https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2007.s2.179

The use of tensiometers to automatically control the irrigation of ornamental species in containers

Vol. 2 No. s2 (2007): Special Issue
Submitted: 16 December 2010
Accepted: 16 December 2010
Published: 19 July 2007
Abstract Views: 1120
PDF: 1147
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

The detection of soil water potential by means of tensiometers is one of the possible techniques to adapt water supply to real plant exigencies, reducing water and nutrient consumption and the environmental impact. The aim of the different experiments illustrated in this paper was the evaluation of tensiometer performances in the automatic control of the irrigation or fertigation of some ornamental species cultivated in containers. Different experiments were carried out over a two-year period on four ornamental species. Three species were cultivated outdoor and equipped with a drop irrigation system while the fourth was cultivated in greenhouse using two different irrigation techniques (drop and subirrigation). In all experiments, tensiometer-based system allowed water or nutrient solution saving ranging from 45% to 25% in comparison with timer-based irrigation management, without negatively affect plant growth and qualitative characteristics. Some arrangements to obtain the best performances of tensiometers in the automatic irrigation management are also illustrated.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

How to Cite

Bacci, L., Battista, P., Checcacci, E., Sabatini, F., & Rapi, B. (2007). The use of tensiometers to automatically control the irrigation of ornamental species in containers. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 2(s2), 179–188. https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2007.s2.179

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.