Environmental monitoring company Measurement Engineering Australia (MEA) has been awarded an AusIndustry grant of $243,968 to develop an innovative plant-based irrigation scheduling sensor.
The Plant Water Status Sensor will measure changes in the plant’s internal water content and will be primarily designed for use by irrigators of perennial crops such as grape, olive, citrus, fruit and nut crops.
The sensor will use a technique called thermal diffusivity which injects heat into the plant tissue without damaging it in order to measure any changes in tissue water content. By measuring the changes, it’s possible to determine a plant’s water status and therefore whether water is required and how much.
"Irrigators are under increasing pressure to use their water entitlements wisely and demand for new monitoring system technology is increasing," says Andrew Skinner, MEA's director.
"The potential cost savings for irrigators is significant. Savings can be made in the cost of water and energy from reduced pumping costs. Longer term benefits from reduced soil salinity can also be achieved."
MEA will conduct field trials for the technology at sites the CSIRO is using for other research programs, such as Yalumba’s Oxford Landing orchard and vineyard near Waikerie.
The Plant Water Status Sensor will augment MEA’s climate and soil moisture monitoring technologies by integrating into its existing range of data loggers, wireless networks and Automatic Weather Station systems.
The grant has been provided to MEA under AusIndustry’s Climate Ready Program, which works on a fund matching basis to support research and development to meet climate change challenges.
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