According to Daniel Márquez from SensaCultivo, the shift towards hydroponics has intensified in recent years in production areas such as Huelva, driven by lower labor availability, restrictions on soil disinfection and the need to optimize resources. "In this context, the continuous measurement of key parameters is starting to be seen as a standard management tool, because hydroponic cultivation requires millimeter level precision."
© SensaCultivo
Hydroponic crops demand accuracy at every irrigation event
"In hydroponic blueberries, plants are usually grown in pots filled mainly with coconut fibre, sometimes mixed with peat. This reduces the effective volume available to the plant and makes precise fertigation adjustments essential. Under these conditions, irrigation must be applied in short pulses of several minutes, at different frequencies during the day depending on the season, and calculating the exact water dose becomes critical."
Drainage is one of the most relevant indicators of crop status. "Measuring the percentage of drained water and its electrical conductivity makes it possible to assess whether the plant is absorbing nutrients correctly. This information allows growers to adjust doses to avoid deficiencies or unnecessary fertiliser costs."
"In many farms, these parameters are still checked manually, often only once a day, which may be insufficient to detect deviations in real time. That is why, for hydroponic cultivation in general and berries in particular, we always stress that continuous data collection allows faster corrections to irrigation management and reduces the risk of salt accumulation in the substrate, which can be very harmful to plants."
Continuous monitoring in soil and substrate
SensaCultivo began operating between 2018 and 2019, at a time when monitoring systems in berry crops were still limited. Since then, the number of farms integrating sensors has increased steadily, "although there is still significant room for growth."
"Our devices provide a set of farm management services and tools that allow growers to monitor and control their crops efficiently, collecting data on applied irrigation, drainage, conductivity and environmental conditions. All this information is integrated into an application that makes it possible to adjust crop management in real time. This approach applies both to soil grown crops and to hydroponics."
The main difference between the two systems lies in continuous drainage measurement. "In soil cultivation, the water inertia of the soil itself provides some buffer against occasional irrigation errors. In hydroponics, however, the absence of a water reserve means that supply continuity must be strictly maintained, because any deviation can affect the plant much more quickly."
"In fact, we have developed two compact and autonomous stations suitable for both cultivation systems, soil and hydroponic."
© SensaCultivo
"The Soil Pack is ideal for all soil types. The station includes a moisture, electrical conductivity and temperature probe at two depths, an irrigation water meter, ambient humidity and temperature sensors, and a system to calculate vapour pressure deficit, irrigation pulses and irrigation time. The hydroponic version is designed for hydroponic crops and all types of substrate and, in addition to all the elements mentioned above, it includes a drainage and conductivity meter."
"All data can be viewed on any electronic device through the SensaCultivo app, which offers a complete real time fertigation management service and allows growers to maintain precise control over crop development."
"Ensuring successful berry production from anywhere"
Huelva and its berry producing farms are among the areas with the highest adoption of SensaCultivo systems, but the technology has also been implemented on berry farms in Portugal and Morocco. "Our monitoring systems not only help growers manage hydroponic crops correctly. Many technicians in the area provide agronomic advice to farms in other Mediterranean countries, and thanks to the connectivity offered by the SensaCultivo app, they can see in real time whether crop management abroad is being carried out correctly."
"In that sense, our systems are helping to optimize agronomic decision making, enabling remote crop monitoring to ensure the success of berry production from anywhere."
© SensaCultivoFor more information:
SensaCultivo
Calle Villa de Madrid 17, 21001 Huelva
T. +34 693 048 938
[email protected]
https://sensacultivo.es
