Use of precision irrigation for water efficient management in a processing tomato commercial farm

15TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON PRECISION AGRICULTURE Use of precision irrigation for water efficient management in a processing tomato commercial farm S. Millán¹, C. Montesinos¹, J.M. Esteban², J. Casadesus³, C. Campillo¹ ¹Centre for Scientific and Technological Research of Extremadura (CICYTEX), Agronomy of horticultural crops, Finca La Orden, Highway A-V, Km 372, 06187 Guadajira, Badajoz, Spain. ²Plant sustainability Manager (Agraz), Ctra. N-V km 390, 06195 Villafranco del Guadiana, Badajoz, Spain ³Program of Efficient Use of Water in Agriculture, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Parc de Gardeny (PCiTAL), Fruitcentre, 25003 Lleida, Spain INTRODUCTION Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategies have proven effective in crops such as processing tomatoes, but their practical implementation remains a challenge. Digital twins (DT) offer an innovative solution by integrating sensors, predictive models, and meteorological data to automate real-time irrigation decisions. In recent years, a DT called IrriDesK (https://irridesk.com/) has been successfully tested, which allows RDI strategies to be applied automatically. The objective of this work is to verify the technical feasibility and evaluate the productive response in a commercial processing tomato plot located in Vegas Bajas del Guadiana, using the IrriDesK tool to implement an automated drip irrigation system. In addition, an evaluation is made of how IrriDesK achieves profitable production with a water consumption limit of less than 5.500 m³/h. Figure 1: (a) Location of study site; (b) Maps of the different zones established in the processing tomato plot (A, B and C); (c) Brown dots indicate the locations where soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) was measured with a Dualem-1S sensor; (d) Kriged map of ECa for 2023; (e) Kriged map of ECa for 2024. The red triangles indicate the location of the control points (CP), while the blue dots indicate the location of the monitoring points (MP). [email protected] Figure 2: Sensors installed in the field. RESULTS Figure 3: Cumulative water applied in the zone managed by IrriDesK (blue line) in 2023. The area shaded in green represents the proposed irrigation strategy (seasonal plan) initially included in IrriDesK. The red circles mark the different stages of processing tomato. Figure 5:(a) Commercial production and total production recorded during the two study years; b) Average total soluble solids content (ºBrix) in the different management areas in 2023 and 2024. Different letters indicates significant differences between treatments p<0.05 according to the Tukey test. 0 30000 60000 90000 120000 150000 180000 Farmer 1 IrridesK E_AP Farmer 1 IrridesK E_AP Yield (kg/ha) Management zones Commercial yield (Kg/ha) Total yield (Kg/ha) 2023 2024 a ab b aa b a ab b a ab 0 2 4 6 E_AP IrridesK Farmer 1 º Brix Management zones 2023 2024 b ab a MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out on a processing tomato farm in Talavera la Real (Badajoz, Spain), dividing the plot into three management zones: The soil was characterised using Dualem-1S sensors (apparent electrical conductivity) and moisture sensors (Teros 10), thermal sensors and water meters were installed. IrriDesK integrated this information with meteorological data and a seasonal irrigation plan, applying RDI strategies in the ripening phase. The amount of water applied crop yield and fruit quality were monitored and compared between zones. In both years, seven control points were established. In addition, nine additional monitoring points were added to the control points. The control points were selected using the soil characterized maps and analysis of the NVDI variation in the farm from historic sentinel 2 satellite images. CONCLUSIONS •IrriDesK enabled RDI strategies to be applied automatically and efficiently, improving fruit yield and quality with less water use, outperforming conventional methods and other precision agriculture platforms. •Its scalability, adaptability, and potential to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) position it as a key sustainable solution to climate change. b) a) In 2023, IrriDesK achieved the greatest water savings (26%) and the greatest economic efficiency (284.81 €/mm) compared to the farmer's management (table 1). E_AP also outperformed the farmer, achieving 13% savings and an economic efficiency of 202.92 (€/mm). In 2024, E_AP maintained high efficiency 279.01 (€/mm) and achieved 12% savings. By contrast, IrriDesK did not save water that year (+3%), as it was evaluated under more demanding spatial variability conditions. In 2023, IrriDesK in zone B achieved high production (140 t/ha) with lower water use and good quality (5.42). In 2024, when implemented in zone A, the yield obtained the previous year improved, reaching 126 t/ha and higher quality (5.82), demonstrating its ability to adapt to heterogeneous soils. ET4DROUGHT Project: PID2021-127345OR-C33 DigiSPAC Project: TED2021-131237B-C22 •Zone A: Irrigation was carried out by technicians from a precision agriculture company (E_AP), using Smart4Crops platform (2023) and the DT IrriDesk (2024). •Zone B: Irrigation with the DT IrriDesK (2023) and based on Smart4Crops (2024). •Zone C: Conventional irrigation by the farmer (2023 and 2024). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ET4DROUGHT (PID2021-127345OR-C33) and DigiSPAC (TED2021131237B-C22) projects funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities/State Research Agency/10.13039/ 501100011033 co-financed by ERDF a way of making Europe and by EU Next Generation/Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and in collaboration with GREENFIELD, UNILEVER, GRUPO CONESA (AGRAZ) and Alconsa S.L. 52 Year Irrigation Scheduling Irrigation applied (mm) water savings compared to the farmer (%) Econmic water efficiency (€/mm) E_AP 487 13% 202.92 2023 Irri_DesK 413 26% 284.81 Farmer 559 183.43 E_AP 439 12% 279.01 2024 Irri_DesK 519 3% 230.72 Farmer 502 221.43 Table 1 : Irrigation scheduling, irrigation applied, water savings compared to the farmer and economic water efficiency in the different management zones . In 2023, the IrriDesK system adapted its irrigation strategy to four key phases of the crop. In Phase I (transplanting), it applied less water than planned, taking advantage of existing soil moisture to avoid over-irrigation. In Phases II (vegetative growth) and III (fruit development), it maintained irrigation according to the seasonal plan, avoiding any water deficit due to the crop's high sensitivity to water shortage at these stages. Finally, in Phase IV (ripening), it applied RDI strategies, reducing irrigation to improve fruit quality without affecting commercial yield. Red numbers indicate the percentage of water saved, while blue numbers show the percentage of excess water applied.