FIELD APPLICATIONS OF AQUACROP-OSPY: REAL-TIME IRRIGATION TECHNIQUES
Abstract
Crop and irrigation modeling based on fundamental physics can significantly enhance the forecasting of agricultural requirements and production, aiding preparation for future planting and harvesting cycles. Aqua Crop is a widely used model that predicts daily watering needs with flexible data input options, accommodating various crop, soil, terrain, and irrigation configurations. By utilizing historical weather data, Aqua Crop estimates daily crop water requirements for upcoming seasons, assuming similar weather patterns. AquaCrop-OSPy, an open-source implementation of Aqua Crop developed in collaboration with its original authors, offers a promising extension of this tool. This paper explores the potential of AquaCrop-OSPy to integrate real-time weather data and generate real-time irrigation control signals. The proof-of-concept described herein demonstrates the feasibility of this approach. Initial development involved software to query up-to-date weather data and estimate evapotranspiration (ETo) for a single crop under standard conditions, coupled with a microcontroller to validate real-time functionality. Encouraged by these results, the scope was expanded to fully automate human-supervised irrigation using AquaCrop-OSPy. The paper outlines the technical development, challenges encountered, and potential benefits of this innovative irrigation solution. All related software is available at https://github.com/SoothingMist/Embeddable-Software-for-Irrigation-Control
Keywords:
AquaCrop-OSPy Real-time irrigation Crop modeling Evapotranspiration (ETo) Automated irrigation systemsDownloads
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Copyright (c) 2024 Jonathan Michael Reed , Emily Catherine Bennett
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