Development of an Algorithm to Indicate the Right Moment of Plant Watering Using the Analysis of Plant Biomasses Based on Dahlia × hybrida

Agata Jędrzejuk, Marcin Bator, Adrian Werno, Lukasz Karkoszka, Natalia Kuźma, Ewa Zaraś and Robert Budzynski
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Agata Jędrzejuk: Institute of Horticultural Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Marcin Bator: Institute of Information Technology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Adrian Werno: Institute of Horticultural Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Lukasz Karkoszka: Institute of Horticultural Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Natalia Kuźma: Institute of Horticultural Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Ewa Zaraś: Institute of Horticultural Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Robert Budzynski: Institute of Information Technology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: Water management in agriculture and horticulture has a strong ecological importance related to the necessity of optimizing the use of water resources. To achieve sustainable water use, it is necessary to optimize the time, frequency and the methods of water application. In this study, we hypothesized that the right moment for watering may be established on the grounds of the observation of the physiological state of the plant (if the plant is still in turgor) and the biomass of plant and the substrate. The proper irrigation scheduling, that is, just before the plant loses turgor, which appears at ca. 73% of LRWC in dahlias, determined with the use of the proposed measurement and computing system, makes it possible to save ca. 30% of irrigation water, in comparison to standard watering. Controlled watering also affected plant growth parameters, such as the content of chlorophyll a and b and carotenoid, as well as total and reducing sugar content (ca. 7%, 9% and 23% more than in plants watered in a standard way, respectively). Plants watered in a controlled way were 12% more compact when compared with the ones watered in a standard way. The results clearly proved that the computing system connected to scales made it possible to save water used for irrigation without a negative impact on the parameters of plant growth.

Keywords: water use efficiency; plant adaptation; remote biomass sensing; water management; production of plants growing in containers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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