ADOPT - Precision Irrigation with Wireless Sensors

The UK ornamentals sector is undergoing a transition from peatbased to peat-free growing media in response to environmental targets and policy drivers. This shift presents a critical challenge in that peat-free substrates, typically blends of wood fibre, bark, coir, and green compost, display variable physical and chemical properties, leading to varied levels of water retention and nutrient availability.

This can make effective irrigation and nutrition management more complex. The resulting consequences of this include increased risks of over- or underirrigation, nutrient leaching, inconsistent crop quality, wasted resources, and higher costs. This ADOPT funded project aims to explore the use of wireless sensors to provide real-time quantitative information about the moisture and nutrient content in commercial-grown crops to better inform cultural decisions.