Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW MARCH/APRIL 2023 47 CROP MANAGEMENT IRRIGATION MODULE ADDED IN 2022 WILFREDMaddocks Ltd’s FarmManager MatthewDudley has trialled Crop4Sight’s new irrigationmodule alongside an existing scheduling system for the past two seasons, helping to sharpen up its water management. e farmhad been using soil moisture probes positioned around the farm, whichmeasure soil moisture at 10cm increments through the soil pro le down to 50cm. AGPRSmodemon each probe transfers the data to a remote server, which is interpreted and then displayed to the user via a web portal, taking the guesswork out of irrigation requirements with real-time information on soil moisture de cit (SMD). Matthew says that overall, the probe system is useful, particularly at times of high demand and when SMD is critical to the skin nish of pre-pack crops, around tuber initiation. e probes in use are placed in the farm’s pre- pack crops for this reason, but the readings don’t necessarily represent SMD or water demand across the rest of the potato area. at is why he decided to test Crop4Sight’s irrigationmodule when it was introduced in 2021, running it alongside the sensors to see if it can improve the farm’s overall irrigation scheduling process. It requires users to input soil type, variety information, the farm’s irrigation capabilities – howquickly they can get back to a particular eld – and howmuchwater has already been applied andwhen. Users then choose between irrigation for scab control or yield and the system draws on hourlymeteorological data including evapotranspiration (ET), windspeed, relative humidity and rainfall, based on the exact location of the eld. Rainfall information can be reinforced by rain gauge data fromeach eld if the farmhas time to check these regularly. Itswater balancemodel thenproduces a crop- speci c irrigation schedule for theweek ahead based on live datawhich canbe refreshed at any time, if there is a rainfall event, for example. Matthew says one of the best features of the system is its accounting for irrigation capability - one of the business’ main challenges. It has enough rain guns and overhead booms but is short on pumping infrastructure so not all the applicators can be run at once. “You enter how long it will take to get back to a particular eld, and it adjusts the amount of water you apply to ensure there is enough to cover the crops needs until you return. “It helps withmy planning of moving irrigation equipment around the potato area too, which is really useful.” With a rain gauge in every potato eld Matthew routinely inputs his own rainfall data but nds the system’smeteorological data almost alwaysmatches what he records. So, if a business didn’t have the time to supply the additional layer of data, he thinks it could still trust that the water balance would be calculated accurately. “I would say Crop4Sight is as reliable as the probe system, with the soil moisture levels consistent withwhat we see in the eld. It also gives you an actual irrigation requirement gure andwhen you need to put that water on, rather than just SMD data to interpret.” Matthew said he is looking forward to an updated version arriving for 2023, which can be accessed via a smart phone app. “It will mean I can update the systemas I domy rounds and I’ll see any necessary changes in scheduling without having to spend time in the o ce.” Adding value e farm has been using the system for several seasons, being one of the early adopters, and have seen its functionality and useability improve signi cantly. Richard confesses he has never been tech-savvy but nds the latest version of Matthew Dudley, Farm Manager. WilfredMaddocks Ltd has been using Crop4Sight’s irrigation module for two seasons. Using something like Crop4Sight’s seed module can take the guesswork out of seed rate calculations. It ensures that seed rates used are appropriate for the target stem and tuber population for any given crop, based on variety, planting date, seed size and seed chronological age. Photo: Bayer Crop Science the system very easy to use and support from Crop4Sight has been excellent. “It requires a level of data input, andwe are quite strict on that being once a week through the season. It’s only as good as the information you input, but if you put in the e ort, it really does add value through the whole supply chain.”