Dendrometers are precision-based, multi-purpose sensors that measure plant growth, water status, and health. They can monitor small expansions and contractions in plant tissue over a daily cycle, several days, weeks and even months. This makes them useful tools for irrigation and fertigation management.
Dendrometers are versatile, non-destructive, easy to install and maintain. They can be installed on trunks, stems, branches, or fruits, to provide valuable insights into plant growth dynamics.
The SMART Farm has 11 sensors on selected plants, which continuously monitor micro-variations of trunk and stem diameter. These measurements provide us with scientifically proven stress indicators. The data is transmitted in real time to the ‘cloud’ for further analytics, which assists us with irrigation planning.
We have made changes to our irrigation scheduling as a result of the data we’ve collected from the Dendrometers. For example, we were once under-watering our dried fruit and over-watering our olives and almonds. Now we have targeted irrigation in these plantings. We have also placed a Dendrometer to assist with the irrigation needs of our newly planted citrus trees.
SuniTAFE’s Horticulture and Agriculture courses now use dendrometer as we transition our training towards SMART Farming.
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