Crop-specific automated irrigation and nutrient management
First Claim
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1. A method for field irrigation, comprising:
- accessing information indicative of a plurality of soil types in a field, wherein each soil type of the plurality of soil types has an associated irrigation requirement;
generating information indicative of a partitioning of the field into a plurality of zones, wherein at least one zone of the plurality of zones is associated with one or more soil types of the plurality of soil types;
determining a net change in moisture percentage for each zone of the plurality of zones, wherein the net change in the moisture percentage is determined for each zone of the plurality of zones by determining a difference between a current soil moisture percentage, based on a measurement at an active root zone, and a field capacity soil moisture percentage based on a measurement in each zone of the plurality of zones;
determining an irrigation factor for each zone of the plurality of zones based at least on the associated irrigation requirement of each soil type of the plurality of soil types; and
determining an irrigation sequence order for each zone of the plurality of zones based on the net change in moisture percentage, the irrigation factor for each zone of the plurality of zones, and an irrigation demand ratio for each zone of the plurality of zones, wherein the irrigation demand ratio for a respective zone of the plurality of zones is a difference between the field capacity soil moisture percentage and a trigger soil moisture percentage for each soil type of the plurality of soil types within the respective zone divided by the net change in moisture percentage for the respective zone.
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Abstract
Crop-specific automated irrigation include environmental medium and management of nutrients. Operation of an irrigation apparatus can be regulated according to specific water demand of a crop. The water demand can be assessed by evaluating water content conditions of the environmental medium comprising the crop, medium characteristics, and/or nutrient delivery and transport characteristics at the medium. Regulation of operation of the irrigation apparatus can comprise control of one or more of water supply to the apparatus, positioning and/or movement of the irrigation apparatus, or configuration of sensing devices for collection of information suitable for such regulation.
63 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for field irrigation, comprising:
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accessing information indicative of a plurality of soil types in a field, wherein each soil type of the plurality of soil types has an associated irrigation requirement; generating information indicative of a partitioning of the field into a plurality of zones, wherein at least one zone of the plurality of zones is associated with one or more soil types of the plurality of soil types; determining a net change in moisture percentage for each zone of the plurality of zones, wherein the net change in the moisture percentage is determined for each zone of the plurality of zones by determining a difference between a current soil moisture percentage, based on a measurement at an active root zone, and a field capacity soil moisture percentage based on a measurement in each zone of the plurality of zones; determining an irrigation factor for each zone of the plurality of zones based at least on the associated irrigation requirement of each soil type of the plurality of soil types; and determining an irrigation sequence order for each zone of the plurality of zones based on the net change in moisture percentage, the irrigation factor for each zone of the plurality of zones, and an irrigation demand ratio for each zone of the plurality of zones, wherein the irrigation demand ratio for a respective zone of the plurality of zones is a difference between the field capacity soil moisture percentage and a trigger soil moisture percentage for each soil type of the plurality of soil types within the respective zone divided by the net change in moisture percentage for the respective zone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system, comprising:
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a memory comprising computer-executable instructions; and a processor functionally coupled to the memory and configured, by the computer-executable instructions, to perform at least the following actions; access information indicative of a plurality of soil types in a field, wherein each soil type of the plurality soil types has an associated irrigation requirement; generate information indicative of a partitioning of the field into a plurality of zones, wherein at least one zone of the plurality of zones is associated with one or more soil types of the plurality of soil types; determine a net change in moisture percentage for each zone of the plurality of zones, wherein the net change in the moisture percentage is determined for each zone of the plurality of zones by determining a difference between a current soil moisture percentage based on a measurement at an active root zone, and a field capacity soil moisture percentage, based on a measurement in each zone, of the plurality of zones; determine an irrigation factor for each zone of the plurality of zones based at least on the associated irrigation requirement of each soil type of the plurality of soil types; and determine an irrigation sequence order for each zone of the plurality of zones based on the net change in moisture percentage, the irrigation factor for each zone of the plurality of zones, and an irrigation demand ratio for each zone of the plurality of zones, wherein the irrigation demand ratio for a respective zone of the plurality of zones is a difference between the field capacity soil moisture percentage and a trigger soil moisture percentage for each soil type of the plurality of soil types within the respective zone divided by the net change in moisture percentage for the respective zone. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification