The effectiveness of irrigation practices in Australian horticulture is currently limited by the availability of useful information to growers. In many cases, water application is based on weather observations and growers’ best instincts; in others, irrigation decisions are based on data from soil probes.

To increase the amount of information available to growers making irrigation decisions and to increase water use efficiency in our industry, Hort Innovation has invested in a research project using the Vegetable Fund with co-investment from agtech company The Yield.

This project, which has recently filed its final report, investigated ways to improve vegetable grower sustainability and resilience by creating dynamic models that could give growers an accurate idea of their soil’s moisture levels.

Four different crop trials were completed as part of the project: brassicas, carrots, lettuce and spinach.

While the modelling approaches that were trialled didn’t result in significant improvements over the methods currently being used, the documentation from this project (including intellectual property) has now been made public.

To read the full final report from this project, take a look at its entry on the InfoVeg database.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 19 February 2019. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!