Expand the adoption of precision plant based irrigation technologies to reduce water use in both greenhouse and nursery product

David Ehret, AAFC, Agassiz

Dr. David Ehret with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has evaluated a modified version of the CropAssist system developed for greenhouse tomatoes on other ornamental plants. Two greenhouse species and two nursery species, each of which differed in daily water requirements, were monitored for periods of up to 30 consecutive days. Results indicated that the CropAssist system effectively measured water uptake automatically and continuously. Automated monitoring of water use with load cells has been proven to be a simple and reliable technology for both greenhouse and nursery use and presents an opportunity for development into a commercially-available product.