According to the Water for Food Institute, by 2050 the world population is going to increase by 40% doubling the demand for food and feed. Currently 70% of all freshwater withdrawals are for agriculture. The drought in California has put tremendous pressure on growers to produce more food while using less water. The drought in California may just be the new norm in California. Field monitoring should become the new norm for agriculture as well.
Our Puresense users achieved the following results over time using field monitoring.
- On average growers have experienced a 16% water savings
- This translates into a 12% savings on electrical use
- Growers have also experienced a 20% increase in production
- Crop vigor has also increased by 13%
How does field monitoring achieve these results?
- Puresense delivers real‐time field data using wireless technology. Users access the data and information about their fields using the Puresense Irrigation Manager software application.
- Users download the application onto their computers, laptops, or mobile devices.
- The Irrigation Manager Software enables growers to check the soil moisture status of their fields using the icons mapped on their fields.
- The color of the monitored fields shows the current moisture condition.
- Summary information is available for growers by rolling their cursor over the icons on the map
- Standard charts and reports are available to provide growers with visible trends and documentation about their irrigation operation
Field monitoring provides a solution to the food production problem for a very reasonable investment. Depending on the crop you are growing the return on your investment will happen in a relatively short period of time. Adapting water technology for agriculture impacts both savings and yield. Water is our most valuable resource and making more food with less water in not a dream. It is a reality proven day after day. If you have some experience with field monitoring we would love to hear about it in the comments below. If you enjoyed this article please consider subscribing to the blog or following me on twitter @H2oTrends.
One Response
Richard Restuccia. 3 years back I traveled from San Francisco to LA by road just to study the imapct of drought in California of 3 successive years. Took pictures, talked to some farmers. Saw banners like ‘NO WATER,NO JOBS’ and ‘IS GROWING CROPS WITH WATER A CRIME’. And all this in the greatest economy in the world and largest econmy in USA ! Drought is California isn’t the new normal for California alone. It is the new normal for many other states in USA and other developed countries.We need water for growing food which is indispensible need of every human being. Besides,agriculturee is the livelihood of millions. There is NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO SAVE water anywhere and everywhere. Water is a commodity and like gas or oil, in future it will be carried through pipelines, not only for industries or domestic users but also for agriculture, like in Israel. Water saved in one eco system can be delivered and used in another.
Thank you for sharing details of this very useful device. I hope we can make it affordable in India, if not for one but a group of small Indian farmers.