Implementation of Sensor-based Automated Irrigation in Commercial Floriculture Production: A Case Study

Abstract

A soil moisture sensor-based automated irrigation system was trialed in a commercial floriculture greenhouse to determine what benefits these types of systems may offer to herbaceous ornamental producers. Water use, crop quality and growth, and grower behavior toward adoption of the new technology were monitored, when all decision making related to system operation was carried out by the grower. Two cultivars of poinsettia (Euphorbia ×pulcherrima) and three cultivars of geranium (Pelargonium ×hortorum) were produced in side-by-side trials over the course of 2 years while comparing grower-controlled, sensor-based automated irrigation with traditional grower-managed (timer-based) irrigation. Plant quality was equivalent between irrigation treatments across all five trials. Differences in plant size were noted in four of the five trials between irrigation treatments, but in all instances these differences were not judged by the commercial grower to impact marketability of the crop. No reductions in irrigation water use were noted with the sensor-based irrigation system, which differed from previous research using this technology in ornamental production. Over the course of 2 years, the number of plants produced using sensor-based irrigation control was scaled up, indicating increasing confidence in, and adoption of, the technology. Managers at the facility found that sensor-based irrigation facilitated reallocation of labor from irrigation management, which was especially valuable during peak production and shipping periods. The payback period calculated from labor savings would be roughly 1.5 years if the sensor-based irrigation system was implemented throughout the facility.