AI-powered irrigation system provides increased yield and energy savings

"We waste as much water in agriculture in just 1 year as we use in industry and homes in 1.5 years"

Emphasizing that 45 billion cubic meters of the 55 billion cubic meters of water used in Turkey in 1 year is spent in agriculture, Aktaş said, "We waste 25 billion cubic meters of this in 1 year due to incorrect irrigation. It will be more understandable if we materialize it as follows; we waste as much water in agriculture in just 1 year as we use in industry and homes in 1.5 years."

Expressing that AI-powered smart irrigation systems provide significant advantages in agriculture, Aktaş continued as follows:

"The farmer can analyze how much water they can use and how much water the plant needs with the data provided by these technologies. It is very difficult for people to manually detect various losses, leaks, and malfunction situations in the system because the areas are very large and it is difficult to manage these large areas manually with human resources. It is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, by integrating technologies into these areas, they can achieve significant savings in both the water part and the energy leg, thanks to systems that are more predictable, reduce risks, and at the end of the day, where they can make data-driven decisions and even take actions."

"It provides a yield in the range of 30 to 60 percent"

Explaining that they make the process from the source where the water comes out to the plant end-to-end digital for water and energy optimization in agricultural lands and greenhouses, interpreting the data here with artificial intelligence technologies, and offering farmers more efficient production opportunities, Aktaş stated that they start the work first by managing the water source when they go to the field.

Aktaş said, "Subsequently, when we go into the field, there are 20, 30 in some fields and hundreds or thousands of valves in others. These valves need to be managed. Here, for example, we have our valve control units. The pool needs to be filled automatically and efficiently. For this, we have pool level sensors. We have various soil moisture sensors, sensors like weather stations. There are various products according to the needs of every field and every farmer."

Expressing that they try to provide maximum yield with minimum resource management with the philosophy of "monitor, learn, manage" with the support of data and artificial intelligence, Aktaş said the following about the reflections of the system on yield and savings:

"For example, we have a business. It has 7 to 10 wells. We manage its well and pool. In just one season, we achieved a savings of up to 30 percent in the energy leg that we observed in that project output. In the irrigation part, because irrigation is done sufficiently at the right time, it provides a yield in the range of 30 to 60 percent. Agriculture has problems like labor, not just water and energy, but remote-manageable digital technologies reduce costs there as they minimize going to the field."

How are smart irrigation sensors controlled remotely with the mobile application?

Mentioning that soil moisture, temperature, pressure, flow, salinity, and pH values can be followed instantaneously with the sensors they developed, and at the same time, irrigation processes can be managed automatically by analyzing the water needs of plants and soil quality with this data obtained, Aktaş shared the following information:

"When the user enters the interface of the mobile application, they first see which devices are in their field, how many valves, sensors, and pumps they have. Then, when they enter the details section, there are both instantaneous and historical weekly, monthly, and yearly data and plenty of graphics. They can report these and see the map of the field. They can add all devices and follow them instantaneously. We also have back-account notification systems. Like when the valve opened, irrigation started and closed, the pump worked. The farmer can also see these within the application. At the same time, we constantly send notifications via Telegram. Since the systems are already smart and are systems that work themselves and take action, we can actually follow the process 24/7 without entering the application at all."

"I give whatever (the plant's) need is and do not cut back on the water need for next year"

Agricultural Engineer Gürcan Balcı, who uses the AI-powered irrigation system in the 1300-decare agricultural enterprise named Cevizli Bahçe, said that the installation and use of the system, from which they also benefit from the mobile application, is very practical.

Stating that there are 72 water valves in the field where Chandler walnut trees are located and these valves work autonomously, Balcı used the following expressions: "The biggest thing is already in consumption. With our irrigation control, we try to minimize our water consumption when we measure these moisture values with tensiometers. Whatever the need is, if it's 5 liters, I give 5 liters and do not cut back on my water need for next year. I determine our needs and proceed in line with these needs. The mobile application is very simple, plain, and completely in Turkish. There are valves, pumps, wells, and a soil analysis section too. For example, we have two pools, and in the mobile application, I can just press a button to run the motors in the wells by themselves and fill our pool. When the water reaches the level I want, the sensor gives notice, and I turn off my pumps."

source: Anadolu Agency "AI-powered irrigation system provides increased yield and energy savings" Anadolu Agency (aa.com.tr)

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