Smart irrigation through observation and prediction

Increasing water use efficiency through site-specific irrigation management is an important tool in ongoing regional development of high-value agricultural products in Southern Alberta. Variable Rate Irrigation is an important technology in achieving this, but the uptake of said technology is low and its use suboptimal. In this project we propose to integrate various types of sensors to develop a model-based, closed-loop irrigation system that is based on the spatial distribution of soil moisture and crop water availability. We will include microwave radiometers for moisture mapping, point sensors, and simulation models to automatically create maps of irrigation amounts through data fusion. This would be a big step forward in reaching the full potential of VRI technology.​